Enjoying Indian Food Nut Free!

I love the exotic spicy flavors of curries and tandoori grilled breads, meats, and veggies; but Indian cuisine frequently uses tree nuts in their foods.  Pistachios and cashews are some of the most common tree nuts I encounter, and many times they are hidden because they are pureed into the sauces of the dish.  Indian buffets have always been my favorite because I could get a little bit of several different foods; but now there is so much cross contamination of tree nuts in the kitchen and on the serving buffet, that I avoid them all together.

Cooking my favorite dishes at home allows me to control what goes into the food, and I can leave out the tree nuts.  I didn’t have a great deal of experience cooking with Indian flavors, so I didn’t know where to start.  My go-to cookbook Joy of Cooking by Irma S. Rombauer, Marion Rombauer Becker, and Ethan Becker seemed like a logical first step.  There is a section of the cookbook that lists suggested menus, and there is one that lists suggested dishes for an Indian meal.  It included recipes for Tandoori Chicken, Saag Paneer (curried spinach with cheese), Dal (lentil soup), two kinds of Raita (yogurt based sauce), Mint-Cilantro Chutney, and Naan (bread cooked in a clay oven).  This was a great start because Tandoori Chicken and Saag Paneer are two of my favorite Indian dishes, and Mint-Cilantro Chutney is my favorite condiment, with Raita coming in at a close second favorite.  The other reason I love this cookbook is because there is a section at the back called “Know Your Ingredients” so that when I come across an ingredient I have never worked with before, I can look it up and learn more about it.  For example, I now know that Garam Masala is a spice blend made from cardamom, cloves, cumin, black peppercorns, and cinnamon so it is tree nut free and safe to use!

I also went to my local grocery store and checked out the “ethnic foods” aisle.  Depending on where you are located and what your supermarket carries in stock, you can find a variety of already prepared sauces and seasonings.  My family’s favorite is a vegetarian, gluten free, dairy free, tree nut free simmering sauce by Tiger Tiger called Lahori Rogan Josh Simmer Sauce.  It is tomato based with a spicy kick that is mild enough for my 10 year old once it is subdued with some steamed rice.  I use this for quick and easy meals as well as in the crockpot.

Tiger Tiger brand Lahori Rogan Josh Simmering Sauce

• Dal: In a crockpot combine 2 lbs of dried lentils, 3-4 cloves of crushed garlic, fresh grated ginger, 1 medium onion (chopped), 2-3 stalks of celery (chopped), 2-3 carrots (chopped), 1 jar of Simmering Sauce, and enough chicken or vegetable stock to cover all the ingredients.  I prepare this the night before and store it in the fridge overnight.  In the morning I add more stock if necessary, crank the crockpot to low, and let it simmer while the kids are at school and I am at work.  When we get home in the afternoon, the soup is ready for us!  Chopped cilantro in each bowl finishes the dish nicely!  If the Dal is our entree, I add cooked and cubed chicken when I get home in the evening and let it simmer another half hour before serving.
• Kitchen Sink Curry: In a large stock pot or Dutch oven saute in 2 tablespoons of butter or olive oil over medium heat 1 chopped onion, 2-3 cloves of crushed garlic, fresh grated ginger, and any other fresh vegetables you have on hand.  Our favorites include cauliflower, broccoli, kale, Swiss chard, and other sturdy leafy greens.  Once the veggies have sauteed for about 15 minutes add 4 chicken breasts that have been chopped into bite size chunks, and cook for another 5 minutes.  Add a jar of Simmering Sauce and a cup of chicken or vegetable stock and 2-3 cubed potatoes.  Simmer for 25 minutes until the chicken is cooked through and the potatoes are soft.  Any quick cooking veggies such as peas, tomatoes, and delicate leafy greens like spinach can go into the pot for the last 5 minutes of cooking.  I simmer this dish over medium low to medium heat uncovered, stirring frequently and adding stock as necessary to make up for evaporation.  I zap my stock in the microwave before adding it so that it doesn’t bring the temperature of the entire pot down too much.  Serve it over steamed Basmati rice and add some fresh chopped cilantro at the end.  If it is too spicy for the kids, they add a spoonful of plain Greek yogurt.  (My kids are lactose intolerant, but cultured yogurt does not bother them in limited quantities.  If you have a dairy allergy or are lactose intolerant, be sure to talk to your doctor before trying cultured yogurt.)  Another thing I love about this dish–one pot makes for easy clean-up!
• Indian Pizzas: We got creative with this one!  Roll out a can of refrigerated pizza dough onto a baking sheet and preheat the oven according to the directions on the can.  Spread the simmering sauce onto the unbaked dough like pizza sauce. (You will not need the whole jar.  Be careful not to oversauce because you will get a soggy pizza.)  Top with sauteed onions, garlic, ginger, mushrooms, spinach, cooked chicken cubes, tomatoes, peppers, zucchini, or any combination of toppings you enjoy.  Sprinkle a cup of shredded mozzarella cheese on top and bake according to the directions on the pizza dough can.  Just before serving sprinkle fresh chopped cilantro and mint on top.  The kids love to dip it in homemade Raita.

For a better variety of Indian sauces check out the grocery stores in neighborhoods with a high population of Indian families and restaurants.

Use caution when choosing to eat at an Indian restaurant.  The number one accidental tree nut ingestion for me is when I am eating Indian food.  Several Indian restaurants in the Sacramento area have erroneously told me that a dish did not have nuts in it, and the next thing I know, I’m eating a nut or my throat is beginning to swell.  Frequently, the people cooking the food do not speak English, and I am relying on the serving staff to translate accurately that I have an allergy to tree nuts.

Kaveri Madras Cuisine at 1148 Fulton Avenue in Sacramento, CA

In Sacramento there is an Indian restaurant called Kaveri Madras Cuisine that serves delicious Indian food.  I used to take the kids here frequently when my allergy was milder, and LOVE the food, the staff, and the atmosphere.  The staff is very knowledgeable about what ingredients are in their food and are great at pointing out which foods I should avoid.  The only problem is that my favorites contain nuts, and I don’t want to go out to eat just to watch everyone else eating what I can’t have!  In fact, there are only a handful of dishes that are safe for me to eat.

Next door to the restaurant is Kaveri Indian Grocery which has a wide variety of specialty ingredients as well as prepared and canned sauces and frozen meals.  (We also bought some fun books full of Indian fairy tales and children’s games, which the girls enjoy!)  When the ingredients on the jars and cans are printed in English, I can easily see which ones are tree nut free, and this is a great option for trying new foods at home.  The staff at the grocery store is very friendly and are happy to answer any questions I have about their products.  Best part of all–it’s just down the street from my office, so it is very convenient!

Happy tree nut free dining to my fellow food allergy foodies!

My Tree Nut Allergy: Before and After

Growing up I could eat anything I wanted without worrying about an allergic reaction.  Things started to change when I was about 24 years old.  I noticed that after certain meals I would get a tightening sensation in my throat or it would hurt to swallow.  I started paying attention to the foods I was eating so that I could begin to narrow down what foods might be triggering this reaction.

One day, while snacking on a bowl of cashews, I felt that tightening sensation, and right away added cashews to my “Do Not Eat” list.  I did a little bit of research and talked to my doctor, and I learned that I was most likely allergic to all tree nuts, even if cashews were the only ones causing a reaction.  I love nuts, and I didn’t want to give up one of my favorite snacks for a “maybe” so I just kept enjoying almonds, walnuts, pecans, pistachios, and other nuts…as long as they weren’t cashews.

Pretty soon, the sensitivity to cashews became stronger.  My dad had created a trail mix with pretzels, chocolate candies, and a can of mixed nuts.  Even though I was only picking out the pretzels and chocolate candies, I started to get a sore throat.  I then realized that I would need to be VERY careful to avoid nuts and anything that touched a nut.

While dining at a restaurant with a buffet style brunch with my two young daughters, I accidentally ate a bite of rice pilaf with slivered almonds in it.  My throat instantly swelled shut and I couldn’t speak or swallow.  I started to have difficulty breathing, and the girls had to flag down a server to call 911.  After a scary ambulance ride to the emergency room, and a heavy dose of anti-histamines and steroids; I decided I needed to be MUCH more careful about what I put in my mouth and what it might have been sitting next to in the kitchen.

Now, I am extra extra careful while dining at pot luck dinners.  If a dish looks like it could possibly have a nut ingredient, I avoided it like the plague.  I would eat only easily identified foods like baked chicken or veggie platters.  I avoided a fun Cookie Exchange at a Christmas Party because most of the cookies had nuts in them.  My mother in law served me cookies with walnuts in them because she forgot I was allergic (not because she was trying to get rid of me!) I’ve had to leave parties early because I accidentally ate a nut, and had to get home before the benadryl made it unsafe for me to drive.  I even had a drama queen style melt down at an Indian restaurant because I told the staff I had a nut allergy, and they pointed out some dishes that did not contain nuts, and I only ate those dishes–only to find myself crunching into a cashew!  They were mortified when I told them that it would be bad for business if I had to be carted out of their restaurant on a stretcher, and in lieu of an apology, they comped our meals.

It is very frustrating to me that some employees in the food service industry don’t take my nut allergy seriously.  I was dining at a seafood restaurant with my husband and his parents, and we were sure to inform the server about my nut allergy.  The server double checked my order with the chef who confirmed it was nut free, and that he would use caution when preparing my food to eliminate cross contamination.  The diligent efforts of the chef were in vain when the server gave me a salad with croutons made from bread containing walnuts.  Another lovely evening ended early, and I missed my cautiously prepared fish dinner.

While I miss some of my favorite foods like Nutella and the candied pecans my mother makes each year at Christmas; I find ways to enjoy similar foods by preparing them myself without the nuts.  Traditional pesto sauce uses garlic, basil, parmesan cheese, olive oil, and pine nuts.  It is just as delicious without the pine nuts, and I can make it myself in my nut free kitchen at home.  My family is also careful to share only “female food” with me–no nuts!

I look forward to sharing restaurant reviews with you–the good, the bad, and the ugly; as well as some of my favorite nut free recipes!