Love of food puts women on same page for new cookbook with a spicy touch

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The plate of samosas are still hot from the deep fryer, golden brown and crisp, lined up on the plate Noorbanu Nimji has set on the table next to chutneys and wedges of lemon. She and Karen Anderson nibble off one of the corners, curls of steam swirling up, and then they both squeeze in the fresh lemon, letting the juice trickle into the centre of the triangular pastries.

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The two women appear to be foils for the other. Anderson energetic and emphatic, chattily talking and fussing, while Nimji is calm and quiet, occasionally interjecting in the conversation and encouraging us to just eat one more samosa while they’re hot.

When it comes to food, though, they are on the same page.

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That is literally the case as they release their new cookbook, A Spicy Touch — Family Favourites from Noorbanu Nimji’s Kitchen. A hefty, brightly coloured and inviting book, it features recipes Nimji has been cooking over a 60-year span, from the traditional ones she learned from her in-laws as a young married woman living in Kenya to more modern takes on dishes her children and grandchildren enjoy today. The 225 recipes cover curries and grilled foods, desserts and baking and of those 154 are vegetarian while 180 are gluten free.

All are approachable — a key aspect for both women who want people to pick up the book and embrace and enjoy the dishes Nimji has been serving to her family for decades: Indian food influenced by the flavours of East Africa.

People want to cook Indian food, but may not have the skills or feel intimidated, says Anderson, who runs Calgary Food Tours. With base recipes, a glossary and simple instructions, this fourth book in the Spicy Touch series is set to make these dishes accessible. It breaks down techniques, includes play-by-play photos for some recipes and offers tips and tricks good for beginner cooks and beyond.

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“It starts with the spice box and goes through the pantry to a whole feast of Indian food,” says Anderson. “There’s a nice balance (of recipes). It’s good for beginners, but they can grow.”

Anderson herself was a beginner when it came to Indian cooking as she first connected nearly 10 years ago with Nimji who had made a name for herself in the city through the cooking classes she taught. Nimji gained much of her cooking skills from her in-laws after getting married, but she improved through experimentation. She and her family ended up in Calgary in 1974 following Idi Amin’s expulsion of non-Africans from East Africa and it was here she began teaching young women in the Ismaili community how to cook. One of them, as she busily wrote down the recipes, suggested Nimji simply write a book.

She did. The first Spicy Touch came out in 1986. Her second and third followed in 1992 and 2007. Between the three, Nimji has sold more than 250,000 copies.

Her books evolved as the culture of cooking shifted. In the ’70s, people would learn skills and recipes by watching their parents prepare food. Now, generations later, many of those skills have been lost as that mentorship has faded from the kitchen. Nimji has seen first hand that the younger generation of Ismailis don’t know about the spices that flavour the dishes of their heritage, nor do they cook much. This book is meant to reconnect them, along with anyone else interested, with this type of cooking. The dishes reflect her Gujarat heritage and the life she lived in Kenya, as well as her time in Canada.

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Anderson took a cooking lesson from Nimji back in 1996, starting a relationship built around a love of food that led to Anderson offering Indian Cooking food tours in the city and cooking lessons that taught eager students how to create a spice box that forms the basis of many of Nimji’s dishes, along with chutneys and how to wrap her signature samosas. In 2006, Nimji hired Anderson to recipe test and write the book now being released.

Work began that winter, as they tested their way through 100 recipes. The book evolved slowly, bolstered by Anderson’s trips to India — where she leads food-focused tours of the country — but took on new urgency following the massive floods in 2013, when water from the Elbow River filled Nimji’s basement, destroying all the copies of her books that had been stored there.

While the two women did much of the work, A Spicy Touch was very much a family affair for Nimji. Her family influenced recipes — a whole chapter is dedicated to grilling as a result — and one of her granddaughters proofread the book, ensuring when she didn’t understand something Nimji and Anderson would go back and simplify instructions or explain techniques. Family members helped cook dishes for the photographs shot by Pauli-Ann Carriere.

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Through all this time, Anderson’s own skills with Indian cooking improved.

“When I was learning to cook her food, it wasn’t until I was in the kitchen I understood,” says Anderson.

 And, while not as good as having the chance to learn at Nimji’s side, the book is a good substitute.

“Nimji has been making this food for 60 years; it’s a sure thing,” she says. “You should be able to pick this up and cook them all, no matter what your skill level.”

A Spicy Touch — Family Favourites from Noorbanu Nimji’s Kitchen will be officially launched on Dec. 7 at Cookbook Co. Cooks. The $42 ticket price includes a copy of the book. There will also be signings at Knifewear on Dec. 10 from 4 to 7 p.m. and Inspirati Fine Linens on Dec. 12 from 1 to 4 p.m.

Books will be sold at numerous stores around the city, including Savour, Knifewear, Cookbook Co. Cooks, Crave, Inspirati, Shelf Life Books and Owl’s Nest Books.

Kuku Paka

Chicken, Potatoes and Eggs in Coconut Sauce

This is a most beloved recipe. It’s a great example of the fusion of flavours that resulted when the Ismaili people of the Gujarat in India immigrated to East Africa in the 1920s. They brought their knowledge of spices and adapted their use to the new ingredients they found. The combination of those spices with coconut, chicken, eggs and potatoes makes this one of the Nimji family’s all time favourites. We hope it will be one of yours as well.

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• 4 eggs
• 4 potatoes
• 2 tbsp (30 mL) coconut oil
• 1/2 cup (125 mL) finely chopped onion (1 small onion)
• 2 1/4 lbs (1.125 kg) bone-in chicken pieces, skinned
• 1 cup (250 mL) chopped tomato (1 medium)
• 1/2 tsp (2 mL) Garlic Paste
• 1/2 tsp (2 mL) Ginger Paste
• 1/2 tsp (2 mL) Green Chilli Paste, or to taste
• 1/2 tsp (2 mL) Indian chili powder, or to taste
• 1 tsp (5 mL) salt
• 1/2 tsp (2 mL) ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp (2 mL) ground coriander
• 1/8 tsp (0.5 mL) turmeric
• 1 (14 ounce/398 mL) can coconut cream
• 1 (14 ounce/398 mL) can coconut milk
• water as necessary
• 1/2 cup (125 mL) whipping cream (you can use more coconut cream if you want the dish to be dairy-free)
• 1 tbsp (15 mL) finely cut coriander leaves
• 2-3 tablespoons (30 to 45 mL) lemon juice

Bring water to boil in a small saucepan, add the eggs, cook for 8 minutes (for hard-boiled eggs), drain the water and replace with cold water. Once the eggs have cooled enough, peel them; slice them in half lengthwise and set aside.

Peel and boil 4 medium sized potatoes in another pot on medium-high heat until firm but cooked — about 10 to 15 minutes, drain and set aside. (You can prep the egg and potato a day ahead and keep them in the fridge.)

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Heat the oil in a large deep sided skillet, add the onion, cook and stir on medium heat until soft and translucent.

Stir in the chicken, tomatoes, garlic, ginger and chili pastes, the chili powder, salt, cumin, coriander and turmeric and cook on medium heat until the chicken is almost done — it will be tender when pricked and have pink juices flowing from it. (Noorbanu speeds this process up by broiling the chicken pieces on a baking tray until lightly brown and then adding them to the onions with the spices.

Add the coconut cream and milk and enough water so that the gravy does not quite cover the chicken pieces. Cook until the chicken is done or the juices run clear when pierced.

Add the whipping cream (if using), eggs, potatoes, coriander leaves and lemon juice and cook until heated through — 2 to 3 minutes.

Serves 6.

grichards@calgaryherald.com

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