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Spice expertise from Asia

Ethnic chef in the local market

Waqar Ahmed from Pakistan and Hazer Chowdhury from Bangladesh are cooking their home countries’ traditional dishes that go well with one another. In the stove spicy curry chicken with rice and a dish with chickpeas called channay are getting ready.

”These recipes require quite a few ingredients but making them are just as easy as a walk in the park”, grins Ahmed.

”Ethnic shops are the best with all of their spices but if you cannot find all of the ingredients in the shop you can always improvise.”

Chowdhury has lived in Finland for six months and Ahmed for a year. They both study Finnish at the adult institute. Ahmed’s mother tongue is Urdu and he also speaks English, Arabic and French.

Chowdhury’s own language is Bangla and she also speaks Urdu and Engligh. Hearing them talk to each other sounds like a fun mix of different languages.

”My husband is addicted to good food and I love to cook. As they say, a way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. This chicken recipe I have learned from my mother”, smiles Chowdhury.Wa

The horseradish paste is traditionally done from scratch by mashing the horseradish and garlic and mixing them together.

”I barely cooked before I moved to Finland but now I want to improve all the time. It has been two years since I cooked spicy food because my wife is allergic to many spices. In Pakistan we cook for the whole big extended family and eat together”, tells Ahmed.

”Channay is a fairly international dish as it’s eaten in India, Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh. People in those countries are mostly farmers who need nutritious food for their hard work.”

The most peculiar phase in making channay is preparing the onions which is served as a side dish. Onions are cut into thin slices and they are sprinkled with a visible coat of salt. They are then left to sit for about an hour spreaded on a plate.

Ahmed shows how the onions are then wrapped inside a kitchen towel and squeezed so that the liquid comes out.

”This way the onions become soft and mild in taste and you can eat them raw. Many people think onions are bitter but this trick makes them a tasty side dish”, Ahmed tells.

According to Ahmed there is one fine quality in Pakistan. People are happy regardless whether they are rich or poor. They don’t fall into dispair or get depressed easily.

Chowdhury tells that she misses the warmth of Bangladesh becuase even in the winter time the temperature is over 15C. But she doesn’t miss the monsoon season.

Recipes

Spicy curry chicken with rice1 kg chicken breast2 tsp ginger paste2 tbsp garlic2 tbsp coriander2 tbsp jeera (seeds)1 tsp red haldi chilis0,5 tsp black pepperlittle cinnamon and laong2-4 garam masala leaves7-8 Thai lemon leaves8-10 green chilis2,5 dl spring onion4 tomatoes2 tsp saltclarified buttersunflower oilbasmati rice

Fry the chicken before slicing it. Warm the pan a little and but the oil and butter to it to heat up. Fry the onions. Put in all of the other ingredients except sliced chicken, green chilis, Thai lemon leaves, tomatoes and salt. Mix half a cup of water and mix. After 5 min. add salt and chicken. Fry for another 5 min. Cover with a lid and let it boil for 15 min. in medium temperature.

Add then tomatoes green chili and lemon leaves. Let it boil for another 10 min. Boil the rice and serve it with the chicken.

Channay with rice2 jars of chickpeas2 medium onions4 tbsp oil2,5 dl water2 tsp salt2 tsp haldi powder2 tsp red chili powder2 tsp jeera2 tsp fresh coriander2 tbsp buttercouple of kalvanji seeds

Heat the oil in the pan and fry the onions in the pan. Add 2,5 dl water and let it boil. Add salt and red chili and haldi powder. Stir for 2 min. Add the chickpeas and mix until the oil separates. Add a little water and let it boil for 4- 5 min. Crush the coriander and fry it in a separate pan with butter. Add jeera and kalvanji seeds to the coriander. Fry for a moment and add on top of the previous food mix. Prepare the onion side dish. Serve with rice.

[Waqar Ahmed from Pakistan and Hazer Chowdhury from Bangladesh cooked together traditional foods that go well together.] *

Vantaan Sanomat 14.4.2010