From the food editor: Make a resolution to expand your palate
When I made my list of New Year's resolutions last week, cooking more adventurously was on the list. Now that my picky eater has started to expand his palate, I've decided to seize the opportunity to sprinkle more than parmesan cheese on buttered noodles or salt and pepper on chicken tenders.
Inspired by today's Cook of the Week profile on Aban Daboo, I'm going to start with Indian cuisines. That decision was made even easier with the help of the Kitchen Curry Master.
Kitchen Curry Master is a spice kit that features 12 spices common in Indian dishes but not-so-common at suburban grocery stores. (When was the last time you spotted fenugreek in the spice aisle?)
The kit is the brainchild of Neena Patel Williams, the daughter of restaurant owners from Northern India. After moving to California and becoming frustrated with the hunt for the right spices for her favorite foods, she decided to create the kit and disprove the notion that Indian food with its rich, complex flavors is difficult to create at home.
She offers three options: the Spice Collection (12 spices for $29.99; a January sale marked down from $44.99); an airtight, brushed silver tin with individual spice compartments ($29.99 on sale) and the Master Set that includes the tin, the spices and a cookbook with 28 recipes and step-by-step instruction (regularly $79.99 and marked down to $49.99). Order at www.kitchencurrymaster.com.
Currying your curiosity: Noted author Collen Taylor Sen will debunk Five Myths about Indian Food during a talk Jan. 17 sponsored by the Culinary Historians of Chicago.
Sen will discuss the perceptions of “hotness” and vegetarianism associated with the cuisine and show how Indian food has evolved (and continues to evolve) with foreign ingredients and techniques. The presentation will be accompanied by dishes that may be unfamiliar to many.
Her talk and tasting will be held 10 a.m. to noon at Kendall College's School of Culinary Arts, 900 N. North Branch St., Chicago. The program costs $5, $3 for students and no charge for culinary historian members and Kendall students and faculty. To reserve, email your reservation to Culinary.Historians@gmail.com.
On Feb. 21, the exploration of Indian cuisine continues when Anupy Singla, author of 2014's “Indian for Everyone,” comes to town. Details to come. Head to culinaryhistorians.org for updates.
• Contact Food Editor Deborah Pankey at dpankey@dailyherald.com or (847) 427-4524. Be her friend at Facebook.com/DebPankey.DailyHerald or follow her on Pinterest, Instagram or Twitter @PankeysPlate.