Serves chana masala, grilled chicken biryani, saffron rice, garlic naan to MLPS students, staff
The students and staff of Mountain Lake Public School (MLPS) had the opportunity to taste-test the cuisine of India, courtesy of Taher Chef Chris Murray.
Chef Chris served up a main dish of Indian chana masala, grilled chicken biryani on a sword, saffron rice and fresh hand-stretched garlic naan during at noon lunch on Friday, February 10.
Chana masala – spiced chickpeas – is a popular main dish in both Indian and Pakistani cuisines. Chickpea varieties are the main ingredient. The dish is fairly spicy, with a citrus taste. Ingredients that go into making chana masala, along with the chickpeas, are usually onion, chopped tomatoes, coriander, garlic, chillies, ginger, dried mango powder, crushed pomegranate seed and garam masala (a blend of ground spices common and favorited in the area).
Biryani is a South Asian mixed rice dish generally made with spices, rice and meat – in this case, grilled chicken.
Saffron rice is a dish made using saffron, white rice, along with vegetable bouillon.
Naan is a leavened, oven-baked flatbread.
Chef Chris is a member of the Taher Chef Council. Taher is the food service provider at the school. Members of the Taher Chef Council travel around the world as a team in order to stay on the cutting edge of the culinary field.
Before Chef Chris joined Taher, Inc. in 2003 as Corporate Catering Manager, his culinary experiences included – Director of Catering for the Minnesota Vikings Food Service preparing food for the executive suites and VIP parties at the Hubert H. Humphrey dome; Chef at the Eden Prairie City Center, catering weddings, corporate functions and private parties; Executive Chef to the CEO (Chief Executive Officer) and Board of Directors for the IDS/American Express Corporation and owner of a successful “Personal Chef Service,” catering dinners, proms and private parties. In 1998, Chris had the privilege of catering the 1998 United States Presidential visit of Bill Clinton.
As Regional Chef for Taher, Chef Chris assists with new account openings and large catered events, and awes customers with his On Display cooking of international cuisine at Taher-managed accounts. He is an active member of the Minneapolis Chapter of the American Culinary Federation (ACF) where he enthusiastically donates his time to help others less fortunate. In 2001, he was awarded the “Presidential Hero of Everyday Life” award for his work feeding homeless, and in 2007, as Taher’s Executive Chef at Hennepin Technical College (HTC), Chris received the “Spirit of the Heart” award given by Dr. Kathryn Jeffery, President of HTC-BP, for his commitment to students. He has organized many fundraising golf tournaments to assist charitable organizations, and participated in “We Can Ride” fundraising dinners for handicapped children in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area.
Following is a photo gallery of the visit of Chef Chris to the kitchen and cafeteria of MLPS:
