Chicken South Indian Style from Bal Arneson for Our Canadian Chef Series

Chicken South Indian Style

If you have been following More Than Burnt Toast you will know that a while ago I started a feature to highlight Canadian Chefs. Through your TV networks, or perhaps on other blogs, or even just right here on More Than Burnt Toast you may have heard of some of our Canadian chefs. For those of you who haven't, I hope you will find it interesting to see what our chefs are up to, a little about their history and how they came to love what they do.

There will be some chefs you have heard of and adore and some lesser known who are "up and coming". Some are not even chefs at all, but just Canadians who are passionate about what they do!!For the past year I have been featuring one of our Canadian chefs or personalities periodically and will continue to do so. As the seventeenth installment in my Canadian Chef Series I introduce you to:

Bal Arneson

Forget the mystery of the Taj Mahal, the residence of the Dali Lama or the sacred waters of the Ganges River the true mystery for me is producing outstanding East Indian cooking and the intricate layering of spices. Most Indian dishes are easily constructed but complexly layered. The assortment of mouthwatering recipes of Indian food is simply awe inspiring and for a "newbie" like me rather daunting. It is often said that `variety is the spice of life, and never has a  proverb held so true than it does to describe Indian cuisine.

Nowadays I can at least spell asafetida and make paneer but finding most of the exotic ingredients used in Indian cooking is a fruitless safari here in K-town. Come to the rescue Lisa of Lisa's Kitchen who lives and blogs in Southern Ontario with a focus on East Indian cuisine. Lisa sent me a care package of some of her favourite spices and combinations to get me started. This gives me the confidence to skim, saute and sneeze my way through layers of spices, vegetables and meats and demystify East Indian cooking for life. I am looking forward to the day I no longer need to stop for East Indian takeout at one of our local hangouts and can move the cooking and recipe developing into my own kitchen. Thank you Lisa for getting me started and developing a life long passion for another cuisine.

To start me on my journey beyond Butter Chicken and Mughlai Chicken I chose a recipe from Bal Arneson the subject of our Canadian Chef Series today. According to her website, "she is an author, educator and passionate advocate for simple and healthy, Indian inspired cooking. Since September of 2009 Bal has been hosting a weekly cooking segment broadcast on Global Television here in British Columbia. In July of 2010 her series Spice Goddess was launched on the Cooking Channel in the United States and now on the Food Network in Canada.

Spice Goddess with Bal Arneson affirms the power of using fresh, wholesome ingredients to make delicious, simple, everyday Indian meals. In each episode, Bal delves into the world of herbs and spices and shows how just a pinch of this and little bit of that can add pizazz to any dish." For a budding East Indian cook like me she demystifies Indian cooking and interprets it into terms we can understand.

At the heart of her cooking are fresh ingredients and the vibrant flavours of herbs and spices. Having grown up in a traditional village in Punjab, India, Bal learned to cook over the coals of a small clay pit with the instruction of her elders. When she immigrated to Canada more than 15 years ago she earned a master’s in education, worked for the Vancouver Police Department, taught cooking classes and published a best-selling cookbook as well as teach autistic teenagers part time. Bal sells a line of organic spices, donating a portion of the proceeds to her village to fund educational programs for women and children.

Her first cookbook Everyday Indian:100 Fast, Fresh and Healthy Recipes is a best seller which highlights classic and contemporary Indian cuisine with a healthy focus.  The healthy recipes in Everyday Indian prove that Indian cooking doesn't have to be complicated. Bal Arneson provides recipes that use everyday spices and common techniques to create simple, mouthwatering dishes that even the novice cook can whip up at home.

Bal lives in Vancouver with her husband and two children and is a food and wine correspondent for a national newspaper in Canada (The National Post). She has launched an organic spice line with proceeds supporting educational programs for women and children in India.

This recipe is the perfect way to ease yourself in to East Indian cooking and open up the gateway, or in my case the flood gates. With a good cookbook and some guidance you can demystify East Indian cooking as well. Bal Arneson's cookbook is a great beginning or check out Lisa's Kitchen and ask her what she would recommend.

**Chicken South Indian Style**

from Bal Arneson

• 2 tablespoons grapeseed oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh garlic
• 1/4 cup dried curry leaves*
• 1 tablespoon brown mustard seeds
• 1 tablespoon sambar powder*
• 1 teaspoon asafoetida*
• 1 teaspoon red chile powder
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• 2 pounds chicken breasts, boneless and skinless, cubed
• 1 cup chopped tomatoes
• 1 cup coconut milk
• 1/4 cup water  
• *Can be found at specialty Asian and Indian markets.  

Serving suggestion: Serve with fragrant Jasmine rice.

1. Place the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat and then add the onion, ginger, and garlic. Cook for 4 minutes, until onions are soft and golden. Add the curry leaves, mustard seeds, sambar powder, asafoetida, red chile powder, and turmeric to the pan and cook for 2 minutes.

2. Add the chicken and cook for 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the tomatoes, coconut milk, and water and cook until chicken is done, about 8 minutes.

3. Serve the chicken with Jasmine rice.

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