30 — Wednesday. Apri 7. 1999 — North Shore News CHEF Pokomandy offers a taste of india this week with the assistance of suc- cessful restaurateurs Susan and Paul Singh, whose current venture, Sagar’s, is ay north shore news lan cuis! zo ty NEWS photo Paul McGrath R taking on the fierce competition of East Vancouver's ethnic restaurants. ees ~~ Fatente' Ss hea Lats sD y SPRING! JAPANESE AZALEAS (15cm pot) SUMMIT me DELPHINIUMS (Sem pot) jj? FOOD SUSAN and Paul Singh are restaurateurs with a unique gastro- nomic background. The tood they present ia their restaurant reflects the culinary traditions of their childhood. Susan is from Calcutta; husband Paul is from the port city of Melaka in Malaysia. He was trained and worked as a butcher at home, and has a solid footing in running a business. Susan and he were the successful owners the Noor Mahal eatery for 14 years, and intro- duced dosas to the local gas- tronomic audience. ‘Their current venture, Sagar’s, is also a hit in the fiercely competitive milieu of East Vancouver's ethnic restaurants. Today there are over 100 Indian-South Asian restaurants in the Lower Mainland. Plenty of business challenges, but there are pos- itive changes too. Virtually all the Indian herbs, spices and sauces are readily available, even fresh betel leaves are flown in from India. And the current clien- tele is more knowledgeable and adventurous than those in the past. “Restaurant guests in Vancouver are willing to try new things and flavours,” Susan says as she serves us a cup of tea. “This makes our job a little easier; we owners have to know our cuisine and do a good job.” The customer cross sec- a chef in your kitchen tion at Sagar’s, according to Paul, is about 50% European. The butfer is the most popu- lar venue, with extra dishes as an accompaniment. Memories of the Malaysian cooking of his mother still brings a smile to his face. As a child his favourite food was fried fish, with rice or lentils. The fish common to the area was called king fish a type of Spanish mackerel. Other fish, cassava reor and vegetables were also plentiful. “The vegetables tasted dif- ferent back home,” Paul comments. “It was because of the red volcanic soil of the region.” The recipes this week are the specialty of Paul and Susan. Try them and savour the special spicy aromatic food of India and South East Asia. It is an adventure. Chicken Curry South Indian Style 3 Ibs. chicken pieces (not previously frozen 1% cups finely chopped onions % cup vegetable oil 1 tsp. ginger paste 1 tsp. garlic paste Apple-Blackberry Crum Regular Price $5.95 each Westlynn Bakery LYNN VALLEY RO. AYNN VALLEY CENTRE 985-1622 2 medium cinnamon sticks 2 whole cardamoms 2 bay leaves 1 tsp. cumin seeds 1 tsp. turmeric salt and pepper to taste Method: Select a large saucepan with tid. Add oil and onion, saute until gold- en. Add the pastes, and the seasonings. Put in the chick- en pi and mix. A little water (£cup) or chicken stock may be added. Cover and simmer very gently. Check if there is enough liq- uid in the pan. Simmer until the picces are fully cooked. Remove the cinnamon, bay leaves, and cardamoms. Present it very hot, with rice and chapati. Serves 4. (Note: you can buy garam masala in Indian food stores. It is a common mixed spice blend used in Indian cooking.) Cauliflower and Potato side dish (gobi-alu) 1 small head of cauliflower cut into pieces 3 medium potatoes peeled, and cut the same size as the cauliflower pieces 3 Tbsp. unsalted butter (or gee) % cup medium chopped onions 1 tsp. ginger paste 1 tsp. garlic paste 1 tsp. cumin seed 1 tsp. turmeric ¥% tsp. garam masala 2 Tbsp. fresh coriander See Wheaties page 34 Plant a Four Season Garden this weekend! rest of the year too. shew you how to plant a garden that has year ‘round interest. When spring arrives each year, with such a spectacular display of Mowers, its easy to forget to plant for the Drop by this weekend & allow our expert staff to This weekend we celebrate the year ‘round garden with some great deals on plants for all four seasons! JUST ARRIVED! FALL! DAHLIAS (1 tuber per p#q) WINTERI WINTER BLOOMING HEATHERS (182 pot} 980-6340 AN ENTIRE CONTAINER OF TRADITIONAL GARDEN FURNITURE! BEN nN yo & GARDE NWORKS” Everything to Make Your Garden Work!