Published: November 18, 2009 10:33 pm      

India native offers cooking demonstration

By RORYE O’CONNOR

rorye.oconnor@register-news.com

MT. VERNON — Priya Nair, a Mt. Vernon resident for over a dozen years, knows the importance of cuisine when it comes to a person’s culture.

Nair, who originally hails from the southern state of Kerala in India, gave a demonstration of Indian cooking at Dish on the Square as part of the Celebrate India day at Cedarhurst Center for the Arts Saturday morning.

Nair showed a crowd of about 10 people how to prepare chana masala, or chickpeas curry, a dish that has chickpeas or garbanzo beans, tomatoes, garlic, ginger and onions.

She gave the crowd, some of whom were taking close notes, tips on how to prepare the chickpeas.

“You have to simmer canned garbanzo beans for 45 minutes, or if they’re not canned, you have to soak them overnight,” she said. “Otherwise they’ll never soak up the flavors.”

Nair explained that traditional Indian cuisine is eaten with the hands, using a thin bread called chipati for scooping up rice and other dishes.

“It’s very similar to tortillas, but it tastes very different,” she said.

People in the crowd asked questions about how food at Indian restaurants differed from food people actually eat daily in India. Nair said she felt many of the dishes at Indian restaurants were heavy on butter, and she said people don’t normally eat naan, a thick bread offered at Indian restaurants, during every meal.

She said she didn’t know why restaurants served papads, a cracker made from beans, as an appetizer.

“Back home, we eat those with rice,” she said.

Nair had made basmati rice and a cold dish called riata with yogurt as well, but she made them in advance of her demonstration because she wasn’t sure how much time she’d have, she said.

Attendees got to sample the chana masala, chipatis, rice and riata.

The homemaker said she makes Indian food every day at home for her two children, Shreya, 10, and Trisha, 9, and her husband, Dr. Sudeep Nair.

“It’s very integral to a person’s culture,” Nair said. “Every state has a different cuisine.”

Nair uses family recipes to prepare traditional Indian meals. Buying ingredients for traditional Indian dishes requires a trip to St. Louis, she said.

“Last time I went to India, Mom had written a whole book of recipes, so I have that to pass down,” Nair said.

Nair said the chana masala is one of her favorite dishes to make at home, as well as dosa, a kind of pancake, and sambar, a sauce that goes with the dosa.

“I like to make all kinds of puddings as far as sweet dishes go,” she said.

Nair and her family make a trip back to India once a year, or some of their family comes to visit here, she said.

“We talk every week,” she said. “With Skype, we could talk every day if we wanted, but usually we talk once a week.”