Travel to India
Tuesday, January 16
Today we learned all about Indian cuisine from our teacher and president Jenny Matthau, who loves Indian cuisine and is passionate about cooking it. We made numerous dishes in the afternoon, ending with eating lots of food, drinking homemade chai, and a mango concoction with vodka. I'm not sure what it is with this ethnic food of late, and the ending classes, but it always seems to involve some type of alcohol. Well, this put us into good shape to study tonight for our final written exam tomorrow, after which we go back to the kitchen one last time for a class on Sicilian cooking and perhaps more alcohol? I think they make up the schedule so these fun classes are at the end and more laid back, and a way for us to remember the school with good, or should I say foggy, memories. Anyway, I made a curry and the masala dosais filling. We had Milan the Indian expert in the house and he made a few wonderful Indian dishes, which were not in our recipes but from his mom, brought in Indian music, and he had other goodies for us like roasted papadam. It was a treat to have another expert in the house who we could go to to ask questions and for advice on the proper flavouring and consistency of dishes. Milan learned it all from his mom, who he says is the best cook around and can make a new Indian dish every day from scratch. In Indian families, recipes are usually passed down from mother to daughter but with no daughters in the household Milan took this on as he was interested in food and didn't want to lose these recipes that go back a long way in their family history and often are just transferred verbally from generation to generation. He wants to open an Indian restaurant in the Ithaca area near Moosewood, and I think he has all he needs to do it. I'd like to go there and sample his food.
Milan's doing a very interesting internship at a zen buddhist monastery, the one that created the book the Three Bowls, which is both a cookbook and an introduction to the practice of American Zen Buddhism, and a collection of vegetarian recipes from Seppo Ed Farrey, the tenzo (chef) of the Dai Bosatsu Zendo, a traditional Zen Buddhist monastery in New York State. Each day, Farrey must create precisely timed meals for a hundred people using a limited range of ingredients; despite these demands, his dishes are substantial, never dull, and often inspired. "Three bowls" refers to the monastic way of eating from a large, a medium, and a small bowl. The largest bowl is customarily filled with a grain-based dish. The medium bowl typically holds a protein-rich, flavorful stew. Salads or vegetable side dishes are served in the smallest bowl. Descriptions of life at the monastery and explanations of Zen practice are interspersed throughout Three Bowls. The monastry is on 1,400 acres in the Catskill Mountains and Milan will provide cooking in exchange for room and board and participation in the daily monastic life and teachings... http://www.daibosatsu.org/dbzindex.html
I'm very excited for him, especially as we love that cookbook and it would be an interesting experience to cook in a monastery, and am looking forward to hearing his stories. Perhaps I can do a short stint there in the future. Afterwards, he will go to the famous Moosewood for the summer, where they create new menus every day and work with local suppliers, which is exciting for someone working in the kitchen. So, this is just one person in my class and every person has a unique and interesting story and journey ahead of them. I'm looking forward to seeing what people end up doing, including yours truly.
So, back to our Indian feast, which included: pakoras, cucumber raita, sambaar, chapati, dal, biriyani, spiced spinach and mushrooms, dosai, cilantro-onion relish, pakoras, mint relish, chicken tandoori, almond milk fudge, and more. I'm going to miss all this good food so I'll have to try to recreate some of it at home and see if anyone will join me in eating it.
Today we learned all about Indian cuisine from our teacher and president Jenny Matthau, who loves Indian cuisine and is passionate about cooking it. We made numerous dishes in the afternoon, ending with eating lots of food, drinking homemade chai, and a mango concoction with vodka. I'm not sure what it is with this ethnic food of late, and the ending classes, but it always seems to involve some type of alcohol. Well, this put us into good shape to study tonight for our final written exam tomorrow, after which we go back to the kitchen one last time for a class on Sicilian cooking and perhaps more alcohol? I think they make up the schedule so these fun classes are at the end and more laid back, and a way for us to remember the school with good, or should I say foggy, memories. Anyway, I made a curry and the masala dosais filling. We had Milan the Indian expert in the house and he made a few wonderful Indian dishes, which were not in our recipes but from his mom, brought in Indian music, and he had other goodies for us like roasted papadam. It was a treat to have another expert in the house who we could go to to ask questions and for advice on the proper flavouring and consistency of dishes. Milan learned it all from his mom, who he says is the best cook around and can make a new Indian dish every day from scratch. In Indian families, recipes are usually passed down from mother to daughter but with no daughters in the household Milan took this on as he was interested in food and didn't want to lose these recipes that go back a long way in their family history and often are just transferred verbally from generation to generation. He wants to open an Indian restaurant in the Ithaca area near Moosewood, and I think he has all he needs to do it. I'd like to go there and sample his food.
Milan's doing a very interesting internship at a zen buddhist monastery, the one that created the book the Three Bowls, which is both a cookbook and an introduction to the practice of American Zen Buddhism, and a collection of vegetarian recipes from Seppo Ed Farrey, the tenzo (chef) of the Dai Bosatsu Zendo, a traditional Zen Buddhist monastery in New York State. Each day, Farrey must create precisely timed meals for a hundred people using a limited range of ingredients; despite these demands, his dishes are substantial, never dull, and often inspired. "Three bowls" refers to the monastic way of eating from a large, a medium, and a small bowl. The largest bowl is customarily filled with a grain-based dish. The medium bowl typically holds a protein-rich, flavorful stew. Salads or vegetable side dishes are served in the smallest bowl. Descriptions of life at the monastery and explanations of Zen practice are interspersed throughout Three Bowls. The monastry is on 1,400 acres in the Catskill Mountains and Milan will provide cooking in exchange for room and board and participation in the daily monastic life and teachings... http://www.daibosatsu.org/dbzindex.html
I'm very excited for him, especially as we love that cookbook and it would be an interesting experience to cook in a monastery, and am looking forward to hearing his stories. Perhaps I can do a short stint there in the future. Afterwards, he will go to the famous Moosewood for the summer, where they create new menus every day and work with local suppliers, which is exciting for someone working in the kitchen. So, this is just one person in my class and every person has a unique and interesting story and journey ahead of them. I'm looking forward to seeing what people end up doing, including yours truly.
So, back to our Indian feast, which included: pakoras, cucumber raita, sambaar, chapati, dal, biriyani, spiced spinach and mushrooms, dosai, cilantro-onion relish, pakoras, mint relish, chicken tandoori, almond milk fudge, and more. I'm going to miss all this good food so I'll have to try to recreate some of it at home and see if anyone will join me in eating it.
posted by Caroline at 6:04 PM
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