Food, glorious food

There are a number of things that I firmly believe to bring people together. Music is a big one, as I’ve said before. Travel, storytelling, problem solving, dance. And then there’s one which I think everyone can agree on…

Food.

In the words of James Beard, it is “our common ground, a universal experience.” He sure had it right. Recently it seems like every social gathering I’ve been a part of has revolved around food, whether it be brunch, dinner, fika, or picnics, and I love it. Not simply because it’s delicious, but because of what comes of preparing, sharing, and enjoying meals together. It’s something that brings out both differences and similarities between cultures. It requires thought and care, but not too much, leaving plenty of room for conversation and laughter. For this reason, it doesn’t just satisfy the taste buds, but also our need for genuine human connection, which can so often be hindered by the screens that fill our lives. A table full of delectable dishes will almost always have the power to wrench our attention from the distractions of technology for an hour or five, and redirect it to the people in our life who matter so much more. It’s a tool I think should be used whenever possible, and which I have especially appreciated over this year.

Saturday evening I had some friends over to celebrate my birthday (hello 19!). One thing that I’ve really missed while in Sweden is Indian food, so I decided to try out some new recipes for the night (see below). They turned out very tasty, if I do say so myself! And the evening itself was lovely. One of my friends gave me a recipe book (Sju sorters kakor) with the idea that everyone pass around the book and mark their favorite recipes in it. I’m so happy she suggested that. It was a ton of fun to flip through the pages later and find all the tips and notes they had written in the margins. I loved seeing everyone’s different preferences, and thought it was really cool how everyone, both the Swedes and foreigners of the group, could find recipes they know and love in a single book.

So, to inspire further bonding over food, here are some of the recipes I’ve recently made and strongly recommend :) 1. Homemade Naan – They loved this one on Saturday. I followed the recipe exactly how its written (the step-by-step pictures are a nice touch), though as a double batch. I didn’t have any cilantro like they recommend, so instead chopped up some garlic and mixed it with the melted butter that you brush on before frying, to add a little more flavor.

2. Tandoori Chicken – Again, followed this one to the T, other than doubling it. Absolutely delicious.

3. Eggplant Bhurtha – For this one, I decided to take advice from one of the comments. They recommended cutting up the eggplant into 1″ pieces, salting it, then letting it sit for 30 min-2 hours (mine sat for about an hour, and I think could’ve used more salt). After that, cook the pieces in some oil on medium heat for about half an hour, stirring often. I don’t know if it turned out better than the original this way, but it was very good!

4. Raita (adapted from epicurious.com) – just mix all these ingredients together, and serve chilled:

• 2 cups Turkish yogurt (Or greek would work, as well. I’m not sure if I’ve ever seen Turkish yogurt back in the US, but it’s quite popular here)
• 1/2 large cucumber, grated
• 5 chopped mint leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• salt to taste

5. Mango Lassi (adapted from snack-girl.com) – mix the following together in a blender. Usually served with a few ice cubes.

• 2 cups frozen mango chunks (we thawed them a bit in the microwave first to be nice to the blender)
• 2 cups vanilla yogurt (if you use plain yogurt, just add some vanilla!)
• 1 tablespoon honey
• cardamom to taste

6. Chokladkakor med Chili och Salt – taken from a magazine article, which my host family has included in their big book of recipes. It’s impossible to stop eating these cookies, so proceed with caution. They are SO. GOOD.

• 100 g cold butter
• 1 dl (1/2 c) granulated sugar
• 1 Tbsp light syrup
• a pinch of salt
• 1/2 tsp tabasco
• 1/2 dl (1/4 c) cacao
• 2 dl (1 3/4 c) flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp sea salt

Gör så här (Do this):

1. Preheat oven to 175°C (350°F).
2. Cut butter into smaller pieces. Mix butter, sugar, syrup, salt, tabasco, cacao, flour, and baking powder with an electric mixer.
3. Roll 20 small balls of dough and lay them on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Flatten them into 1/2 cm (1/4 in) thick cookies.
4. Sprinkle sea salt over cookies and bake for 8 min. Let cool and enjoy!

7. Chocolate Cake with Berry Marscapone Frosting – Made this to share with the family for birthday fika. I used raspberries, but I’m kind of curious to try it with blueberries sometime.

8. Princesstårta – a typisk svensk birthday cake. The green on top is marzipan, and inside are layers of sockerkaka (white cake), whipped cream, and raspberry filling. My host mom made this for my birthday, and it was divine! The recipe here is straight out of Sju sorters kakor and my friend Frida’s recipe recommendation :)

Now go and find some people: family, friends, significant other, or acquaintances you’ve maybe only had a single conversation with; it doesn’t matter! The important part is to umgås  (spend time together), and cooking is a lovely way to do just that. As J.R.R. Tolkein rightly says, “If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world.”

/Emma

On a walk around the neighborhood last Thursday around 9pm – still light out!!!

 

08 May This entry was published on May 8, 2014 at 7:35 pm. It’s filed under Uncategorized and tagged birthday, cookies, cooking, dinner, eggplant, fika, food, indian, mango lassi, raita, recipes, sweden, swedish, tandoori chicken. Bookmark the permalink. Follow any comments here with the RSS feed for this post.