Welcome to Step 2 of our series, 5 Easy Steps to Bring World Culture into Your Home Permanently!
If you missed Step 1, you can access it here. In Step 1, you will learn why having a world map in your home is the single most important step in beginning a journey of world exploration for your family. It lists several fun activities to do with your world map and even includes a FREE World Map Pinning Game that you can print out and enjoy with your family.
In this second post of the series, Step 2 – How to Cook One Foreign Recipe Per Month, I hope to inspire you to do just that (cook one foreign recipe per month – with your kids!).
I will share with you how cooking and serving foreign foods to my students and family has impacted all of us in numerous amazing ways.
Let’s get on with it!
When I taught world culture classes, I would begin each class with FOOD. Foreign food from the country we were studying.
If you ask any past student of mine what their favorite part of my classes was, they will hands-down say “THE FOOD!”
Here are some of my favorite recipes I cooked for my students:
FLAN (MEXICO CLASS)
BRIGADEIROS (BRAZIL CLASS)
IRISH TEA CAKE (IRELAND CLASS)
After many classes and many trials and errors, I found the secret technique to really engaging my students in cooking:
I laid out all the ingredients ahead of time – pre-measured and ready to go.
This worked particularly well for young students or students with little patience for measuring and waiting.
It made for a much smoother experience in taking turns to add the ingredients. We would simply go around the circle.
If any of the ingredients were foreign, we would talk about them, smelling or tasting them first, then add them to the recipe.
I would always put uncommon ingredients out for display so that when they tasted the recipe, they had something to identify with.
Guatemala class provided ample opportunities to sample foreign spices and flavors! When they sipped this Mayan Hot Chocolate, they understood immediately why their mouths quickly began to burn! : )
My students LOVED cooking and eating foreign recipes simply because I exposed them to it.
NOW THE GOOD NEWS IS THAT YOU DON’T HAVE TO BE A WORLD CULTURE TEACHER TO PROVIDE THIS SAME EXPERIENCE FOR YOUR FAMILY AT HOME!
All you have to do is cook one foreign recipe per month (sign up for our newsletter to receive monthly recipes and more!) and you are on the road to reaping all of the benefits I have mentioned above.
Cooking one foreign recipe per month is attainable for every family!
Cooking one foreign recipe per WEEK (for most) is not!
Plan ahead. Schedule your one foreign recipe per month on the calendar and COMMIT! Add the ingredients to your weekly shopping list so that when it comes time to cook, you and your kids have everything you need.
Follow the steps I provide to make the whole experience run smoothly and naturally.
This is not difficult – you and your kids can do it!
So, let’s get started with a foreign recipe that you and your kids can enjoy making together:
TANDOORI CHICKEN
Tandoori Chicken is a popular dish from India that is served all around the world. It is marinated in yogurt and Indian spices and traditionally cooked in a tandoor, a clay oven that is cylindrical in shape, so be sure to dust off your tandoor (ha!). In this recipe, we are going to bake our Tandoori Chicken instead.
Normally, Tandoori Chicken is bright red in color which comes from red chili powder mixed with turmeric or even food dye. I am not a fan of food dye so I have omitted it from the recipe.
The basic ingredients are as seen here: lemon juice, ginger, salt, chili powder, garam masala, cilantro, onions, and garlic. Luckily, that cute little elephant does not go in the recipe. : )
SIDE NOTE ABOUT GARAM MASALA…
Garam masala is a blend of ground spices found in many common foods in India. If you ever plan on cooking Indian food again, you will most likely need Garam Masala.
You can find Garam Masala in just about any grocery store.
OCW TIP: Do not add Garam Masala to your recipe without having everyone in your family smell it first! That rich aroma you smell…that is India!
Okay, let’s get to the recipe which you can print for your reference here. Many people like a visual guide as well, so I have provided that below.
* Please keep in mind that I am a SUPER-GEEK when it comes to setting up and taking photos of my recipes! I find it so entertaining but it is by NO means the way my cooking looks at home! : )
TANDOORI CHICKEN:
– Cut 2 pounds of boneless, skinless chicken breasts into 1-2 inch pieces. Put chicken in a shallow dish and season with one teaspoon of both salt and pepper, add the juice of one lemon. Set aside.
– In a bowl combine 1 1/4 cups of plain yogurt (not Greek), 1/2 onion that is finely chopped, 1 minced garlic clove (or more if you like garlic), 1 teaspoon of grated fresh ginger, 2 teaspoons of garam masala, and 1 teaspoon (or more/less) cayenne pepper. Mix well. This is a good step for kids because most kids love mixing ingredients! Be sure to announce each ingredient before adding it to the bowl.
– Combine yogurt mixture with chicken pieces. Another great step for kids! Cover with tin foil and refrigerate at least one hour. I let mine marinate overnight.
– Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees. Set oven rack to middle position.
– Line a baking sheet with foil and then evenly spread the chicken pieces across the pan. Top with any remaining yogurt sauce.
– Cook for 20-25 minutes or until chicken becomes slightly charred or light brown around the edges. Always remember to check your recipe often to avoid burning!
– Serve over white rice with cilantro and a lemon wedge for garnish.
If you have any colorful or Indian looking plates, placemats or napkins, be sure to bring them out. Make your presentation festive!
To add a little more Indian flare, serve with Naan (from Trader Joes, pictured below) and a dollop of delicious mango chutney!
Tandoori Chicken is a great go-to for so many occasions:
Summer BBQ, Father’s/Mother’s Day, Indian Night with family/friends, an Indian meal to compliment your India homeschool studies, or any night when you are at a loss for what to cook!
Print the recipe here and save it forever!
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And as always, feel free to leave a comment below!
Namaste!
