You’ve tried it, you like it… but something tells you that making India food at home is too complicated. It may surprise you that the key to cooking hundreds of Indian dishes begins with three basic ingredients you probably already have in your kitchen.
Los Angeles area chef and restaurant owner, Addi DeCosta reveals the base of the most common curry dishes starts with lots of onion, garlic and ginger. DeCosta owns Addi’s Tandoor Restaurant, the top rated Zagat rated Indian restaurant in the LA area. He says that trying Indian food for the first time takes a sense of adventure. “Not all the people are used to spicy food. So when they go to an Indian restaurant they think hot, fire. They think they’re going to have heartburn.” That’s a common misconception diners have about this South Asian cuisine. Another misunderstanding is curry. DeCosta says many Americans think it’s a powder that you buy at the store. “Curry is a type of sauce. There’s no such thing as curry powder in India. The powder is made from scratch, by grinding and blending many different spices.” DeCosta tells me there’s even a Hindi name for people who’ve mastered the spice blending technique, they’re called a Masalch.
The six staple spices that every aspiring Indian chef must have are: cumin powder, coriander powder, turmeric, cinnamon, dried fenugreek and red chili powder. They’re available at most grocery stores but Addi recommends buying them from an Indian store where the quality is better.
I sat down with Addi DeCosta in a cozy corner of his busy restaurant in Redondo Beach, CA to set the record straight. As I gobbled up a plate of Chicken Tikka Masala, Addi shared a few important tips for the novice chef. “To make a good curry we use onions as a base. The more onions the thicker the curry, don’t be afraid to use too much. You take garlic, ginger and blend it together to make a paste. Then what we do is sauté the onions, add the ginger-garlic paste and sauté together until in browns.”
That sounds pretty straight forward but the thought of chopping so many onions brings tears to my eyes. DeCosta has some advice: “If you don’t want your eyes to water while you’re cutting onions, peel them and chill them in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 hours. Your eyes will tear less when you cut chilled onions.”
Now we’re well on our way to making a killer Chicken Curry. Once the onion mixture is soft, add the spices and sauté slightly to a good, light roast. Then add chicken to the spice paste and mix well until all the pieces are covered with the mixture. Next you add water and cook on medium-low heat. Once the sauce begins to boil add salt, pepper and cilantro, (also known as fresh coriander). Cook on low heat for 30 to 40 minutes until the meat is cooked.
So how do you know if you’ve done it right? DeCosta recommends you taste test often. “When you’re first learning to cook Indian food it’s better to start with a little bit of spice, then add more.” Make sure there’s not too much liquid, curry should be a gravy consistency, not watery. DeCosta believes experimentation is the best way to master the art of Indian cooking. “I can give you the recipe but I want you to learn how to do the cooking. Maybe once or twice you won’t succeed but eventually you’ll get it. From there you can make thousands of curries.”
DeCosta even encourages his own patrons to try cooking one of his restaurant’s most popular dishes. I asked him why he offers his Shrimp Vindaloo recipe, when most chefs keep their specialties a secret. He believes “It’s good to share your recipes because when people try them they realize how healthy it is. There’s nothing wrong with sharing because the customers tell their friends they got the recipe from this restaurant, so it’s good advertising.” He’s not worried about losing business to at-home curry connoisseurs. DeCosta enjoys sharing his passion and knowledge about cooking. And his most important advice, don’t be afraid to make mistakes. “The first time won’t be the same as the second time. But try a couple of times and as long as it turns out okay then its like, wow I did it good.”
