Happy Thanksfusion

It's no secret that I love food/cooking/baking/mixology. The whole deal. Those who know me well enough, know of my slight [sic] addiction the Food Network, my mounds of cooking mags/books, my love of hosting dinner parties and my desire to learn about the origin, science and cultural impact of food (for those of you who share that interest, or have any curiosity about the chemistry/history of gastronomy, I really recommend picking up Harold McGee's On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen. A food-lover's dream.) If it was up to me, I'd spend all day in the kitchen (ideally, one of those cool, top-of-the-line ones with gas ranges and stainless steel everything), preparing meals for the people I love (luckily for you, I love many). Much to the chagrin of the flames of my teenage feminism, I am a domestic soul at heart.

I get especially excited about trying different ethnic cuisines (are we still allowed to say "ethnic"? Do I care?) Montreal has its pick of worldly restaurants, but my philosophy has always been, if you can make it at home, why not? And, thanks to the Internet, you'll find shit* that you would have never tried before, wowing yourself and everyone else in the process.

All this to say that this year's Thanksgiving was a fun one. Yes, I had the huge Turkey-with-the-works meal that my Mom and Nonna make so well, but Raeanne (my radio and Jean-Talon Market partner) and I decided to fuck with tradition and make Indian on Saturday. We're both obsessed with naan and have the hots for Ramasutra (ok, maybe that's just me, but come on, he's hot), and our recent visits to two of my favourite Indian restos, Mysore and Bombay Choupati, just fueled our fire.

One of the most amazing dishes I've ever had, and continue to enjoy, is Bombay Choupati's Chole Chaat. It's a potato/chick pea/tamarind/yogurt/coriander food thing that is as close to a food orgasm as it can get. I can't really describe it; you'd have to try it for yourself (I've tried it at several different places, but none compare to Bombay's version).

Chole Chaat [from Bombay Choupati]

This dish, for the time being, was off the agenda (I didn't want to mess with it just yet); instead, I decided to attempt tarka dal, my other stomach pleaser (for this, Mysore tops the list) and homemade chapatis. Rae was going to try to recreate a potato-spinach curry plate she had (also at Mysore). After a day of shopping at J-T Market and finding out what the hell asafoetida was, we finished the meal.

The result? Success! Not only did Rae and I discover just how kitchen compatible we were (should we ever decide to bat for the other team, we're getting married), but the food was damn tasty. My tarka dal, while not as layered as Mysore's version, was still yummy. Rae's on-the-fly potato curry dish rocked (it was brought to new heights by an improvised addition of pineapple curry sauce she purchased in Amsterdam). The chapatis were a bit of a FAIL, though Rae and her fiance, Denis, were too nice to say otherwise. For some reason, they didn't puff up...I blame the wok I made them in completely. And myself, for losing the war on flat bread. Still, all and all, our experiment yielded awesome results.

What truly made the night, though, was our catapult back into "holiday" spirit with the pumpkin pie Rae had prepared for dessert. While we were knocked semi-conscious by the mix and thus had to rain-check our Rock Band band practice, the meal kept us laughing all night. Therefore, Curry + Lager + Pumpkin Pie = Best Thanksgiving Ever. Next Thanksgiving, I'm making Yemini.

Homemade Indian FTW