A “Flavors First” Chicken Curry

Turning Up the Heat

My sister used to do an imitation of my mother cooking. She would raise her hand in front of her like she was holding a small jar above a pot on a stove. “This is hot pepper,” she would say. Next she would tilt her pretend jar down for a bare fraction of a second like she was adding less than a pinch of seasoning to a simmering pot below, then jump back and say: “Oooooo that’s spicy!”

That’s the food I grew up on. Not a lot of heat to it. Of course, even if my mom had regularly concocted meals that incorporated the headiest blend of herbs and spices, you can bet I wouldn’t have eaten any of it.

Whole cuisines were always off limits to me. I was way into my twenties before I dared to try Indian food. I warily joined friends at an Indian restaurant on East 6th Street—Curry Row—in Manhattan. I ordered the Chicken Tikka Masala (not exactly a challenging flavor profile, I know). I loved it, and it opened me up to whole new realms of food.

Indian food led to Tex-Mex; led to Thai; led to eventually trying ramen. (Who knew it would be so good?) When I began paging through “Flavors First: An Indian Chef’s Culinary Journey” by Vikas Khanna, (published by Lake Isle Press), I welcomed the chance to be led somewhere new once more.