Intrigued by the strong curry smells and rows of chairs lining the IU Asian Culture Center’s front lawn, patrons sat through the afternoon heat at an Indian cuisine cooking session last Friday.
“Namaste,” said Tashika Singh, a Hindi professor in IU’s India Studies Program.
“I love to cook, but I’m not a cook by profession,” Singh said.
Singh, along with a few of her students, volunteered their time to teach IU students Indian culture through food, primarily easy-to-make street food.
This event was the first of a four-part cooking demonstration hosted by the ACC and the College of Arts and Sciences Themester ?program.
ACC Program Associate Sarah Moon said this event was a way to engage IU students with the multiple cultures on campus.
“Tashika will prepare popular and common foods from India that are appealing to a lot of people,” Moon said. “She will also talk about the food and street food culture in India throughout the demo. It’s a neat way to get a hands on experience of other culture.”
Moon said all of the ingredients used to make the dishes were easy to find.
The objective of this food demo was to educate students about Indian culture but to also feel comfortable about making these simple foods on their own.
Sophomore Dazu Shi, an ACC staff member, helped plan the event and gather the ingredients.
“I think it’s great that we are understanding cultures through food and talking,” he said. “As Americans, it’s great to understand different cultures. Here, we understand it through food and street food.”
The demo had a great turnout, at least 50 in attendance, Dazu said.
The demo included two Indian dishes prepared by Singh and her students.
The first dish, chana masala, was a vegan dish made with chickpeas, onion and specialty Indian spices, and the second dish, Aaloo Tikki, Indian hash browns.
The recipe mixes together potatoes, garlic, coriander leaves, cumin, green chilies and folds them into little spheres to later fry.
“We deep fry them using potatoes and garbanzo beans as the filling,” Singh said, describing her Aaloo Tikki dish.
Singh passed around dishes of chutney, a dipping sauce with fresh mint leaves, cilantro, tomato and garlic, for the crowd to taste.
“What are a few basic elements we have to be careful about with Indian cooking?” she asked. “Whenever you have a dish with tomatoes, add them later or add them with red chili powder if the recipe calls for it.”
To Singh, street food is a defining component of American culture.
“It’s a part of going out,” she said. “Nowadays, I try to go to India every two or three years. People have more money and can afford to go out and dine, but that’s not the case with everyone. Street food is easily available. It’s at bus stops or public venues.”
Singh reached her hand over the dish before her. The crowd waited, anxious to see what sat underneath the glass lids and sheets of foil.
“Now we can unveil the dishes we have,” Singh said as the smell of traditional Indian street food drifted its way down 10th Street.
