India Meets Surrey

Well, today I ventured into new cuisine once again. We went to India and we never left Surrey!

Before we talk food, let me set the stage so you all can join me. Imagine driving on a pebbled lane lined with herbs to a grand English estate with a vast garden, a swan pond and at the very back of the property, a walled garden with gated entry that looked like it had been there for hundreds of years. (I'll photograph it when the blooms are in play.) The home was built just before the Regency period at the turn of the nineteenth century and boasted every bit of character the history implies. While we gathered in the fire-toasty kitchen, hens fluttered to the windowsill to watch the goings-on inside.

Our hostess and cooking teacher, Shelagh, is a Minnesota-born world traveler and fabulous cook who ventures to locales like Kashmir and Ethiopia on a regular basis. Today about a dozen ladies and I settled into her country kitchen by the crackling fire while she taught us the finer points of Indian cuisine. Each woman brought to the group her personal experiences with life in India, the flavors of the Indian table and recommendations for great local restaurants.

The breadth of life experience in the room was awe-inspiring. These ladies had lived as ex-pats across the globe, from Transylvania to South Africa to Hong Kong to Tokyo. Though they may have spent time in America, most are international. What distinguishes them is their resilience, and their eagerness to try out new cultures and cuisines. You know my motto for trying new global flavors - I believe this is a practice everyone should adopt, including children. After all, how will you know what flavors you're missing if you fail to taste them at least once? (And my kids will testify that they've received many "New Food Awards" at the dinner table.)

Here are the dishes Shelagh prepared for us. I snapped photos of each of them to help you visualize.

• Lemon Rice
• Akri Bhindi (crispy okra) - my favorite!!
• Cucumber Raita
• Grilled Pineapple with Shaved Fresh Coconut
• Prawn Curry
• Aubergine and Yogurt
• Korma Murgh (chicken with cashews, spices and yogurt)
• Stir-fried Green Beans with Coconut
• Fresh Banana Ice Cream
  
• To eat Indian cuisine for maximum enjoyment, take a bite of something hot and zesty (like the green beans with chiles), followed by a cooling bite of the fresh raita. The flavors were really, really nice. None too overpowering, and some subtly complex. Shelagh used fresh curry leaves plucked from the branches, and whole spices that she ground with a mortar and pestle to maximize the flavor.

Before I ventured to learn more about Indian cooking, we tried a local restaurant the other day called The Tamarind Tree, here in Wokingham. Nick enjoyed the biryani, though my chicken korma was too sweet for my taste. The naan bread was excellent. If you have not tried Poppodum, get some! They are crispy like extra light tortilla chips but are as large as full-scale tortillas. To share, simply make a fist and crack downward on the stack (as our Scottish friend Neal taught us). Delicious with mango chutney!

Enjoy - and be experimental at the table tonight!