Indian Night

Had an Indian night at Nikki and Charles' place. We spent the afternoon and part of the evening preparing the meal on the left. It was thanks in large part to Nikki and her mom's recipes. We made onion and mushroom pakoras to start. Also had papadums, a chickpea curry, a paneer and green pea dish, and green salad. We ate it all with a fried bread that Nikki also made from scratch. It was tough to pick up tips on how to cook these dishes as Nikki was making them with us because I think Nikki cooks somewhat by feel and she was trying to manage the five of us in the kitchen as well as keep a toddler happy. The way she talks about an Indian recipe is kind of like how I talk about Chinese recipe. Referring a lot to how mom used to make the dish. Not knowing the English word for an ingredient. The key to a good Indian dish is a right balance of spices (which I'm still clueless about). The best part was making the green chutney. The chutney was made with fistfuls of cilantro, green pepper, onion and roasted cumin, as well as salt (I think). Then it was all pureed in a really powerful blender. When we were eating after the dinner, I was thinking everything tasted delicious, and Nikki was frowning at the paneer and green peas. Apparently, the dish was not right. Too watery, the spices not correctly balanced. Our expectations of how a dish will taste plays a big part in whether we enjoy the dish or not. Which had me thinking that in many ways, those who prepare traditional dishes can have it a lot harder than the ones coming up with the creative concoctions. Sometimes I feel like the cooks that cater to traditional foods are seen as staid and cooking by rote. That a cook who can pair unexpected tastes in surprising ways is more valued. But diners have a higher standard with the traditional dishes. You have to really nail baking the perfect croissant in order to impress someone.