Anila's First Article!

Anila Dhanji, head chef and owner

Restauranteur Anila Dhanji recently opened EAT Café and Catering, a new bistro in the heart of Toronto’s trendy ‘Little Portugal’. Trained in Montreal and Vancouver,Anila wanted to

In the last few years' Indian food has taken center stage and has become one of the most popular types of cuisine when people talk about eating out or even cooking at home. Across the country people are discovering that Indian food offers a large variety of ingredients and tastes that other ethnic cuisines don't. The popularity of Indian food has been strengthening even more as of recent with the advent of "fusion" cooking style. Several new restaurants in Toronto have opened focusing on Indian fusion themes and doing very well I might add.

Being of South Asian background, a restaurant owner and chef, I have to say I am delighted at the thought that my home food is so "in" and " hot" (pun intended!) and creating all kinds of interest with chefs, restaurant goers and aspiring home chefs all around. Over the next several months I will explore with you the glorious wonder of traditional Indian cooking and along the way, add my own fusion twist to the mix.

First a Little History
There are over 8 countries that make up South Asia and the surrounding region, however for the purpose of our culinary interest we will only be focusing on India and Pakistan. These two countries are equally complex not only culturally, geographically and politically but also from a culinary point of view. To most individuals when they speak of Indian food they think only of India and not to its neighbor Pakistan. Cooking methods, styles and ingredients vary not only from country to country, region to region, but from home to home between these two countries.

Historically, Indian cuisine has had many influences. Two of the main being vegetarianism, introduced by Buddhism and the other major brought by the Mogul Empire, which affirmed their reglion, Islam and brought with them richer foods such as lamb, chicken and goat meat. Other influences, which also significantly shaped the cuisine of India and Pakistan, were the long trade association between India and China. Notice how the wok and karhai are so similar in shape and appreance. British influence reigned heavy over India and spilled onto Pakistan. The popular concept of "Tiffin" was actually introduced and encourage by the Brits, as well as baking with yeast, cakes and curries. Culinary influences can even be traced as far as Goa and Kerala where the Portuguese established ports. With this European influx came Christianity and with it new styles of cooking. No wonder Indian food is considered exotic!

Can someone tell me the time?
We young South East Asians who no longer have the privilege to live with dear mummy gi who is of course the undisputed "goddess" of great Indian cooking - in our world anyway, have to fend for ourselves and or those we love. Problem with that is we aren't nearly as good as mom and definitely donít have the time to prepare elaborate traditional dishes with the care and time our parents put into the family meals. Now by the time you get home it's past 6:30 pm and the only energy you can muster up is to pull open the take-out menu drawer and see which place will be getting your money that night. We are under the impression that our "generation" will never be able to cook real Indian food at home anymore because it just takes too much time and it is too complicated. So you just wait for the days that you can go home for a special dinner and ask mom to make all your favourites, then take all the leftovers!

Okay, well I am here to say it's mom turn to get a great home cooked Indian meal and let her take home the leftovers. Over the next few months I will share with you some of my favourite Indian dishes and show you easy time saving ways to prepare some traditional dishes as well as along the way introduce you to a few new ones too.

Did someone say "Cocktail Party"?
Having a cocktail party is the best way to entertain at home. No major pressures about making big main courses or deciding what the side dishes will be. Serving a few appetizers with well paired cocktails is the best way to make sure everyone gets a bit of something different and leaves you time to enjoy your guests and the clean-up is so easy.

The two recipes that I will share with you today you will be able to prepare on the same day and spend less than 2 hours in the kitchen. If you have the time to start the day ahead you will only need about 1 hour on the day of the party.

Cocktail Menu

• Assorted pappadams or padad (made from chick pea & rice flour)
• Shrimp pakoras
• Banana chips

Pappadams: this is the easiest thing to prepare - they can be purchased at any grocery store or any Indian grocery store for about $.99 a package (you get about 12 in each). Pappadams come in many flavors.
The best way to prepare them is to take them out of the package and cook them in the microwave two at a time for about 1 - 2 minutes on high on your microwave setting. Once you have the desired amount you can place them on a plate and serve. These can be made up to 2 hours ahead of time, just leave at room temp. They are tasty and crispy and look great on a serving platter.

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Shrimp Pakoras: This is a very versatile appetizer that can be made using any kind of meat or vegetable.

• 1 1⁄4 lb shrimp
• 1⁄2 cup besan flour (ground chick pea flour)
• 1 large red onion, finely chopped
• 3-4 fresh green chilies (optional)
• 2 Tbsp finely chopped fresh cilantro (coriander)
• 1⁄2 tsp of baking soda
• 1 1⁄2 tsp of cornstarch

Peel and devein the shrimp (can be bought peeled and deveined)

Chop the shrimp into small pieces. Mix all the dry ingredients together and add 2 Tbsp of water and mix well. Beat the batter well until all lumps are out and you have a smooth batter. Add the shrimp incorporate well. Should not be too lose or liquidy. Should be like lose cookie batter.

Fill a wok with about 2 cups of vegetable oil and heat. (to test place a cube of bread, if it browns in 15 seconds the oil is ready). Drop 1 heaping teaspoon of batter at a time into the oil and deep-fry in batches of 6 or 7 at a time until they brown all over. Remove from oil and drain on paper towel. They can be served hot or warm. You can prepare them about 45 mins ahead and placed on a cookie sheet and kept in a low temp oven until your guests arrive.

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Banana Chips:

• 10 small green unripe bananas
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp red chili powder
• 1⁄2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp fresh lime juice

Peel the bananas. It will be hard to get the skin off, as it is very thick. Cut the bananas into about Ω inch thick slices.

Mix the bananas with all the dry ingredients until they are well coated on each slice.

Heat the same oil as the pakoras. Place the seasoned slices into the hot oil in batches and stir while the chips cook. After about 1-2 minutes take one out and taste to see if they are crispy and cooked on the inside. If they are not cooked well, leave in oil for another 1-2 minutes. You may need to season with a little more salt once they come out.

You can prepare the chips up to 2 days in advance and keep in an airtight container when they have completely cooled off. If you put them when they are still warm, they will go soggy.

You can serve the chips with any dipping sauce you like. A simple one is taking plain yogurt and mixing it with fresh chopped mint, coriander, ground cumin, pinch of salt and ground pepper and mix well and serve alongside the chips.

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