b'food mattersTastes of HomeMangalas Chicken CurryBY ILYSSE RIMALOVSKIRajan readies her spices and choppedChicken curry is a comfort food vegetables for making chicken curry. adaptable to the regional flavors of India, balancing flavor and spice.The gift of home-cooked food brings the Rajan/Jacinto family together.Tastes of Home is a Food Matters series celebratingAlthough their worlds seemed far apart in termshir is grateful for his sense of culinary adventure, T hearomasflowingfromMangalaof cuisine, religion and language, they discoveredand Gunjan finds that cooking is much easier than the rich culinary traditions of our local residents.they shared deep values regarding education andgoing out, even if that means cooking pasta in her family. Soon they would create a plan for the fu- dorm room.Rajans kitchen stir hunger, memoryture and a home of their own. Rajan and JacintoRajans cooking prowess is celebrated through-and tradition all at once. Corianderblended aspects of their traditional cultures intoout her family and social circles and extends well and cumin are blooming in hot oil,theirAmericanlives,landingthemintheirbe- beyond Indian cuisine. Continuing the legacy of signaling the rich, layered experienceloved South Orange neighborhood 28 years ago. her mother and mother-in-law, she is the resident of the meal to come. Weve taken our kids to India a lot to giveexpert and keeper of recipes, which she eyeballs With chicken curry, you can be asthem a sense at their core of their Indian origin,instead of measuring.simple or as sophisticated as you want, says Rajan,says Jacinto. But we told them that beyond that,When pressed for time, she uses Indian spice adding chopped vegetables and fresh pastes of gar- they have to find their way.mixes from the local company DHOL (see side-lic and ginger to the pot. She has already warmedTheir son, Mihir, 24, and daughter, Gunjan,bar)formakingcurriesandothertraditional whole and ground spices from her masala dabba,20, are lured to the kitchen by the magical aromasdishes.SheworksfulltimeinNew Yorkasa a highly organized Indian spice box. She will serveof their mothers cooking. As adults, it has becomemedical researcher at Weill Cornell but finds it her curry with traditional basmati rice and a side ofa game to guess which spices they can discern. Ipersonally and culturally important to prepare a spicy chopped green beans with coconut, reminis- was praying that my kids would be interested inhome-cooked meal. Cooking forces me to shut cent of the flavors her mother cooked for her. cooking Indian food, says Rajan, recalling theiroff work, she says. It is a nice transition that lit-Mangala Rajan and her husband, Lester Jacinto,early preference for pasta and pizza. Now theyerally makes me feel good. metwhilepursuinggraduatedegreesatTemplelove it and help me cook, which is very gratifying. Ilysse Rimalovski is a well-seasoned home chef, writer University, both on student visas from India. SheSchoollunchesoftenconsistedofleftoversandrecipedeveloperlivinginMaplewood.Have hailed from the southern region of Chennai andsuch as stewed chickpeas (chana), lentils (dal), orfood questions or need inspiration? Visit Ilysses Face-was raised as a vegetarian. He was from Mumbai inchicken curry and rice. The kids friends were of- book page, Ilysse Ideally, or send email to forilysse@the West, where meat was the mainstay of his diet.ten curious to see what Mom packed. Today, Mi- icloud.com.22/ matters magazine / school 2025'