< Previous10 I hope to empower you to cook for your friends and family and inspire you to expand your palate by traveling the world. It can be daunting to step out of your comfort zone, but these recipes will encourage you to introduce different cultures to the plate. And I urge you to be forever humble, open-minded and curious—learn to fall in love with being a student. These recipes serve as a foundation for your repertoire. Once you grow more confident and efficient in the kitchen, try to adapt my versions and make them your own. Switch things up with local or seasonal ingredients, your favorite pantry staples or leftovers in the fridge. And remember to share your inventions! It fills me with pride when my viewers and readers tell me how they’ve adapted my recipes or applied some of my techniques when they cook. The recipes in this book should inspire you to get into the kitchen and start cooking. Don’t feel handcuffed to them—they are here to serve you, to provide a framework for you to become more confident in the kitchen. No Thai chili peppers? Replace them with habaneros. Out of maple syrup? Try honey instead. I encourage using local ingredients and items you already stock in the pantry. Take the energy and essence from these recipes to breathe life and inspiration into your cooking. What’s the meaning of the title, you might wonder. Many of my viewers will recognize this trademark sign-off from my videos. I have so much gratitude for everything: my career, my friends and family, my audience. It’s the ultimate expression to sum up everything I feel when I explore a new part of the world, discover a new ingredient, and champion my culture and heritage. It’s also what the world needs right now. But you probably know that. So, enough said. We’re here to have some fun. Now let’s learn together and start cooking with mad flavor and mad love. This book is a culmination of my decades-long relation- ship with food. Here, I share my favorite recipes and lessons from my travels, my people and my heritage. Expressions of my culinary journey include Hakka-Style Chili Chicken (page 112), Caribbean Ceviche (page 94) and Keema Parathas (page 64). Others, including Palak Paneer Spanakopita (page 74) and Caribbean Risotto with Crispy Salmon (page 96), are inspired by the best of my culinary escapades across the globe. One thing they have in common? They’re all simple, delicious and loaded with glorious flavor. I have included a few gluten-free and/or vegan versions of classic West and East Indian dishes, given my viewers’ frequent requests for them. And when it comes to dietary requirements, each recipe features icons to help readers quickly identify the best-suited recipes. The symbols are: VeGeTArIAN DAIry-free VeGAN NuT-free GluTeN-free 30 mINuTeS or leSS HOW TO USE THIS BOOK Recipe Notes Unless otherwise specified: Black pepper is freshly ground. Eggs are large. Flour is all-purpose. Herbs are always fresh. Parsley is flat leaf (Italian). Salt is kosher. Vegetables are medium-sized.12 mad l o ve 13 AMCHUR POWDER Known as amchoor or dried mango powder, this fruity spice is made from dried unripe mangoes and used to enhance curries, pickles, soups, chutneys, fruit salads and more. CASSAVA Native to South America, cassava (or yuca) is a starchy tuber, like a yam or sweet potato. It can be mashed, made into breads and chips, or added to soups and stews. See more on page 85. CASSAREEP See page 128. CHAAT MASALA This aromatic South Asian spice blend is typically made with cumin, coriander, am- choor powder, ground ginger, asafetida, chili powder, black salt and black pepper. Use it to add tanginess to salads or vinaigrettes (page 44). CHILI PEPPERS Chili peppers feature in many of my recipes. Depending on the application, they can add heat, sweetness and even smokiness to enliven the sim- plest dishes. I commonly use Wiri Wiri peppers—small, round chilis from Guyana—but I also like Thai bird’s eye chilis. Wiri Wiri peppers can be substituted with half the amount of Scotch bonnet or habanero chilis. CULANTRO (CHADON BENI) This fragrant herb with broad, sturdy leaves is also called Mexican coriander, sawtooth coriander or chadon beni. It tastes like a sharp, peppery cilantro, and I like the freshness it brings to dishes like Pineapple Chow (page 43). CURRY LEAVES The fragrant leaves bring a distinct flavor—earthy, nutty and smoky, all at once—to soups and curries, including the Keralan Fish Curry (page 104). When possible, use fresh curry leaves, which have a more intense flavor. CURRY POWDERS Curry powders add depths of flavor to curries and stews. Guyanese curry powder is made up of a fragrant blend of coriander, turmeric, cumin, black pepper, fenugreek, mustard seeds and cardamom. I also use a spicy curry powder called Madras curry powder. In a pinch, you can substitute a regular curry powder for either. DRIED ORANGE PEEL I don’t use this ingredient often, but it is essential for the classic Pepperpot on page 127 (or see page 77 for the vegan version). The natural oils add a beautiful fragrance to the dish. CHEF DEVAN’S “EAST × WEST” PANTRY ESSENTIALS While these ingredients may seem unusual, they’re an integral part of my cooking and bring maximum flavor to dishes. Best of all, these days most are easy to find at larger supermarkets or online. 14 mad l o ve RED CHILI POWDER An integral part of desi cuisine, and also known as lal mirch. Adds a beautiful red color when used and a distinct taste and aroma. Made from ground red chili peppers with the seeds still inside. TAMARIND SAUCE Made from puréed tamarind that has been boiled then seasoned with sugar and other spices. It is sweet, sour, tart and one of my favorite ingredients to cook with. Used widely in Southeast Asian dishes. It adds so much flavor and can balance out the sweetness in curries, and even Shrimp Pad Thai (page 31). TANDOORI MASALA Tandoori masala is an Indian spice blend used to enhance grilled meats tradition- ally cooked in a tandoor, or clay oven. Its distinctive red color sets it apart from other blends. Tandoori masala is most often used to coat meats, but I also add it to the basting butter in my Tandoori Steak with Chimichurri (page 124). FENUGREEK LEAVES, DRIED (KASOORI METHI) The unusual bitterness of this dried herb adds heaps of flavor (some say celery and maple) to soups, sauces, vegetables and curries. GARAM MASALA This aromatic spice blend brings flavor and warmth to dishes. It combines cloves, cinnamon, cardamom, cumin, coriander, nutmeg, bay, mace and black pepper. This is essential in my spice rack, and I use it generously in the Guyanese Chicken Curry (page 116). GHEE Its name originating from the Sanskrit word for “sprinkled,” ghee is clarified butter. To make it, butter is heated low and slow and then strained to remove the milk solids. It is then cooked longer until golden, nutty and fragrant. KASHMIRI CHILI POWDER This beautiful spice is designed to add more color (rather than heat) to dishes and features across many of the recipes in this book, including Masala Mac ’n’ Cheese with Butternut Squash (page 21) and Keema Parathas (page 64).16 PUMP UP My brother Jai fueled my love for music, which is now an integral aspect of my cooking— from prep to service. Here are some of my favorite playlists: songs on heavy rotation, melodies from my childhood and tunes from travels around the world. I love the power of music. Like food, it can energize you, stimulate your senses and transport you to another time and place. Island Vibes WhAT hAppeNS IN De pArTy Rupee hello Kes fAlumA Alison Hinds pump me up Krosfyah (featuring Edwin Yearwood) WoTleSS Kes BAcchANAlIST Kerwin Du Bois oVer AND oVer AGAIN Tami Chynn loST oNeS Lauryn Hill Jump Rupee To your ArmS WITh loVe Jah Cure roAD To ZIoN Damian Marley (featuring Nas) WeST INDIeS Koffee STATIoN pe GADI Babla and Kanchan IT’S cArNIVAl Destra (featuring Machel Montano) TeASe me Chaka Demus and Pliers here I Am BABy UB40 Bolo Bolo Babla and Kanchan DulAhIN chAle SASurAl Rakesh Yankaran BlIND To you Collie Buddz GyAl you A pArTy ANImAl Charly Black Dry cry Sizzla Rap City reSpIrATIoN Black Star (featuring Common) The Score Fugees (featuring Diamond D) proTecT yA Neck Wu-Tang Clan BroWN muNDe AP Dhillon pouND cAke Drake (featuring Jay-Z) IT AIN’T hArD To Tell Nas 93 ’TIl INfINITy Souls of Mischief elecTrIc relAxATIoN A Tribe Called Quest full clIp Gang Starr my WorlD O.C. SIDhu SoN Sidhu Moose Wala lIVIN’ proof Group Home fAmIly BuSINeSS Fugees luchINI Camp Lo mAThemATIcS Mos Def DefINITIoN Black Star QuIeT STorm Mobb Deep reAl hIp-hop Das EFX DANGer Blahzay Blahzay ATlIeNS Outkast pIcTure me rollIN’ 2Pac come cleAN Jeru the Damaja The SeeD (2.0) The Roots (featuring Cody Chesnutt) 1Nce AGAIN A Tribe Called Questpump up the jam 17 THE JAM DAy TrIpper The Beatles help I’m AlIVe Metric DIAmoNDS oN The SoleS of her ShoeS Paul Simon cAlIforNIA DreAmIN’ The Mamas & The Papas 15 STep Radiohead SulTANS of SWING Dire Straits INTerSTATe loVe SoNG Stone Temple Pilots This One Goes to Eleven uNTIl The eND of The WorlD U2 There There Radiohead Jeremy Pearl Jam rouND here Counting Crows BANQueT Bloc Party leT DoWN Radiohead The leSS I kNoW The BeTTer Tame Impala The ’80s Throwback WAlkING oN BrokeN GlASS Annie Lennox come uNDoNe Duran Duran The SWeeTeST TABoo Sade JoleNe Dolly Parton ouT of Touch Hall and Oates loVe IS A BATTlefIelD Pat Benatar TAke oN me a-ha eVeryWhere Fleetwood Mac eASy loVer Phil Collins and Philip Bailey your loVe The Outfield lA ISlA BoNITA Madonna The loNGeST TIme Billy Joel eroTIc cITy Prince lITTle lIeS Fleetwood Mac leT’S DANce David Bowie eVeryThING She WANTS Wham!GOOD FOOD, GOOD FRIENDSSHARED PLATES 20 Fried Plantains 21 Masala Mac ’n’ Cheese 22 Desi Cauliflower Nachos 24 Desi Carbonara 25 Guyanese Egg Balls 27 Guyanese Cheese Rolls 28 Trinidadian Doubles 30 Guyanese Pholourie 31 Shrimp Pad Thai 32 Guyanese-Style Chicken Chow Mein 35 Smashed Aloo Tikki 36 Poutine Eh! 37 Pepperpot TacosNext >