Celebrating the Holidays With Rani’s Homemade East Indian Food
Rich, fragrant, sumptuous and sophisticated! East Indian cuisine is the ultimate winter comfort food, pleasing all the senses and keeping you warm, as would a gentle fire in the fireplace. A perfect food on a cold winter day or Christmas eve.
Many in Bragg Creek have already discovered Rani Mandhar’s authentic, homemade Punjabi East Indian food. She makes each dish, even her samosas dough, from scratch, in small batches, as she would for her family. It can be said that her well- sourced spices are the soul of her recipes, exuding aromatics that fill any cuisine with anticipation of what is for supper.
Rani and her husband, Rav, serendipitously discovered Bragg Creek after a long and tiring road trip. Travelling on holiday from British Columbia, they took a wrong turn and ended up in Wintergreen, where they found “home.” That was in 2006. Rani’s culinary journey however began long before that.
Her passion for food started as a child in India. Her parents, who lived in England, sent their seven-year-old daughter to live with her uncle and aunt in Northern India to learn about her culture. For seven years, and until she turned fourteen, Rani discovered the local cuisine of her village. Like all the other children, she would roam the streets learning from mothers cooking outside and who, it seems, were feeding every passing kid. Back home her mother taught Rani many more cooking technics convinced her daughter’s skills and talents would serve her well for the rest of her life. She was right.
In 2016, settled in Bragg Creek, Rani felt it was time to share her passion with the local community. She did this by taking part in the first Taste of Bragg Creek. Set up in the Creeker Liquor store, she shared samples of her curry with all who walked in, noting the tasters’ reactions and ideas. Shortly after Rani’s Rasoi was born.
Today Rani offers a full menu of homemade dishes influenced by her home village’s – somewhat heavier and more intense in flavours. She caters and sells frozen food directly to customers or through one of the few selected local businesses (Bragg Creek Food, The Heart’s Cafe, Mabels and Marie’s bakery and Black Diamond, Country Food Mart). She also has a quarterly event – Curringo! – an “All- You-Can-Eat” buffet ($29.99/person) at the Powderhorn Saloon. Finally, Rani also sells at the occasional craft sale.
She was first invited to sell at the 2018’s Kananaskis Redwood Meadow Christmas Craft event. Rani was not convinced it would work. After all, what does East Indian food have in common with Christmas handicraft? She quickly found her answer, selling out on the first day of the event. In 2019, even though she doubled her quantities, she sold out again before the end of the event.
Rani’s commitment to home-quality food means that she carefully plans the growth of her business, deliberately keeping it small and choosing quality over quantity. To learn more about Rani’s Rasoi, and to order food, visit www.ranisrasoi.ca
Pairing East Indian Cuisine
Pairing rich, often creamy, intense, and complex food, with either sweet, mild or hot spices is tricky. The diversity of flavours and textures means one can quickly go down wine pairing rabbit holes. Still, here’s a couple tips that will give you a start.
The wine must stand up to the intense flavours and heat of the dish. This is best done with aromatic, off-dry (meaning with a hint of sweetness) white wines that are lower in alcohol (i.e. 7 to 12% abv). Alsatian or German Kabinett wines made with Gewurztraminer or Riesling grapes work well. Austrian Gruner Veltliner is also an exciting choice, as is off-dry unoaked Viognier from warmer climates such as in Australia or California. Limit the use of red wine to those that are light to medium body and are fruit-forward such as it may be with Zinfandel, Pinot Noir, Gamay or Garnacha. But, the Goldilocks of wine pairing is a fresh, zesty, fruity Prosecco or an IPA (Indian Pale Ale beer); both are hard to beat. However, confronted with an especially spicy hot dish, I will inevitably beeline for that tall glass of ice water.
Happy Holidays!
Renée Delorme
Drink less, drink better
Renée Delorme, Sommelier
www.tastingpleasures.ca
403.200.9961
mail@tastingpleasures.ca
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