CIC Khana Khazana 2017 - Chef Spotlight - Chef Manasi

Here is the last Chef interview before the event. This time, I am thrilled to present Chef Manasi. In a way, this final interview for Khana Khazana 2017 was where I wanted to be when I started this effort. The conversation was super casual over a cup of chai and snacks. It was relaxed and the questions and responses just flowed naturally. Over the past few weeks, staying behind the camera has allowed me to listen, and to learn so much about my friends, fellow community members and cooks extraordinaire. I am so happy I got this opportunity to do this video series and am now a strong proponent on the use of video as a means to not just publicize but engage with the community.  Manasi was a wonderful conversationalist and hearing her  thoughts on cooking, I can only imagine how awesome it is going to be on Sunday. I cant stress on this any more. Sign up your family for CIC Khana Khazana 2017. This is going to be super fun and for a good cause.

Please do watch the video to learn more about Chef Manasi and what she has in store for Khana Khazana. Her answers to the Q&A are also below.

I will leave you with one more thing- there is one last blog post coming related to something exciting for Khana Khazana. Should arrive on Friday or Saturday. So stay tuned for that.

Q: What is your inspiration to be a cook?

A: The chemistry of ingredients and varied possibilities with the same inspire me to experiment, cook and create.

Q: What motivated you to be a part of this unique experience Khana khazana?

A: The idea of bringing together our community for raising funds through a gastronomical avenues by the local chefs motivated me to join the bandwagon.

Q: Who is your role model in the kitchen?

A: My aai (mother) is my role model forever. She has the ability to make simple recipes into soul food, I idolize her for that always!

Q: What is that dish you vividly remember growing up seeing mom/dad/grandma/yyy cook and enjoy?

A: I grew up eating freshly cooked home made food made by my mom. My mother makes the traditional layer wheat roti everyday , that to date no one else (not even me) could replicate. Memories built around simple homey food stay forever:)

Q: What experiences shape how and what you cook- is it the place you are from, the city you grew up in, the place you currently live or anything else?

A: I was born and brought up in Bombay. The city's spirit has imbibed in me the enthusiasm, determination and urge to learn and explore. I love my chaats and Pav bhaaji but staying in US has added the different flavors from all over the world into my plate. Hence, the food I cook is a fusion of nuances from typical Brahmin cuisine to street foods to Thai, Italian, Mediterranean, Greek and others.

Q: Without naming the dish, what should people expect from you at Khana khazana?

A: Simple,seasonal, homey yet presentable food and a smiling face serving them with love :)

CIC Khana Khazana 2017 - Chef Spotlight - Chef Jabeen

Here we are with an interview with Jabeen, our third featured chef for CIC Khana Khazana 2017. One interesting vignette to share is that when I started planning for these videos - I wanted them to be very similar. The same questions and how each chef answered it. As you can see from the Q&A below, thats how most of the chefs responded too (with the exception of Meera who wrote a lovely story for us). But as we shot each video, the approach started changing. Instead of sticking to a script, we started having conversations about food and the experiences that have shaped how we have approached it. I learnt a ton about cooking styles, influences, experiences and so much more that I am so fortunate to have been part of this publicity exercise. I hope the enthusiasm of the chefs comes across in the videos just as it did to me when I spoke to them. On a special day, here is a special video from Jabeen. The Q&A responses follow below the video.

Q: What is your inspiration to be a cook?

A: My mother, grandma, sister, aunts, and friend’s mother.

Q: What motivated you to be a part of this unique experience Khana Khazana?

A: Few lucky friends in Cambrian Park have tasted my food. When Latha Santosh approached me, I thought I would give it a try. I am hoping with some help, I should be able to do it.

Q: Who is/are your role model(s) in the kitchen?

A: None other than my Mother and Elder Sister.

Q: What is that dish you vividly remember growing up seeing mom/dad/grandma cook and enjoy?

A: Dum Biriyani (both veg and non-veg).

Q: What experiences shape how and what you cook- is it the place you are from, the city you grew up in, the place you currently live or anything else?

A: It’s the taste buds and my favorites, makes me cook as close as possible to my mom’s recipes. My son is another driving factor for me to cook as a mom.  I also like to try different ingredients and cuisines if it’s healthy enough, then I adopt it. I have grown up going to markets to buy fresh vegetables, so I am a big fan of the farmers market in bay area. Cooking with fresh ingredients makes the food to go to another level.

Q: Without naming the dish, what should people expect from you at Khana Khazana?

A: Come hungry and savor the mix of Indian spices and veggies with family.

Cambrian Indian Community - The story so far and the road ahead

A few years ago, when the Indian community in the Cambrian Park neighborhood was no more than a few families, there was a dream. A dream to build a home, away from home. To foster and keep alive our culture in this new land. But to also give back to this country for all that it had given them. These families celebrated their joys and shared their sorrows together. They became family. 

The community started to grow. More and more families saw this small neighborhood of San Jose as where they wanted to put their roots. The good schools and tree lined streets welcomed them. As the Indian community in Cambrian grew, there was a strong desire to bring families together on a more regular basis. To learn, cherish and to serve. Thus was born the Cambrian Indian Community (CIC).

In 2014, a few of these committed individuals got together to formalize this organization and registered as a California State Non-Profit. CIC was incorporated in July 2014. Since that time, the community has exploded. Our events have grown in magnitude. We meet often - we do mehendi and music and dance and Diwali and karaoke and trivia together. We have contributed for important causes. We have volunteered to build the larger community where we live. In the process, we have made and continue to make friends for life. 

Earlier this year, over piping hot chai and wonderful kachoris from a gentle Cambrian soul, we filed to become a 501(c)3 non-profit. This would allow us to expand our charter. To dream bigger and to do greater things. A few weeks ago, we were informed by the IRS that our application was approved to be a 501(c)3 organization.

For me, as one of the joint directors of CIC, this has been a 4-year journey. But for many others, it has been the culmination of a journey that started over 15 years ago. And we are all ready to take the next big step in this journey. 

As a 501(c)3 organization, we can take your donations, big and small and you can claim it for your tax deduction. This begs the question, do we really need money, if so how much and what for? To answer this question, I would like to explain how we have generated funds in the past years and how we have put it to use.

Nothing comes free. We all know that. And for the past 3 years since we incorporated, we have spent quite a bit of money to be able to do what we do. We started with getting ourselves this website (~$100/yr). We then added insurance to cover us in case of accidents during our events (~$650/year). We have also been paying the minimum taxes required (~$800-$1500/year).

We raise funds through sponsorships during our Diwali event and from the chais and samosas and chaat we vend at different events. And these funds add up. We then use that money to buy things for the community. From the audio mixer, mics and speakers we used at last week’s Utsav to the chai pot, we have built up our bhandaar, bit by bit.  We would like to grow this bhandaar. We would like to add a small tent, more utensils, additional electronics like a dedicated laptop and a small video camera, cloud storage for the thousands of photos and videos from our events,  and eventually rent a storage to hold all this. Right now, many kind souls in the community are accommodating all this in their garage. We would like to relieve them of this load soon.

In the past three years, we have raised money only once to help us incorporate in 2014. We have been fiscally responsible and frugal to avoid having to go back to raise more funds. As we expand, we need to grow our infrastructure to meet the growing demands of the community. 

We, the members of the CIC Board would like to invite you all to our next fundraiser - CIC Khana Khazana on the 14th of May at 10:15 am in Houge Park. The event will be an all-you-can-eat hand-cooked brunch for $30/family (upto 4 members). For larger families over 4 members, we recommend an additional $10/person. But I really want you to consider donating more to help us build our funds.  For all your donations over $30, you can receive your tax-exemption certificate from our Treasurer. You have seen our interview with a couple of chefs who will cook for the event with a couple more to come in the next week leading up to the event. 

If you have questions or ideas about how we can do more for the community, we would love to hear. Please reach out to one of the members of the board. We hope you consider contributing and helping us grow this community. We also hope you consider organizing events for us and volunteering to make a difference. See you all next week at Khana Khazana. 

CIC Khana Khazana 2017 - Chef Spotlight - Meera

As with other chefs for Khana Khazana, I had asked Meera for answers to questions to keep things simple for her. She wrote us her story instead. I have read it twice now and I find it fascinating. I am publishing it verbatim here. So read on for Meera's journey with cooking and food. But before you get reading, I also had a chance to talk to Meera about all things food and the interview video is available for your viewing. We did the interview as Meera made piping hot aloo bondas for me- yes I know, I am lucky that way. It was a super fun chat and I think you will enjoy it too. I hope you agree with me that we cant wait to sample what Meera has to offer on the 14th of May at our CIC Khana Khazana.

When color, aroma, flavor, combined with some passion and love for your near and dear ones blend in together, a beautiful dish is born. My inspiration for cooking mainly comes from me being a lover of eating delicious food. I still remember, as a child I grew up in a typical TamBrahm family where the day dawns with the aromatic flavor of filter coffee. I thank the Gods in the heavenly aboard because neither of my parents restricted me from having this pure delight . As the days continues , I would notice my mom zooming around in the kitchen like a tornado , to get breakfast ready and pack all of lunches as well. I was and am still amazed of her swiftness , with which she works in the kitchen. 

Amma grew up in Mumbai and so she has influence from both Tambrahm and North Indian Khana. Even today, I cannot make the Aloo Paranthas and Phulkas with the softness that she has claimed. Her Aviyal and Paruppu Urundai Sambhar with Potato podimas is to die for. These are some of the richness of everyday food that I grew up with. That’s how my love for eating delicious food grew. She is definitely one my role models in the kitchen. My uncle (perippa), was another towering personality whom I have been inspired by. Every summer we would travel from Chennai to Mumbai for vacation and stay with uncle and family. He would royally cook for us everyday, in spite of his busy schedule at work. He always saw that we never went hungry during the stay I have imbibed that quality from him. There were few instances when I have returned home hungry from someone else’s house. I hate to have a feeling to go a restaurant after having lunch or dinner at someone’s! Believe me, I can point out so many examples. My lesson from uncle is never have your guest feel a bit of hunger when he/ she steps out of your house. 

Since I am a connoisseur of food and I hate a hungry stomach, I see to it that anyone who comes to my house, never leaves with a hungry stomach. I cook everyday with love and passion for my son and husband. They are my strongest critics, and when I see smiles on their faces when they like it , the happiness I experience has no limits. So here are two other inspirations and the pillars of my life, whom I dedicate my cooking capabilities, plus they are my scape goats as well :). I discovered a new me, in this country and it happened in the recent past. 

I hosted a memorial day party in Sunnyvale, and bravely invited close to 80 people! This was the very first time I cooked for a large number of people, with a lot of variety , and that is when I figured I did love to present or showcase what I cook! I was to see thrilled to see the happy faces of my friends and their kids! Kids ate with no complaints! There was no excess food! All plates and faces happy! Now it has become a family tradition to host a Memorial Day party, my friends know it and block their calendars :). 

I want to see the same thrill and excitement on the faces of my fellow Cambrianites, who have given me so much in the past two years! So when Latha proposed to me the idea of Khana Khazana, and cooking for almost 200 people, the bar is raised and the challenge is here. I am super enthusiastic to challenge myself for this big day, and all of you be ready to cherish the softness of a Madurai Jasmine flower with a Kerala delight condiment to go with it, and a chilled delicacy dunked in yogurt blended in with flavors from mint and coriander with a dash of spices!

CIC Khana Khazana 2017 - Chef Spotlight - Santhosh

We are kicking off a spotlight series on the wonderful cooks in our community who will be your chefs for CIC Khana Khazana on May 14, 2017. Each of these chefs were provided a set of questions to which the responses are below. We also shot a brief (~5 min long) video interview which is well worth watching. In these interviews, the chefs reveal their motivations, their role models in cooking and some really cool things you just have to watch. Without further ado, presenting Santhosh.

Chef Santhosh

Q&A with Santhosh

Q: What is your inspiration/motivation to be a cook?

A: To experiment and add a twist to a dish. Also, to make my partner stay away from the kitchen now and then.
 

Q: What motivated you to be a part of this unique experience Khana Khazana?

A: Love to eat Chaat, Love to meet with Friends - so why not make a chaat item to make my friends Happy!  Kill two birds with one stone - oh - sorry!...not killing anybody here - dont worry! 

Q: Who is your role model in the kitchen?

A: Hmmm tough question -  who is the Model I would love to be in Kitchen with?  -  IRINA SHAYK
What? Wrong question? Oops

Q: What is that dish you vividly remember growing up seeing mom/dad/grandma/yyy cook and enjoy?

A: Awalakki Uppukari - a snack made of poha/parched rice with special blend of spices, cooked by my mom.  Mmmm - my mouth is watering just mentioning about it!

Q: What experiences shape how and what you cook- is it the place you are from, the city you grew up in, the place you currently live or anything else?

A: Vegetarian dishes I have come to enjoy and love from different Cuisine's - Mediterranean, Italian, Mexican and Desi!

Q: Without naming the dish, what should people expect from you at Khana Khazana?

A: The most popular Indian snack in America - with a twist of course! and a sexy name. 

And here is the interview with Chef Santhosh. 

Welcome to CIC Khana Khazana 2017

Some matters are best said in a video. This event is going to be spectacular. You will want to clear up your calendars for the 14th of May. More videos to come in the next few days. Get excited. It is the real deal.

PS: The future videos will feature cooler people. For this one, you are stuck with me :)