The Butter Chicken Blues

After a long days work, Indian delivery from our favourite local restaurant seemed like the perfect comfort food. We've been ordered from Everest on Lakeshore for years now. Delivery is relatively quick, the food always arrives steaming hot, and I've got a particular soft spot for their butter chicken. I called the manager to ask about the 'peanut situation. '

I had no idea, but Indian food is chock full of nuts; a large majority of the meat dishes include cashew paste, which is used as a sauce thickener. Even though the manager graciously offered to cook the dishes fresh, without the paste, we declined to order. The opportunity for cross contamination in a kitchen where nuts are commonly used seems high. Even though DJ was already in bed and wouldn't be partaking, we decided from the onset that we would maintain a strictly peanut/nut free household, so even foods with trace amounts of allergen are considered off-limits. Maybe we're being overly cautious, but for us, it's the strategy that we're most comfortable with for now. I'm going to miss Everest. In the meantime, I'm going to check out the labels on some of the prepared Indian sauces available so I can make my own Indian food at home.