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It wasn’t love at first bite — it
wasn’t even love at second bite — but, when I finally fell in
love with Indian food, I fell hard. I’ve always been an adventurous eater, eager to
try new things, so it’s strange that I didn’t initially
appreciate Indian food, but it was really circumstantial. My first experience with Indian food was at a
now-long-defunct restaurant in the Central West End of St. Louis. Both my
husband and I were less than impressed. Now I realize that it just
wasn’t a very good restaurant, but at the time we had no basis for
comparison. My unhappiness with my second encounter with Indian
food was totally my own fault. Truthfully, I have no idea whether the food
was good or awful: I was in no shape to judge. We were in Chicago. The night before, we’d gone
to Blues Etc. to see legendary blues guitarist Lonnie Brooks. Brooks is not
only an accomplished musician but also quite a showman, playing his guitar
behind his back, over his head, and even with his tongue. It was fun, but
the nightclub was stiflingly hot and thick with smoke. The music was
overpoweringly loud — so loud that the water in the restroom toilets
rippled. The next day my ears were still ringing, and I had a headache and
a queasy stomach from the smoke and the beers I’d drunk to combat the
heat. It undoubtedly wasn’t the best time to try the (also
now-defunct) “Northern Indian Frontier restaurant” Bukhara for
lunch. The raita,
yogurt with shredded carrot and cucumber, which serves as a cooling
counterpoint to spicier dishes, was fine, as were the flatbreads baked in a
tandoor oven,
but I should have been more cautious about trying the spicy chutneys and
powerfully potent mustard pickles — as my abused stomach quickly let
me know. Since then I’ve had countless wonderful Indian
meals. I’ve explored the Little India neighborhood in Manhattan, with
its quirky jewelry shops and Kalustyan’s, which has an astonishingly
huge array of exotic foodstuffs in an impossibly small space. My most
memorable meal in that neighborhood was at a southern-Indian vegetarian
restaurant less than three weeks after 9/11. It was relatively close to
Ground Zero, and my husband, daughter, and I were the only customers. We
were profusely and repeatedly thanked for coming and showered with a
procession of delicious treats above and beyond what we’d ordered. A sultry summer evening in Devon Avenue, on
Chicago’s northwest side, can almost make me believe that I’m
actually in India. The Midwest seems far away when I’m sitting by
restaurant windows watching the crowds stroll by, or browsing through food
shops inspecting fresh turmeric roots, green chickpeas in the pod, and the
endless varieties of chaat, crispy street snacks that usually contain some form of fried
noodles, dough, or puffed rice combined with crunchy nuts and spices. The most important thing I’ve learned about
Indian food, whether I’m cooking it or eating it, is that it’s
a mistake to lump it into one category. For many Westerners, curry is what
comes to mind when they think of Indian food. Although it’s true that
curry is important, to Indians the term denotes a varying mixture of spices
custom-blended for individual dishes, not the premixed yellow powder adapted by British
colonialists. The Indian subcontinent has an almost bewildering diversity
of cultures, religions, and influences, all of which have played a part in
the food traditions of the 17 states and seven territories. Then there are
Pakistan and Bangladesh (formerly East Pakistan), created when India gained
its independence from Great Britain in 1947. Those countries are primarily
Muslim and have Islamic food traditions. Modern-day India is more than 80
percent Hindu, but the cuisines of the multitudes of other faiths and even
those of different Hindu sects vary widely: Some groups are strict
vegetarians; some eat meat (though usually not beef) and fish. Foods,
seasonings, and methods of preparation in the lush tropical areas differ
from those in desert or mountain regions. There are areas with a strong
Christian/European background, such as Goa, on the west coast, with its
strong Portugese heritage; and Pondicherry, on the east coast, with
churches, architecture, signs, parks, and foods influenced by French
settlers. Every other year, the Asian Indian Women’s
Organization provides a unique opportunity to experience some of the
culture and cuisine of India right here in Springfield. Founded in 1991,
the AIWO began as a small group of working moms, says Daksha Patel, one of
the organizers of this year’s event. They saw it as a chance for them
to socialize but also, more importantly, as “a way to work together
for the good of this community.” The group started with little
projects: bake sales and contributions to the Boys’ and Girls’
Clubs, the Central Illinois Food Bank, and St. John’s Breadline. In 1997, the AIWO embarked on a more ambitious
project: India Night, a festive evening of food, fun, and entertainment to
benefit the Ronald McDonald House. India Night has been held every other
year since and has been a great success. Originally India Nights took place
at Temple B’rith Sholom, but by 2005 it had outgrown that space and
moved to the Illinois Department of Transportation building. My husband and I, as well as various family members,
have attended the last four India Nights and always thoroughly enjoy them.
The atmosphere is warm and welcoming, and the food has always been
delicious and well spiced but deliberately not peppery hot. This
year’s dinner will be catered by the Northern Indian restaurant
Gaylord, one of Chicago’s oldest. Some of the menu items are samosas (pastries filled with
potatoes and peas), kebabs, chicken makhani, chole (chickpeas with cumin and tomatoes), and palak paneer (also known as saag paneer, this spinach dish
prepared with herbs, spices, and homemade cheese is one of my absolute
favorites in Indian or any other cuisine). Dessert will be gulab jamun, small doughnut
balls dipped in syrup. Door prizes and silent and live auctions —
always a feature of India Nights — in the past have included such
items as beautiful pashmina shawls and specially catered dinners. New this
year are booths where women can have mehndi (henna) designs tattooed
(temporarily) on their hands or guests can have pictures taken in
traditional Indian outfits.
The AIWO’s sixth annual India Night will be
held on Saturday, Sept. 22, at the IDOT building on Dirksen Parkway. Wine
and appetizers will be served at 6 p.m. Tickets are $40 per person and can be obtained by
calling Aruna Mathur at 217-787-6463 or e-mailing rkmathur@sbcglobal.net.
Send questions and comments to Julianne Glatz at
realcuisine@insightbb.com.
This article appears in Aug 30 – Sep 5, 2007.
