Spicing It Up

Last night, my neighbor Lori came over for dinner. I loved the meal Sam made for me so much, I decided to repeat it . . . with one addition, chicken. I thumbed through a couple of cookbooks and found the perfect recipe--South Indian Pepper Chicken--easy, beautiful, and delicious.

During the afternoon, I went to Whole Foods to buy small bags of the spices I would need, some spinach, and a chile (very cool that one can buy any amount of spice at Whole Foods). In between bouts reading a student's thesis, I prepared lentils, raita, and finally saag and chicken.

I love the smell of cardamom and enjoyed the process of putting it in my mortal and pestle in order to get at the seeds inside. I thought about a scene in Audre Lorde's Zami: A New Spelling of My Name which inspired me to buy a mortal and pestle because of its sensuality. And, in fact, there is something very appealing about kneading the pod with the pestle. The crunch of the pods, the aroma of cardamom wafting up, and the emergence of the small seeds.

It was a low stress cooking experience with a great payoff. My lentils tasted exactly like Sam's, but my raita was more spicy and the saag more fragrant with garam masala (Sam had to make do with her own combination of spices since I didn't have garam masala in my pantry).

The chicken dish was delicious and so easy to make. I loved cooking the spices and combining it with the small pieces of chicken. I also loved the yellow color and the peppery taste. By the way, since I was making raita I didn't add yogurt to my chicken. Next time, I definitely will. I wonder if this would work using tofu instead of chicken? Maybe without the yogurt.

Lori was impressed and we had a nice evening getting caught up. I need to cook more often.

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South Indian Pepper Chicken (from Fresh Indian by Sunil Vijayakar)

1 T. sunflower oil (I used canola)
1 bay leaf
4 cloves
1/2 t. crushed cardamom seeds
2 t. crushed black peppercorns
1 t. finely grated fresh ginger root
2 t. finely grated garlic
1 1/4 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces
1/2 c. water or chicken stock
1/2 t. turmeric
1 1/2 c. low-fat plain yogurt
salt

Heat the oil in a large nonstick frying pan and when hot add the bay leaf, cloves, crushed cardamom seeds, and peppercorns. Stif-fry for 30 seconds, then add the ginger, garlic, and the chicken. Stir fry over a medium heat for 4-5 minutes before adding the water or stock and the turmeric. Season. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce the heat, and simmer gently for 10-12 minutes or until the chicken is tender and cooked through. Remove from heat, drizzle with the yogurt so that it is partially stirred in and serve.