Indspired: Indian Inspired Fusion Cuisine

By Ann Vinod

Ann Vinod has traveled the world to experience different spices, ingredients, and cooking techniques. She fell in love not only with a man who was born in India but with Indian cuisine, as well. Now, with her cookbook, Indspired, she introduces flavorful Indian fusion fare and makes it accessible to novice cooks and experienced foodies alike.

She presents starters, main dishes, snacks and more in this innovative collection of east meets west. The flavors of both cultures mesh perfectly in each recipe, creating new and delicious taste combinations. She draws upon her experience as a restaurant cook to make your kitchen a place of complex flavors and fun.

All of the entre recipes in Indspired are paired with leading single malt whiskies. She encourages adventurous chefs to learn how to match this classic spirit with her modern recipes. Take an imaginative trip around the world including the far reaches of India and return feeling truly Indspired.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Jun 15, 2015
• ISBN: 9781504909716

Ann Vinod

Ann Vinod is the author of Kachi’s Kitchen and a popular food blog. Through her travels around the world, she has experienced and learned about the best food different countries have to offer and has created a fusion cuisine that is influenced by exotic spices and international techniques. She now lives in Grapevine, Texas, with her husband and two children.

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AuthorHouse™

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Bloomington, IN 47403

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Phone: [phone]

© 2015 Ann Vinod. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system,

or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 06/12/2015

ISBN: 978-1-5049-0970-9 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5049-0971-6 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2015906976

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To three generations of very special people:

my wonderful children and best friends, Kathryn and Avi, who have become amazing adults and greatly exceeded all of my expectations,

my loving husband, Balakrishnan Vinod, who understands my constant questions and interruptions, graciously eats every dish I make and makes life an adventure, and

my devoted mother, Justyn, who has loved and championed me all of my life.

Table of Contents

Introduction

Elements of a Well Stocked Pantry

Pairing Recipes with Whisky

Starters and Snacks

Chutneys and Raitas

Soups

Salads

Pork, Lamb and Beef

Poultry

Seafood

Sides

Rice and Grains

Desserts

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Introduction

I have been fascinated by Indian cuisine, not only the mysterious spices, but the techniques and methods in which it is cooked, since my days in college where I made my first Indian friends. I have sampled the cuisine in as many Indian restaurants around the world as I could to feed my addiction for this delicious food. As I moved around the United States during my early professional years I was fortunate to make many more Indian friends. One of them eventually became my husband. I was thrilled that his family included several excellent cooks so I had access to this delicious food when I wanted it.

A few years ago I published a cookbook, Kachi’s Kitchen, dedicated to Indian recipes, primarily those from the southern states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu, that belonged to my mother-in-law’s family. I wanted to demystify Indian cuisine for Western cooks and embolden them in the use of these flavorful spices. As I started to create my own recipes for what has become this cookbook, I could not find a unique niche for a new cookbook of my Indian recipes. With so many excellent Indian cookbooks on the market I could not identify a special, exclusive theme.

During a discussion with my husband, I realized that creating yet another of the thousands of Indian cookbooks already on the market was not in my future. I needed to focus on what I knew best. We examined the recipes that I prepared for my family on a regular basis. They were not Indian, or Italian, or French, or even American. They were, in actuality, a bit of, and the best of, many cuisines.

I examined Indian meals to determine what makes them so appealing and well balanced. Each dish brings special characteristics to achieve harmony in the meal as a whole. Items are colorful with bright red or yellow and every shade in between due to the spices used to season them. Dishes feature a mix of different tastes and flavors across the entire range of possibilities. Some dishes are spicy hot while others are cool to relieve the heat. Since the dishes are made with different blends of spices and ingredients, they have unique aromas. Bring all of the dishes together, and the air is filled with exotic and enticing scents. The best feature of Indian cuisine is the variety of dishes that comprise a meal; each bite brings excitement and a new discovery of flavor.

I wanted to create something new and exciting, to apply the flavors and techniques of Indian cooking to Western cuisine. Starting with a few of my favorite French, Italian and Spanish recipes, I started to change some of the spices and techniques to discover what would happen. Next I reworked some of my Indian recipes to use typically Western techniques and ingredients. I suddenly had a food riot going on in my kitchen. Ideas were flowing so fast that I could not manage to capture and create all of them. I would wake up in the middle of the night dreaming about parts of new recipes. Finally I knew I had discovered my niche.

What is Fusion Cuisine?

Fusion cuisine is simply a term applied to a traditional cooking style, the set of recipes learned from our parents, which has been adapted and updated to reflect the memorable experiences, influences and tastes of our modern times. It is influenced by the wonderfully diverse cultures of the people we encounter every day with their recipes, unique ingredients and cooking techniques that become part of our repertoire. Restaurants provide the opportunity to experience international foods and flavors without leaving home. We can experience a different cuisine every day if we wish. People have more discretionary income than they did when I was young so we can sample new food more often. In addition, specialty-cooking tools, like electric food processors and convection ovens, as well as online cookbooks and instructional videos that can be accessed with the click of a mouse make it easier to discover new recipes and incorporate the best of everything into our own fusion cuisine.

The result is an integrated new cuisine that reflects the best of everything that went into it – the best flavors, the best spices, the best techniques, the best presentations, and the best of ourselves. Fortunately, fusion cuisine is not an endpoint but a whole new beginning of what is yet to come.

Even though many of these recipes are based on ones that originated in India, my French and Italian culinary education, experiences, preferences and family have influenced each one of them. I want dining to be the fun part of the day when family members can come together, share a meal and spend time in each other’s company. Since my children are grown and starting our on their own, I want to make sure I create happy memories for them of an atmosphere where we have laughed, argued and learned from each other.

My cooking training and experiences are French, Italian and American while my tastes are quite international. However, I have been influenced significantly by my husband’s tastes and preferences since he was born in India, moved to the United States to pursue his education and had to learn to cook for himself. I have spent many years studying and tasting Indian food, both here and abroad, to become comfortable and confident enough to use spices, ingredients and techniques in creative ways to produce the taste, texture of food that is approachable, flavorful and delicious. Through study and experimentation I have created my own way of preparing Indian recipes. The techniques are a combination of Western and eastern styles that I chose to complement the ingredients selected for each recipe.

Creating recipes and revising them are at the center of this experience. During many meals, the conversation may have seemed more like a scientific experiment or an interrogation. How do you like this curry? Is the color appealing? Does it have too much or too little cumin? I would make adjustments and the dialogue would continue. All of these questions and feedback led to the creation of these recipes.

The recipes in this book have all been transformed in some way by multiple international forces. Many recipes originated in France, Italy or the United States and have been influenced by Indian spices, techniques and ingredients. Others started as Indian recipes that have been adapted based on my background in Western cooking in a Western kitchen. These recipes are easy to make. Some of them require a bit of patience due to the large number of ingredients or steps but the instructions are written in such a way as to make them very easy to follow.

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Why Pair Whisky with Fusion Cuisine?

My husband and I have enjoyed a dram of whisky before dinner for ages. A few years ago we started to attend whisky tastings in London and Dallas, and enjoyed the lively discussions of the attributes of each dram. After a while we realized that whisky paired very well with many of the recipes I selected for this cookbook. We pair wines with our dinners so why not do the same thing with whisky. We enjoy the challenge of analyzing each whisky for its unique flavor profile to match with food. It is a fun activity that can be enjoyed at home or with a group of friends.

During our recent travels we noticed that pairing whisky with food is becoming very popular. Restaurants are partnering with distilleries to host food and whisky pairing events in which special menus are created to highlight the beverage offerings. One world-renowned restaurant in London, The Cinnamon Club, which specializes in Indian fusion cuisine, does an amazing job pairing its cuisine with whisky from Scotland. Events like these bring a lot of excitement to the process of learning about the specific characteristics of each whisky as well as tasting new food and meeting new people.

Later in this book I include an introduction of how to taste whisky and create your own pairings. All of the main course recipes include favorite parings that my husband and I have identified to get you started and to give you ideas on how to create your own pairings. I hope you find this cookbook to be a valuable resource as you start your flavor journey.

As they say in Scotland, Slàinte!

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Elements of a Well Stocked Pantry

Over the years, I have built a vast pantry of spices and equipment to assist in my culinary endeavors. Every time I tried a new idea I ran to the store to buy special, authentic equipment. After many shopping excursions I realized that I had filled every inch of my pantry shelves with spice jars and every corner of my cupboards with my treasures. I learned that most of what I thought would use often, I rarely use. To assist in building a realistic, utilitarian pantry, just a few ingredients and equipment will suffice for nearly all of my recipes. Most of the ingredients are available at any grocery store, however a few items may only be available at specialty or Indian grocery stores.

Fresh Herbs and Spices

Herbs and spices, whether fresh or dried, are the key ingredients in all cuisines, from Indian to French. Fresh herbs are very perishable and should be purchased, or picked, just before they are needed. Herbs should be kept in a container in the refrigerator so they do not dry out. Other fresh ingredients may be purchased in advance and used as needed.

One word of caution about chiles needs to be mentioned here. If you do not care for spicy hot food, feel free to reduce the heat. This can be done by reducing the number of chiles used in the recipe, removing their seeds and removing the white membrane inside. Do not eliminate chiles from the recipes entirely as their flavor is crucial to the overall taste of the dish.

Core Herbs and Spices

Cilantro

Green chiles, usually Thai chiles or Serrano peppers

Garlic

Ginger

Onions, the small red Indian variety

Shallots

Tomatoes

Additional Herbs and Spices

Curry leaves

Fenugreek leaves

Mint leaves

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Dried Spices

Dried spices should be used within a year; after that, the flavor deteriorates so larger quantities of spices are needed to achieve the desired results. Store all spices in airtight containers in a cool, dark location. I prefer to grind my spices as I need them so the flavors are at their peak but, with limits on my time, I often use ground rather than whole spices.

Core Dried Spices

Bay Leaves

Black Peppercorns

Cinnamon

Cloves

Coriander seeds

Cumin seeds

Dried red chiles

Green cardamom pods

Mustard seeds

Red chile powder

Saffron threads

Turmeric powder

Additional Dried Spices

Ajwain seeds

Anise seeds

Asafetida

Black cardamom pods

Dried fenugreek leaves

Fennel seeds

Fenugreek seeds

Dried mango powder (amchoor)

Nigella seeds

Spice Mixtures

Masalas are simply mixtures of flavorful spices. They are prepared in advance so they are ready to use when needed. Recipes for these spice mixtures vary based on personal preferences so they have a different flavor based on who made it and the specific amounts of ingredients added at that time. Most of them are available in Indian grocery stores and some chain stores. I have included my recipes for some of the most popular spice mixes.

Chaat Masala

Chaat masala, originally from North India, gets its trademark sour and salty flavor from dried green mangos that have been ground to a powder and special black salt. Himalayan black salt, or Indian black salt, contains a high amount of sulfur that gives it a distinctive odor. Chaat masala is sprinkled on snacks and fruit, and used in Party Chaat, Chaat Masala Dip, Chaat Masala Dressing, Paneer Tikka as well as other recipes.

1/4 cup coriander seeds

3 tablespoons cumin seeds

1 tablespoon ajwain seeds

1 teaspoon black peppercorns

6 – 7 dried red chiles

1 1/2 tablespoons dried mango powder

1 teaspoon paprika

1/2 teaspoon asafetida

1 1/2 tablespoons black salt

1 teaspoon salt

1.  One at a time, dry roast the coriander seeds, cumin seeds, ajwain seeds and peppercorns in a skillet over medium-low heat for a few minutes, just until the aroma rises and they begin to brown. Let them cool.

2.  Remove the stems from the dried red chiles and break them into pieces. In a bowl, mix all ingredients together. Grind to a fine powder in a spice grinder.

Curry Leaf Podi

I created this podi, or powder, to be used as a spice mix to enhance dishes like Curry Leaf Seasoned Rice, Curry Leaf Steamed Rice Cakes, Curry Leaf Chutney and mixed with oil for an accompaniment for dipping bread.

1 cup fresh curry leaves (35 grams or 1.3 ounces)

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

1/2 teaspoon coriander seeds

1/2 tablespoon sesame oil

2 tablespoons skinned black gram

2 tablespoons dried white chickpeas

4 dried red chiles

1 garlic clove, chopped

Pinch asafetida

1 teaspoon salt

1.  Remove the curry leaves from the stems and wash them. Spread the leaves out on a paper towel, turning occasionally, to dry.

2.  In a skillet, dry roast the cumin and coriander seeds until the aroma rises then set aside to cool.

3.  When the curry leaves are completely dry, roast them in the skillet over medium-low heat. As