Tasty Road Trips Start Here

SURREY’S NEW SPICE TRAIL AIMS TO PUT THE CITY’S DIVERSITY ON THE GLOBAL CULINARY MAP

By Sandra Thomas

The earthy scent of coconut, highlighted by the pungent aromas of turmeric, coriander and cumin, permeates the dining room of Kerala Kitchen in Surrey, a suburb of Metro Vancouver. Before even taking in its red and gold ambiance, it’s those tantalizing smells wafting from the kitchen that make it immediately obvious why Kerala is one of the highlights of the City of Surrey’s new dedicated Spice Trail.

An initiative of Discover Surrey — and a passion project of its new executive director Ange Chew — the goal of the Spice Trail is to put that city on the culinary map for local and international visitors alike. She hopes they will find Surrey an affordable urban alternative to Vancouver and believes getting the word out about its vibrant culinary scene is the way to start. The new Spice Trail website has been broken down into Surrey’s six neighbourhoods — North Surrey, Fleetwood, Guildford, Newton, South Surrey and Cloverdale — and by ethnicity, vegetarian options, and style, so you can plan your trip easily.

But, it’s not just restaurants included on the Spice Trail. Specialty grocery stores, like Lucky Supermarket, have also been added to this self-guided tour. Here, visitors will find a delightfully, delicious introduction to exotic produce and meats not found at your typical Safeway, including entire goats wrapped in linen, and pigs’ trotters as large as ham hocks.

So far, more than 30 restaurants and stores have enthusiastically jumped on the Surrey Spice Trail. Here are a few of the highlights:

© ALL PHOTOS COURTESY OF DISCOVER SURREY

TAKE A BITE OF THE SPICE TRAIL WITH THIS RECIPE

CHEF VIKRAM VIJ’S MOM’S CHICKEN CURRY

Vij says his culinary empire all started with this simple family recipe, a favourite of his mother who used to prepare it for him to sell as take-out before he opened his first restaurant.

Makes: 6 servings

Total prep time: about 90 minutes

Ingredients

½ cup (125 ml) canola oil

2 cups (500 ml) finely chopped onions (2 large)

3-inch (7.5-cm) stick of cinnamon

3 tbsp (45 ml) finely chopped garlic

2 tbsp (30 ml) chopped ginger

2 cups (500 ml) chopped tomatoes (2 large)

1 tbsp (15 ml) salt½ tsp (2.5 ml) ground black pepper

1 tsp (5 ml) turmeric1 tbsp (15 ml) ground cumin

1 tbsp (15 ml) ground coriander

1 tbsp (15 ml) garam masala

½ tsp (2.5 ml) ground cayenne pepper

3 lbs (1.4 kg) bone-in chicken thighs

1 cup (250 ml) sour cream, stirred

2 cups (500 ml) water

½ cup (125 ml) chopped cilantro (including stems)

Preparation

In a large pan, heat oil on medium heat for 1 minute. Add onions and cinnamon, and sauté for 5 to 8 minutes.

Add garlic and sauté for another 4 minutes. Add ginger, tomatoes, salt, black pepper, turmeric, cumin, coriander, garam masala and cayenne. Cook this masala for 5 minutes, or until the oil separates from the masala.

Remove and discard skin from the chicken thighs. Wash thighs and add to the masala. Stir well. Cook chicken thighs for 10 minutes, until the chicken looks cooked on the outside.

Add sour cream and water and stir well. Increase the heat to medium-high. When curry starts to boil, reduce the heat to medium, cover and cook for 15 minutes, stirring 2 or 3 times, until chicken is completely cooked. Poke the thighs with a knife.

If the meat is still pink, cook for 5 more minutes. Remove and discard the cinnamon stick. Cool curry for at least half an hour.

Transfer cooled chicken to a mixing bowl. Peel chicken meat off the bones. Discard bones and stir chicken back into the curry. Just before serving, heat curry on medium heat until it starts to boil lightly. Stir in cilantro.

To serve: Divide curry evenly among six bowls.