History has seen its fair share of queens. The Elizabeth’s never intrigued me; even with the recent flood of repetitive, cinematic tributes to them, I remain uninterested. The “Elizabeth’s” seem cold, brutal and rough. I like my queens strong yet soulful and soft.

Growing up there was a couple of queens that I was mesmerized by. The first was Farah Diba, the wife of the Shah of Iran, who truly epitomized all that is fabulous in a queen. The second went by the name Latifah, who spit rhymes in a flow that truly epitomized my love for Hip Hop. Time has brought with it new queens whose style and contribution to the world continue to intrigue me. The beautifully modern Queen Rania of Jordan is my new Farah Diba. She’s elegant, sharp and effective, so much so that I follow her on twitter.

The other new queen that has captured my attention for the past 12 years is the one and only Ms. Erykah Badu. How and where do I begin to express how much this woman has fed my soul? I can’t think of any other singer of my generation except for Sade who moves me as deeply as she does.  Sometimes while I’m listening to her it hits me that if I could be any singer, without a doubt I would be Badu.

With her honey colored eyes, raspy voice and a head wrapped with skills, the woman is more than a singer. Ms. Badu is the definition of a true artist and poet. Between the jazz notes, her talking about her cipher and that Southern charm, her songs have been spinning on rotation for a long, long time.

These photos of Ms. Badu were taken by my friend Shanon Mc Collum. Shannon is a tall, sweet and talented Atlanta based Photo Journalist and is often referred to as the “Gordon Parks” of Hip Hop. If you don’t know who Gordon Parks is, Google him.

Sometimes when I’m in the kitchen working away and daydreaming, I imagine that if I had a choice of a famous dinner guest, who would it be and what would I cook? I’ve given quite a bit of thought to this and many people have made the list. For my fist guest I decided to start with a woman who has become the queen of my soul.  It only seems appropriate that I pair this queen with a king. The king of my palate is Indian cuisine. There is no food that I’ve experienced yet that plays with my senses the way Indian food does. There is no food that I enjoy eating as much as Indian food. I truly feel changes in my body and its chemistry when I eat it. I get high with each bite and fall into a sensory overload. The crunchy and soft textures paired with sweet and spicy flavors sing and dance endlessly on my tongue. As my imagination runs wild, I can see myself sitting across her on the grass in my front yard. Dividing us would be my wooden table adorned with flowers, candles and a cornucopia of vegetarian Indian dishes. What would I ask her, where would I begin? The music, the poetry, our love for Dilla, home birth, astronomy, or the future of Hip Hop a.k.a. Jay Electronica? The food would have to compliment her personality and showcase my own, quirky, spicy and full of soul. In an ideal setting the stars would be perfectly aligned in a harmonious meshing of our two worlds through food and song. Knowing me, I would probably feed her into a food coma in an attempt to thank her blessing this earth with her voice.

Badu is who she is because of her uncanny swagger. Talent is not enough to get me. She got me because her words weave a blanket for my soul. She sings the way I feel.  Methodically metaphorical, she doesn’t just write about love or life, she leaves you content with it. They say it’s not what you say but how you say it right? Her flow is ethereal, free and dangerous and she can sing the hell out of a Chaka Khan and Roy Ayers song. I’ve spent countless evenings throughout the years by myself or with friends cooking, drinking wine and blasting Badu through the walls. To feed my hunger, I make sure to see her live every couple of years. However this evening, and in my imagination, she’s coming over for dinner.

So what will the dinner table look like? For starters, we will have vegetarian Samosa’s with a South Indian cilantro, lime Chutney, followed by a spiced Sweet potato and coconut Soup. The main course will be Basmati rice with a spicy eggplant and lentil Curry served with Garam Masala laced Cornbread.  For dessert, I hope to sweeten her soul with Cardomom tea and a Saffron-Rosewater, almond Tapioca.

In my crazy head the evening will be nothing short of an enlightening experience. Most importantly Ms. Badu will love, love, love my Indian feast and will take home all the leftovers for her kids. If I’m really lucky, she will play the guitar and sing a song as wisdom bounces off those pillow lips and into the sky. So with this story dear reader, please try not to question my sanity as I have on many occasions. I only ask that you simply entertain my imagination. Send me some positive energy so that maybe one day this queen might actually get a chance to read this little piece. In doing so, I hope she will find a little bit of inspiration in my silly Samosa’s as I have in her soulful songs.

This recipe is for the Vegetarian Samosa’s and the South Indian cilantro, lime Chutney. The dough recipe is a simple one, but you can also use wonton wrappers as a substitute. The chutney can be spicy so those with sensitive tongues, deseed the jalapeños. When using spices like coriander, cumin, curry etc. I always prefer to use the seeds or leaves rather than the powder. When you toast the seeds, this incredible aroma takes over the house, imagine what it does to the food? Links are provided for the seeds in case Indian stores are not readily available.

Cilantro-Lime Chutney

Yield 2 cups

½ tsp. cumin seeds or cumin powder

1 tsp. Chaat Masala

1 jalapeño chopped

4 quarter-size slices peeled fresh ginger

1 green bell pepper, coarsely chopped

1 bunch green onions, green parts only

3 cups firmly packed fresh cilantro, including soft stems

½ cup fresh mint leaves

3 tbsp. lime juice

1 tbsp. olive oil

1 tsp. honey

1 tsp. kosher salt

1. Toast the cumin seeds.
2. In a food processor, blend together jalapeños, ginger, green onions and bell pepper until minced. Add the cilantro, mint process and scrape the sides with a spatula.
3. Add the lime juice and olive oil through the feeder tube then add the cumin seeds or powder, Chaat masala, honey and salt and process.
4. Transfer to a bowl and serve.

Vegetarian Samosa’s

Yield 6 servings

Pastry Dough

1 cup flour

3 tbsp Ghee (clarified butter) or vegetable oil

6-8 tbsp ice water

Kosher salt to taste

Stuffing

3 large potatoes, cubed, small dice

1 cup shelled green peas or frozen (thawed)

1 cup corn, fresh or canned

¼ tsp ground turmeric

½ tsp cumin seeds or ground

½ tsp coriander seeds or ground

½ tsp brown mustard seeds

½ tsp spicy Garam masala

1 tsp fresh ginger, minced

1 tbsp cilantro finely chopped

2 green chillies deseeded, chopped fine

kosher salt to taste

3 tbsp oil and oil for deep frying

1. For the dough, sift flour and salt into a large bowl. Mix in the ghee / oil. Add water little by little while mixing with fingers to make a stiff dough. Set the dough aside and keep it covered with a damp cloth for 15-20 minutes.

2. Cook the peas in boiling salted water for about 10 minute(s) or till soft. Drain refresh in cold water and drain well.

3. In a large skillet heat 3 tbsp of oil. Toss in the cumin, coriander and mustard seeds and let them crackle. Add the green chillies and ginger. Fry briefly.

4. Add the potato cubes, salt and Garam masala powder. Sprinkle with some water, cover and cook on low-medium heat for about 10 minutes. Mix in the cooked green peas and corn and let cool. down for 5-7 minutes. Mix in the coriander leaves.

5. Divide the dough into 16 equal balls. Apply a little dry flour to each ball and on a flat, lightly floured surface roll each ball into a 5” circle diameter. Cut each circle into two and lightly dampen the edges of each semicircle with water. Place a spoonful of the potato-pea filling into the cone and seal the edges well (apply some water on the edges if they do not seal well).

6. Deep fry samosa’s in medium-hot oil until crisp and golden brown. Remove onto a paper towel. Serve immediately with the Cilantro Lime Chutney.

You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.