Patterns - An Academy Story

Garam Masala - Part 2

Luke's POV

I looked around the teaching kitchen. Small, but well appointed. The cooktop was fantastic; 6 side gas burners with a wok burner in the middle. That must put out some serious BTUs. We both put on the aprons that Karam handed us and washed our hands at a small side sink. We stepped up to the counter. There was a tray of spices and a tray with bowls of chicken and different ingredients. Just smelling everything was making me hungry.

Karam turned on one of the gas burners and placed a heavy pan over it. "The first dish we will make today is quick butter chicken that is easy for a home cook to prepare, and it doesn't need to marinate overnight. She continued, saying we were going to make a spice mix called garam masala. She mentioned something about what it meant, but I wasn't listening closely. I started picking up the different bowls and sniffing the different spices. Coriander seeds, cumin seeds, black peppercorns. I could identify most of them, but there were a couple I couldn't name. They all smelled really good,

Karam handed each of us a list of ingredients and the amounts needed for each spice and asked Sang to measure them out. She said that I would be responsible for dry roasting them.

While she was measuring the spices, I snuck a look at Sang. She was not flashy pretty, but there was something about her. Something made you want to look again and again. She passed me the spices and I started stirring them around in pan. I needed to make sure they didn't burn. You don't want to burn down the kitchen in your first cooking class. As I was stirring, I looked down at Sang and noticed that she wasn't watching the spices. She was watching my arms. I grinned to myself. So I'm not the only one noticing things about my classmate today. She looked away from my arms and saw that I was looking back at her. Busted. I grinned at her and winked. Man, she even blushes cute.

"Do you smell how the spices have gotten more fragrant?" Karam asked us both, interrupting my train of thought. "This means that they are done and are ready to grind." She reached under the counter and brought out a coffee grinder. "This is the best way to grind the spices quickly, but don't mistake your coffee grinder for your spice grinder" she laughed. "You won't appreciate how your coffee tastes if you do that."

Sang held the grinder as I tipped the small cast iron skillet in to the grinder. Karam added the spoonful of dry ginger to the rest of the spices in the well of the grinder. "Sang, if you will do the honors." She put the lid on the grinder, and buzzed the spices for a minute until they were powdered.

We moved back to the counter where Karam had shifted over the tray with chicken, butter, tomato puree so that it was in front of us. She directed us to trim the chicken and cut in to bite sized pieces.

"So, Sang, do you have Indian food often?" I asked, looking down at her quickly before looking back to the board where I was cutting chicken. Don't want to slip and cut myself because I'm distracted by a cute girl.

"Um, not very often" she replied. "I like it, but I haven't had the occasion to have it very much." She reached over to get another piece of chicken off of the tray and our arms brushed together. I could smell her perfume. Mmm. Rose? Freesia? She smelled really nice, whatever it was. Was she blushing again?

When we were done cutting up the chicken we washed our hands again. We brought the bowl of chicken and the other ingredients from the tray over to the large stove. Karam asked Sang to pour a bit of oil into the large pan. "When you see the oil shimmer" she said "it will be time to put in the chicken pieces to brown."

"Luke, while Sang browns the chicken pieces, please thinly slice the onion that will be part of the sauce." Onion. Not my favorite task in the kitchen. Necessary, but not a favorite. I hope I don't make a fool out of myself, I thought.

Halfway through slicing the large onion, I knew I was in trouble. So much for not looking like an idiot. I couldn't help it, the tears were running down my face and I started sniffling loudly.

I was startled by a strange noise, and I looked over and see Sang watching me with an amused look on her face. She started giggling. Giggling? I'm in misery and she's giggling at me? That's cheeky.

"I'm sorry," she said, laughing. "I don't mean to laugh at you!"

I looked at her sideways as I scooped up the onion slices with a bench scraper and dumped them in to second pan that was set on the stove.

"Ha ha. I will have the last laugh; you get to slice the next onion, Cupcake." I leaned closer and whispered in her ear "besides, you don't want me to tell you about a world famous Doctor's cure for giggles, do you?"

The look on her face was priceless. Shame she actually stopped giggling. I wouldn't mind administering the cure on her. I wouldn't mind that at all, I thought, smiling to myself.

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