Spice Goddess, Bal Arneson, prepping a dish
Beginning in July, Cooking Channel will be rocking a brand-new Spice Girl. Her name is Bal Arneson and she is our Spice Goddess…
Ever feel daunted when trying to craft with the perfect blend of spices for your dish? Wouldn’t it be cool to have a spice sherpa who has been there and can demystify the entire process? Beginning Saturday, July 10th, Bal Arneson will share how you can make dishes that are deeply flavorful and nuanced, using aromatic spices and seasonings.
7 Things To Know About Bal Arneson, the Spice Goddess:
Bal and mango friend
- 1) She grew up in a small village outside Punjab, India.
2) Bal first learned to cook, over coals in a clay BBQ pit, when she was 7.
3) Philosophy: No one should spend more than 25 minutes in the kitchen to make healthy wonderful Indian meals.
4) First Hollywood crush: Captain Kirk (William Shatner) when she was 15.
Captain James T. Kirk, contemplative...
- 5) Outside the kitchen, Bal likes hiking, camping and rock climbing with her family.
6) Bal sells organic spices on her site; donating a portion of the proceeds to her village to fund educational programs for women and children.
- 7) She shares bonus recipes on her Facebook page like this
Tasty Chickpea and Asparagus side:
Ingredients
1 Tbsp garlic – finely chopped
1 Tbsp ginger – finely chopped
1 Tbsp coriander seeds – crush with your hands
1 Tbsp cumin powder
…1/4 tsp red chili pepper flakes
Salt and pepper to taste
1 cup cherry tomatoes
1/4 cup water
One 14 oz can of chickpeas-drain and rinse with cold water
Fresh mint leaves to garnish
Directions
In a skillet, add oil and heat on medium to high heat for few seconds until oil is hot.
Add garlic, ginger, coriander seeds, cumin powder, pepper flakes, salt and pepper and cook on medium to high heat for 15 seconds.
Add tomatoes and water and cook for 3 minutes. Stir regularly.
Add chickpeas and cook for 1 minute.
Serve on steamed asparagus. Enjoy!!
I spy with my little eye…a le creuset soup pot in kiwi! I love her already. Am very much looking forward to this show as I have a spice collection that I don't nearly use as often as I should.
Glad to hear about the organic spices on her site – and shipping is free!
welcome and am looking forward to your show. all the best. Jyothi Mcminn
Can't wait to see the show! The concept is GREAT. Hope her family is on the show.
Wonderful. I love using spices in my cooking, and I especially enjoy Indian flavors. I'm really looking for another spice show. I am very much loving Roger Mooking's Everyday Exotic. This looks like a good addition to the line up. I am loving this channel.
terry
Got a feeling that I am about to have a favorite NEW show! Setting my DVR now!
Congratulation!
AMAZING! so excited to see this show, I know its going to be a hit!
She has such a great personality and is beautiful!
I already know this is going to be a success, She has raw talent that we need to see more often!
Obviously going to be watching this show everytime!
Bal, congratulations on the show. Can't wait to watch it. Good luck.
Marie
Barbara Collin's mummy
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Whitecap Books and Bal Arneson. Bal Arneson said: http://blog.cookingchanneltv.com/2010/06/24/spice-goddess-7-things-to-know/ http://fb.me/DU40m5wL [...]
Congratulations on your cooking show! Just wondering how come that you started loving "Captain Kirk" at 15, when you were still living in your small "village"?
I saw your show for the first time and while watching made up my shopping list. I am excited to get started on the recipes I viewed. New to me…grapeseed oil, chick pea flour and using coconut milk from a can. I would love to visit india one day. These ingredients appeal to me. Thanks, Karen
Just saw your new show today. Loved it! Really like your energy and the way you come across comfortably into my home. All of the recipes looked great. I became vegetarian 2 years ago and am always looking for new, healthy recipes. The recipes today were right up my alley. So glad to have found you! Best to you, Tammy
i really love how bal teaches me how to cook indian food just like my bestfriend's mother used to. she has a very comforting and maternal aura about her. the only thing i find a bit um on the downside, is that she describes everything as "nice". i think she said "nice" about thirty times in one show to describe all the incredible flavors she's created. she sells herself short!
Watched your first show and it was great. Looking forward to all of them.
HAM JANTE HEIN……….
I think Bal is fantastic. If you don't have the spice she's using she tells you what to use instead. I am refreshing my spice cabinet. Her personality is awesome and she holds your attention.
Oh my! I have to see more shows. She's so wonderful and her recipes are like nothing I've ever seen demonstrated on tv. I own cookbooks of all kinds, but when dealing with recipes outside of cultures whose cooking techniques and recipes I have limited experience with, I love having a real person to watch and the results in front of me to see what it is that will result. This show is fabulous. I predict a great big hit. She is filling and unmet need for us passionate cooks!
Awesome! We will be trying at least three of these recipes this week.
I have seen two episodes now and have them both DVR-ed. I hope Bal will make her home made yogurt on one .. and if she has already done so.. i hope catch that episode soon! This show is most excellent!
Bal, what a breath of fresh air! It is great to see a chef with talent who is not full of themselves like some of the same old blow hard chefs on the food network. Your recipes are terrific…I have already prepared three of them. Congratulations and I can't wait for the frequency of your episodes to increase…stay sweet.
Bal,
I have learned more from the two episodes that I watched then watching many shows from other TV chefs. Please do not have your family on. Do not talk endlessly about people you know and do not make up “catchy” names like stoup. Just show us how to prepare great, healthy Indian meals like you have been. Thanks.
Michael I agree with you on not bringing on the family and making up cutsie names for food. For some reason the powers that be on the Food Network seem to think that we in TV land want to know the family or stories of family. NOT. We just want to learn how to cook.
I watched this show for the first time the other day and thoroughly enjoyed it. The hostess was very knowledgeable and very pleasant. I'm very interested in Indian cooking as I am a vegetarian and Indian cuisine provides lots of new ways to cook vegetables, with many spices, which I love. Thanks for such a great show.
I would like to have the recipe for the Garam Marsala. I have had some in the past that I was not very pleased with and would like the one that is used for these recipies as they are all on my list of new dishes to try, especially the Potato Parathas. They sound wonderful. I tried to find the recipe on the site but it does not exist, unless it is well hidden. I just loved the show also, as I am always trying to find new and different flavorful simple recipes. My Husband and I both love to cook and try new dishes for ourselves and our friends.
The weekend roti are awesome! We made them for an outdoor picnic and ate them at room temperafure; they were so tasty! We also ate them reheated (350 for ten minutes) and they were equally wonderful. Also, the recipe went exactly as it was written. I will definitely make this again and again.
Loved the show…the Vesan is like what my mum always made. I am Punjabi and I am thrilled to see a terrific host and master chef like Bal on TV!!! Bela! Bela!..Indian speak for Yeah! Yeah!
Bal is awesome!! She provides flavorful Indian recipes that are also healthy, I love her shows and her recipes!!
Bal,love your show. I have tried some of your recipes and indeed, they are 'WOW'. Thank you.
Love your show and looking forward to learning about the various spices.
I just LOVE Bal's show & her recipes! I've printed out so many already & have found them as easy to make as she SAYS they are! She has an amazingly comfortable feel about her & I hope she NEVER goes off the air! THANKS, BAL!
I love the show and Bal. I'm brand new to Indian cooking, and she makes it such a joy. Excellent info on the use of these exotic spices. Keep up the good work!
Bal is so hot. Her show is great too……
What a nice change from Food Network ego maniac….Not only interesting but history on her heritage is also educational. Best wishes on success and hope they keep your show…
I am also excited a bout this show. Bal has a great personality and easy way of teaching.I love Indian food above all other..Being from the South, I find Indian food uses the same ingredients we use but in such a unique, interesting way.
But like others who have written, I would like to have the recipe for garam masala that Bal uses. I have heard it is much like our meatloaf recipes – no two are alike. But hers must be really good or she would not use it in her dishes.Please publish it like Emeril Lagasse does his Essence seasoning with every recipe.
You'll find her garam masala recipe at the end of her dal soup recipe.
Just discovered this show last night (8/7), & it's wonderful! Along with other commenters, I would love to know the blend/amounts of toasted spices that Bal prefers to use in her garam masala blend.
Absolutely love the small pinch of salt she added to the dishes rather than the palmful many cooks do. Who needs all that salt when you've got delicious, flavor-enhancing spices.
Great show, great recipes, thumbs up from me.
Re: garam masala mixture- I answered my own question this afternoon by watching an On Demand episode in which Bal shows exactly how to make it. Going to try it this weekend!
I love her garam masala mixture. I tried it with just 3 ingredients: cumin, coriander seeds, and cardamon. It was delicious, but I want her recipe on the net, because I can't remember what she puts in it , I believe it has bay leaves, and I can't remember the rest. I wish they posted it on the net. I usually look up recipes after I watch the show the same day or later, a couple days later if I don't get to it. I love her foods and her spices. want to see more chicken and potatoes dishes with garam masala.
For those who are interested, Bal's garam masala recipe is included with her very tasty dal soup recipe.
Congratulations on your new show. I make sure I record all your shows. I have tried your Gobi parathas. Instead of making chapathis from scratch, I used the pre-rolled ones from Costco. They still turned out fantastic. I love how easy they are to do for busy people. I am proud to see an Indian cooking show after all these years… despite having one of the best cuisines in the world. Proud to be an Indian. I also love how you adapt everyday American ingredients into Indian cooking and vice versa. I am looking forward to making the chicken Quesedilla. Great ideas.
Veena
I love fusing cuisines – saw Bal do Punjabi quesadillas, so for my quesadillas, I used a spicy vegie curry & smoked mozz – WOW!! Absolutely fabulous. The key is using a high smoke point oil like safflower to brush the flour tortillas (pan-side & top-side). A little sea salt on the top tortilla after brushing it with oil is great.
I enjoy this very pleasant and clear presentation of a different cooking style. Spices and yogurt have been overlooked in Western cooking and are the perfect way to cook healthy. Bravo!
Just watched my first episode of SPICE GODDESS and I'm already hooked! Bal has a wonderful way of revealing the treasure of spices and Indian cooking. The love comes through! I am absolutely delighted to have discovered her show….Dear Cooking Channel, You have a real kitchen Goddess here…you must give her anything she wants!
I feel like I've known Bal all my life – although from Bengal, and mostly raised here, she shares a passion for her traditional culture, and melds it so well with the hectic lifestyle that we all have that doesn't afford hours in the kitchen – Bal, I love your cooking, your creativity, your simplicity of style – I know everyone will love you as well!