In Indian cooking, garlic is one of the most important ingredients in the foundation of any main dish or a good curry. The key to using garlic in Indian cooking is to balance its boldness in proportion with ginger, cumin, chilies, turmeric and other spices, and if its absent from the dish, it quickly becomes apparent a big flavour is missing!
When my brother Paresh and I made up our very first batch of what is known today as Arvinda's Curry Masala, we were adamant about using Ontario garlic in our family spice blends. One type of garlic produced in Ontario is the hard neck kind with dozens and dozens of different varieties. Hard neck garlic typically contains four or five to eight luscious and plump cloves that have an intense 'out of this world' taste, adding a pungent quality to our masalas and bold flavours to every bite!
At Arvinda's we are committed to using any ingredients we can source locally and always support local Ontario garlic farmers which we lovingly blend into Arvinda's masalas. So of course, we're partaking and celebrating Ontario Garlic Week!
The garlic in Ontario is harvested towards the end of the summer so this is the time of year you should get your hands on a stash of fresh garlic for all your fall cooking. To celebrate Ontario Garlic Week, I made a focaccia-like flatbread with a curry spice twist, topped with freshly picked herbs (including fresh cilantro!) from the community garden and with whole clove garlic slices as a garnish.
The curry masala olive oil I slathered on top of the flatbread before baking can also be used as a bread dipper too. And don't forget to check out my Ontario garlic haul below!
Sending you garlicky goodness,
