Garam Masala

After a night of getting solitude and relief after reading the desperate life of the heroine in Eat, Love, Pray, I decided to invite my old friend Michael to my place for dinner this evening. I checked my fridge, and the only dishes that I have ingredients for are cauliflower soup and chicken and noodle. However, I did not have garam masala, "mixed spices" in Indian, for the soup.

I went to Village Corner but only found curry powder. One of the clerk, who has an Irish red beard, stopped me when I was at the checking counter and complaining for no garam masala; he instructed me the spices to make garam masala. "I used to have an Indian restaurant." It was to my surprise. So I got cumin, coriander and curry powder because it has clover in it. The base for garam masala is 50-50 of cumin and coriander and a good amount of cinnamon and a pinch of clover. I also added dill, red chili, the curry powder and black pepper. It was fun to taste and mix up the spices-- it almost felt like raising a favorite pet when I mixed up the spices and made my own garam masala.

The cauliflower soup was easy to make and tasty, and this dish means so much to me that the story of the soup and me involves a boy, some doubts and a movie. Now, also because of this soup and garam masala, I made new friends in Village Corner-- I wonder if cauliflower soup is some motif in my life sent by the Great Void.