South India meets Chicago, Chicago meets South India~high
heat and humidity just the kind of day to do some marketing on
Devon Avenue (Chicago street of Indian merchants)~got there
at noon~ouch! First thing~hit Patel Grocery with every other
person who is thinking of cooking Indian food during the
week... okay, I've been in India, "we can do this" I assure my
husband. We're there on a Sunday(am I crazy?) gathering up
some of the ingredients (Asafotida anyone?)...my client has
given me her personal recipes and I'm hitting Devon with a
detailed shopping list~feeling confident about my ability to get
through the marketing in no time~early enough to get home
and fire up the Tawa...not!! Hmmmm. Lemon pickle..would that
be the same as Citron pickle? Chapati Flour...would that be the
same as Atta?
What about Curry Leaves? A sari'd fellow shopper led me the
parsley, mint, cilantro but no curry leaves~okay, they're
packaged near the watermelon. Tamarind paste~none with the
blue label I'm looking for~make a best substitution (my fellow
shoppers do a confab and point me in the right direction)is my
plantain raw/green enough? As I'm waiting with my shopping
cart, an adorable little girl of about 6~ asks me why I'm
cooking Indian food and do I know how to cook Indian food? I
answer that I love it and, as to do I know how, there's a
lifetime of learning there~I give her a short "yes" and she
gives me an encouraging smile. Let's get into that aloo now.