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Cooking From the Heart

Spices help local woman give back to the community

The mysterious round canisters on her counter hold many of the same valuables that centuries ago lured explorers to the East. Inside are not gold or jewels, but spices that have flavored the dishes Meera Sarin uses to feed her passion for helping special needs students and giving back to her community.

Meera, who emigrated from India in 2012, studied home science at the same college Kamala Harris’s mother attended. After becoming a home economics teacher, she noticed students who needed help they were not receiving. She had learned about physical disabilities and those labeled “pagal”, which means "mad", but Meera knew there were other needs. Meera eventually became the director of a special needs school, working with students who had dyslexia and autism. “It was my passion. It’s still my passion,” she said. Once here, she joined Southside Support for special needs families, volunteered at the Joseph Sams School, and conducted art and dance therapy workshops for area schools.

Meera has donated dinners to local nonprofits to use for auction items for the past several years. “[Since my husband passed last year,] cooking became my therapy and my way of giving back to the community,” she said.  Here, she has learned to incorporate local ingredients in her dishes but doesn’t compromise on spices. “There is no Indian cookery without spices,” she said.

The secret of Meera’s delicious food, however, can’t be found in a spice box or a recipe. “I cook with my heart,” she said. “If you don’t have a passion and love for cooking, food will never taste right.”

Mixed Vegetable Pulao 
1 cup basmati rice  
½ cup carrots and peas 
2 Tbsp oil
1 tsp cumin seeds  
Salt to taste 
1 tsp Biryani masala 

Rinse the rice well and heat oil in a deep, thick-bottomed pan. Add cumin to hot oil and when it splutters add the vegetables and sauté for a few minutes.
Add the rice, salt, Biryani masala and 2 cups of water. Cover and bring to boil then lower heat to simmer until rice is done. Serve hot.
 

Chicken Dum

1 chicken cut into pieces
1 onion, chopped
8 cloves of garlic, minced
1 Tbsp ginger, shredded  
1 large tomato, finely chopped
¼ cup chopped cilantro 
Juice from half of a lime  
A few mint sprigs finely chopped (optional)
1 green chili, finely chopped 
6 to 8 black peppercorns
4 cloves
1 cinnamon stick
4 green cardamom seeds finely powdered
1 tsp cumin seeds  
1 cup yogurt
¼ cup heavy whipping cream or half and half 
Salt to taste 
1/8 tsp garam masala  
¼ tsp red chili powder 
2 Tbsp cooking oil (Ghee or any cooking oil)
 

Heat oil in a thick, flat-bottomed pan.  When it starts smoking, add the cumin seeds. When cumin seeds splutter, add chopped onions and sauté for 5 minutes.  
Add all other ingredients except cilantro and lime juice, mix well. Cover and cook until done. Add lime juice. Serve hot, garnish with cilantro. 

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