Namaste, India!

Tandoori chicken changed my life.

My friends and I got together to try out some recipes from a Goan cookbook.

The result? Discovering the most amazing chicken I've ever tasted!

Marinating chicken overnight with those wonderful Indian spices really gives chicken a great kick. This is what chicken was always supposed to taste like. I can't wait to try other Indian recipes for chicken!

Along with Tandoori chicken we had spiced pulao ("rice"). It was such a great learning experience. I never knew things like onion and cloves (among other spices) could result in harmonious flavor. The flavor was, as my friend described it, "delicate." It was my first time cooking with basmati rice, and I plan on using more of it since it is so fun-looking!



And for dessert: gulaab jamuns. They're like doughnut holes bathed in delicately sweet, drippy syrup. It was wonderful! It had a cake-like flavor, and a soft smooth consistency. It reminded me a lot of the bunuelos my grandma makes--sweet fritters in sugary syrup, common in Spain and Spanish-influenced countries.


This reminiscence to bunuelos got me thinking of how there are a lot of similar foods in all parts of the world. For example, my Polish aunt's stuffed cabbage leaves (don't ask me what they're called) are also made in my grandma's home country where they are called ninos envueltos ("wrapped babies"). I also know they make them in France.

People are often too focused on each other's differences that they don't stop to realize we all have more in common than not.

My friends and I have taken on this International Culinary Journey to learn more about other cultures and their cuisine and traditions.



Indian night was wonderful. I learned that because Goa was a port city, many of the Portuguese traders that had come to India for their spices, had left bits of their culture behind. Goan cuisine has been influenced by Mediterranean cuisine, evident in some plates such as the pulao/arroz recipe that looks a lot like paella. Many Goans have Portuguese last names, and other traces of Portuguese culture. And I'm sure the Portuguese took many things from India with them, but I suppose I'll learn what they are when I discover Portuguese cuisine.

Our fantastic Indian night ended with two more Indian culture staples: henna tattoos and a Bollywood movie.