RECIPES:

Mango Lassis

Mulligatawny

Chicken Coconut Korma

Roti

There used to be a time when we could fly for free. As the family of an airline pilot, all we needed was a flight that had a few open seats, and off we could go. We loved going to Boston at least once or twice a year, and enjoyed exploring different cities around the country—Portland, Traverse City, San Francisco. I once took off by myself for a weeklong trip to England and got to fly first class on the way there. They gave me hot towels and three-course meals. And my seat converted into a bed.

Ah. Those were the days.

Now I wish I could use those flight benefits to show my kids the world. First on my list to see are Australia and New Zealand, and then on to Germany or France. I thought Scandinavia might be nice at Christmastime some year, and, of course, we would have to travel to Italy and spend a whole month.

Even though we haven’t seen those places yet, for now, we will dream.

I can’t think of a better book to inspire the inner jet-­setter than Around the World in Eighty Days. That was the starting point of our celebration. We read it together, and then chose a country Phileas Fogg passes through on his journey.

Since my oldest son and I love Indian food, we picked it to feature for our party. We decided on a simple menu, with just a small sampling of a few favorite Indian foods. Then we went online for inspiration. A fellow blogger tweeted some suggestions of where we could find decorations, which we ran out and bought that afternoon. Then we wrapped my daughter in some sari fabric, and we gathered over our meal of mulligatawny, chicken coconut korma, rice, and roti.

music to set the scene:

Synergy, by Shahid Parvez and Kumar Bose

Rehnuma: A Tribute to My Father, by Shahid Parvez

get creative:

Watch a foreign film together such as The Red Balloon (Le Ballon Rouge), Ponyo, or A Town Called Panic (Panique au Village)

For your own World Traveler Party, you can make your celebration as elaborate or as simple as you like. You could highlight India as we did, or you could choose another country your family is interested in. You might even pick a place with ancestral ties. Children’s sections of good libraries are filled with nonfiction on locations that you may not find as easily at the bookstore. Ask your librarian for suggestions on reading material related to the country you’ve chosen. Once you’ve collected your information, celebrate with food and decorations typical of the locale.

Mango Lassis

Kamran Siddiqi, the author of The Sophisticated Gourmet blog (www.sophisticatedgourmet.com), is one of my favorite people. This is his Mango Lassi recipe, which I’ve adapted slightly.

3 cups milk

2 cups plain yogurt

1⁄4 cup agave nectar

2 ripe mangoes, peeled and cut into chunks

Juice and zest of 1 lime

2 cups crushed ice

Blend all the ingredients in a blender until smooth. Pour into fancy glasses and serve.

books to inspire:

Around the World in Eighty Days, by Jules Verne

How I Learned Geography, by Uri Shulevitz

While You Are Sleeping: A Lift-the-Flap Book of Time Around the World, by Durga Bernhard

Mulligatawny

Mulligatawny, which means “pepper water” in Tamil, is not authentic Indian cuisine, but we love it anyway. My son and I agree it’s like eating the best part of a good curry, without the rice or the meat. It’s simply all the flavor in a bowl.

I use canned chicken stock or chicken broth when I make this, but you could also use a good vegetable stock to make it vegan. You can also make this soup ahead and freeze it. Serves 6

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 medium yellow onion, finely diced

Pinch of kosher salt

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon Madras curry powder

1 large tomato, chopped

1⁄2 cup red lentils

1⁄4 cup tomato paste

1 inch fresh ginger, peeled and grated

1 Granny Smith apple, peeled and cut into 1⁄2-inch chunks

2 (14.5-ounce) cans chicken broth, or 4 cups chicken stock

Juice of 1⁄2 lemon

Cilantro, chopped or left in sprigs, for garnish

1. Heat the oil in a large pot set over medium heat. Add onions and salt, and cook until translucent and starting to brown, about 10 minutes.
2. Stir in garlic, spices, and tomato, and sauté until spices are fragrant and tomato is heated through. Add lentils, tomato paste, ginger, and apple chunks, and cook 1 minute more.
3. Stir in chicken broth, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, and let simmer for 30 minutes, or until apple chunks are tender to the point of a knife.
4. Use an immersion blender to puree soup until smooth. If you don’t have an immersion blender, place about 2 cups of soup at a time in a traditional blender, cover with the lid and a kitchen towel, and blend until smooth. Repeat with remaining soup. Return to the pot. Add water if necessary to achieve desired consistency. Stir in lemon juice, and simmer on low until ready to serve. Garnish with cilantro.

variations on a theme:

Can’t decide on just one country? Have each child pick a country he or she is interested in, look it up at the library or in an online encyclopedia, and find out basic information about each place. Then for the party, make a sampling of foods from each, such as souvlaki from Greece, miso soup from Japan, and gelato from Italy. You’ll all learn, and laugh, a lot.

Chicken Coconut Korma

I pieced this recipe together from multiple versions I found on the Internet, along with the suggestions of Kamran Siddiqi and his Grandmum. Once I took the first bite, I felt like singing for joy.

I learned that the secret to this recipe is the onion puree, which, when cooked right, lends a sweetness to the dish without adding fruit or sugar. It’s a tear-jerking job, though, so if anyone in the family wears contacts, you might want to put them in charge. They just might have an easier go of it. Serves 4–6

1 pound chicken breast, cut into 1-inch chunks

1 cup plain Greek yogurt

1 inch fresh ginger, peeled and grated

1 medium yellow onion, peeled and chopped into 8 large pieces

Pinch of red pepper flakes

3 tablespoons ghee, or 2 tablespoons butter with 1 tablespoon olive oil

1 teaspoon Madras curry powder

1⁄2 teaspoon kosher salt

4 cloves garlic, grated or pressed through a garlic press

1 cup coconut milk

1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

1⁄8 teaspoon garam masala

Sliced almonds, for garnish

Cilantro, chopped or left in sprigs, for garnish

1. Stir together chicken pieces, yogurt, and grated ginger. Cover and refrigerate for 5–6 hours, or overnight if possible.
2. Place the onion and red pepper flakes in a food processor fitted with the steel blade attachment. Pulse until onions become a smooth puree. (Alternately, puree the onion and red pepper flakes in a blender with 1⁄4 cup water that will cook out later.)
3. Melt ghee in a large skillet set over medium-low heat, and add curry powder. Cook for 2 minutes, or until fragrant. Add onion puree and salt, and sauté, stirring frequently, until onions are tender and starting to brown, about 5–6 minutes. If the onion puree becomes too dry as it cooks, add a tablespoon or two of water.
4. Stir in garlic and chicken (with the marinade), and cook until chicken whitens around the edges. Add coconut milk, and simmer for 10 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through. The sauce should be about the thickness of a watery tomato sauce, but will vary depending on the type of yogurt and coconut milk used. (If it is too thick, add some water a little bit at a time until you achieve the desired consistency. If the sauce is too thin, remove chicken to a plate with a slotted spoon, and simmer the sauce until it is reduced to a thickness to your liking. Return chicken to the sauce, cover, and simmer at a very low heat for 10 minutes more.)
5. Stir in lemon juice and garam masala, and serve with a garnish of almond slices and cilantro.

Roti

Roti is a flatbread with thin layers, the perfect vehicle for eating curry. My roommate taught me how to make it when I was in college, and several more people have instructed me since then, with a different recipe every time. My version is a combination of all of them.

But I will let you in on a little secret: Whenever I am too lazy to make roti, I just pick up some all-natural uncooked flour tortillas from the refrigerator section of the grocery store and follow the instructions on the package. They save me some time, and are almost as tasty. But shhh . . . don’t tell anyone. Makes 10

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling

1⁄2 teaspoon baking powder

1⁄2 teaspoon kosher salt

1 tablespoon vegetable oil, plus more for rubbing

3⁄4 cup warm water

2 tablespoons ghee or melted butter

1. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir in oil and use clean hands to mix until oil is well incorporated into the flour mixture. Add water and stir until it combines evenly. Knead into a cohesive ball and rub with oil. Cover and let rest for 10 minutes.
2. Divide the dough into 10 equal pieces, and roll into balls.
3. Set a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Dip a ball of dough in flour and roll it out into an 8-inch circle. Place in the skillet and cook until bubbled and golden on one side, and then flip and cook until browned on the other side. Brush with ghee or melted butter. Place on an oven-safe plate in a warm oven—200ºF—until ready to serve. Repeat with the remaining balls of dough.

I only buy fresh ginger about once a year. When I find a good batch of it at the grocery store, I buy a few pieces, tie up the bag, and throw it in the door of my freezer. It’s there whenever I need some for a recipe. It grates beautifully when frozen, but if I ever need to defrost a piece, I simply break off what I need and run it under warm water. It’s then ready to go.