I recently took part in a cooking adventure with celebrity Chef Vikram Vij whom I have known for over 25 years as a he took me on a culinary journey around India. We cooked up some dishes at his My Shanti restaurant using the Vij’s for You spices.
The first dish that he taught me to make was the Gol Gappa that originates in Northern India and this was the first dish of the day. He used the Naughty & Tangy Masala spice from the Vij’s for You line in the making of this dish which gave it a great flavour. I have had this dish at Indian restaurants in the past but never realized how much work went into the preparation of the puffs, once that part is done the rest is fairly easy. Once you have made a hole into the top of the puff you are then ready to fill the puff with the potato/veggie mixture; you then make your tamarind water and pour that into the puff and eat it in one bite.
Last year, Chef Vikram Vij launched his line of gourmet products in partnership with Ghalley Holdings Ltd, who are pioneers in sourcing the highest quality, natural certified ingredients and materials. These spices and other products are created for you and the family to have a better-at-home cooking experience.
The next dish Vikram made was the Chicken Korma that originated in the Ragistan area of central India, and in this dish he added some turmeric, salt, mango powder, he then marinated the chicken before grilling it. For the korma gravy he cooked up some Vij’s garlic paste, Garam Masala, Maharaja Masala and other spices in an oiled pan. Here you can see him in action.
Chicken Korma was served with some roti and this was delicious.
The 3rd and last dish he made was Gunpowder Prawns that originates in Southern India. The style they use in this region is with coconut milk, gunpowder and other spices. This is an aromatic dish which not necessarily a spicy dish. He started off cooking white onions to brown them on the stove, he then added Vij’s ginger and garlic paste, and, coriander, turmeric, red chili, cumin, and the Gunpowder masala, some fresh tomato paste and he cooked it together. He added some curry leaves and then finished it off with some coconut milk. Then he added some prawns into the pan and cooked them in the sauce for a very short time. You can see him cooking the prawns in the sauce here.
You can find the Vij’s for You spices in supermarkets across Vancouver as well as across Canada including Save on Foods and more stores.
By: Richard Wolak