Sample of A Recipe Based Story

Celebrating Diwali in Queens

By 

IT Blog

 on October 16, 2009 12:30 PM | Comments (5)

Ramin Ganeshram is the author of Sweet Hands: Island Cooking from Trinidad & Tobago(Hippocrene Books, 2006; 2nd edition Spring 2010) and Lights, Camera, Curry!  (Scholastic 2011) a young adult culinary novel, set in the Indo-Caribbean community of Richmond Hill, Queens.

Throughout my childhood in the 1970s and '80s, culinary life with my Indo-Caribbean father was one of substitutions and sometimes-haves. The foods particular to his Trinidad upbringing were hard to procure, even in New York City where we lived and where the relatively limited number of West Indians lived jumbled together in small areas of Brooklyn or the Bronx, island upon island, their differences forgotten through their common bond of longing for home.

In our house, aloo pie, a spicy potato turnover, was approximated with a knish slathered with pepper sauce. Blackstrap molasses replaced the burn sugar syrup that blackened our Christmas fruitcakes. Common string beans became the core ingredient in aloo talkari, a potato curry that normally featured bodi, the long Indian string bean.

For my father Krisnaram, never was his longing so great as during the days and weeks approaching the Hindu festival of Diwali in the fall. A celebration of the triumph of good over evil represented by light outshining the darkness, Diwali is marked in India, and in heavily Indian communities such as Trinidad, with elaborate light displays of small clay lamps, burning ghee or coconut oil. Intricate sculptures made from shaped green bamboo sticks, host these diyas, and, in modern times, electric string lights complement the show.

For us, surrounded by few Indians from the subcontinent or Trinidad, my father's favorite holiday passed yearly without ceremony. Sometimes, he would make jalebi--the sweetened fritter so popular during the holiday--or some kind of vegetarian curry, with powder he brought from his last trip home. But they were a far cry from the elaborate Indian sweets called mithai or curriedchataigne (jackfruit) or pomme cythere, served on his island where Diwali is a national holiday. This year, 15 years after my father's death, I celebrated Diwali in the Indo-Caribbean section of Richmond Hill, Queens. Often called "Little Guyana" or "Little Trinidad," roti shops and Indian stores selling saris, jewelry, sweets and every "home" ingredient my father remembered, abound.

One week before Diwali (this year October 17) the annual parade, complete with cars and trucks draped in Christmas lights, kept shining by portable generators, Hindu holy men chanting Hare Rama, Hare Krishna and drummers beating the tassa, a uniquely Indo-Caribbean clay drum, marched 10 city blocks along Liberty Avenue, the area's main drag. The route winds around to 103rd Street and back again, in a long rectangle, led by New York Police Department cars, a contingent of Indo-Caribbean police officers walking with a banner behind.

By the time the actual holiday draws closer, later this week, neighborhood homes and merchants will put on their own light displays and local stores and restaurants will be rich with Diwali fare.

As the parade got going, at first I walked on the pavement, alongside the marchers, holding my four-year-old daughter Sophia's hand, but as we rounded the corner, the parade seemed to loosen and relax and passersby joined the ranks. We leapt into the fray, the tassa drumbeat resounding in our chests, my child, twirling to the contagious rhythm.

Around us people held lit diyas: simple clay ones and elaborately painted ones, and they use one another's lit lamps to light new ones. Watching my child, I wanted to weep with sorrow for my father who, for all of his years here, lived a life apart. Arriving in 1954, he was before his time, paving the way so a community of his fellows could later thrive.  But, as I looked down at my daughter, I instead chose to cry out with joy that we are here, in a different island, finally celebrating the rites of home.

You can visit Richmond Hills, Queens for Diwali on Oct 17th. Stores and homes are usually well decorated and services held at local mandirs. Take the A subway train to Liberty Avenue.

Coming Up: Ramin shares traditional Diwali recipes.

Photos: JP Vellotti

A Taste of Diwali

By 

IT Blog

 on October 16, 2009 5:40 PM | Comments (0)

The Indian Festival of Lights, or Diwali, is tomorrow, and to celebrate, we got some cooking tips from expert Ramin Ganeshram, the author of Sweet Hands: Island Cooking from Trinidad & Tobago (Hippocrene Books, 2006; 2nd edition Spring 2010). After the jump, she shares her recipe for aloo talkari, a potato curry, and a popular flavor of the annual Diwali celebrations. Click below for the complete recipe, and learn more about Ramin by visiting her website.

Aloo Talkari 
4 servings
           
This curried dish was a specialty of my aunts and is a particular favorite of my husband. It is up to you whether to peel the potatoes. I generally don't, since the skins add flavor.

3 tablespoons canola oil or ghee
4 medium-size Yukon Gold potatoes, cut into 1-inch chunks
1 pound green beans, trimmed and cut into 1-inch lengths
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 heaping tablespoon curry powder
2 cups chicken broth, vegetable broth, or water
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons coarsely chopped cilantro

1. Heat the oil in a deep, heavy-bottomed pan. Add the potatoes and cook for 1 to 2 minutes; stir, browning on all sides.
2. Stir in the green beans and cook for 4 to 5 minutes, or until the beans begin to brown and blister. Add the onions and cook for 1 to 2 minutes more. Add the garlic and stir well. Cook for 30 seconds.
3. Mix in the curry powder and stir to coat the vegetables. Cook for about 30 seconds, or until the curry just begins to release its aromas. Add the broth and salt, partly cover and simmer for 20 minutes.
4. Remove the lid and simmer for 15 minutes more, or until the liquid is reduced by half. Garnish with the cilantro and serve with roti.

Variation: Omit the string beans if you want Curried Aloo.

Chef's Tip: Many East Indian-based dishes call for ghee as the preferred oil. Ghee is toasted clarified butter, which can be purchased in Eastern markets but can also be easily made at home. Melt 1 stick of unsalted butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Once the butter melts, reduce the heat to low and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the sediment settles to the bottom of the pan and the oil is a golden brown color. Strain through a fine mesh sieve and store in a sealed container. Ghee may be stored either refrigerated or in a dry cupboard for up to 2 weeks.




Photo: JP Vellotti