Cookery Class 2

After the success of the first class the pupils felt more at home chopping and cooking independently. In fact as we go from one class to the next the class became more and more confident and needed less supervision.

The purpose of these lessons was to get people who enjoy indian food to be able to cook it authentically and introduce them to many dishes which they may not have had in the so called indian restaurants in the u.k.

one of the participants had presented me with a red chilli plant. it was a good opportunity to use the chilies from this plant in one of the preparations. as these were ready on this day so i chose bhindi as one of the dishes.

This session’s menu was:

Lahori Chicken which is a Pakistani dish shown to me by an indian lady whose family originated from Pakistan but immigrated during the partition of the british raj india. it is one of the dishes one doesn't see very often but is so simple and through these classes i would hope i may make it more popular as it should be!

Katri Bhindi made in a kayastha style.

Chole (Chick peas)  this is one of the most popular dishes for vegetarians in northern india. it started as a street food available for workers at work places or shoppers in the bazaars of Delhi. i was fortunate to have lived as a child near one of the many famous cholewala’s in Delhi. The original chap was an immigrant from Pakistan who arrived in Delhi at the time of Indian independence. He set up a small shop which was on the fringe of what was Delhi though now of course this place would be considered to be in the heart of the metro. i believe he serves the best chole in the world but i am biased. the real recipe is a trade secret and i have tried to create as near a version as i could. for simplicity i use shan’s chana masala which i believe gives a very close result. One can use chickpeas and soak them overnight but once again i cheat and use the tinned version which at least in the u.k. are partially cooked. Using this saves a lot of cooking time with probably a better results.

One would usually serve the chole with bhaturas but that becomes very rich and time consuming and hence become impractical for a one and a half hour class. so i will serve these with pre cooked paranthas. 

Cook & Eat Indian Cookery Class 1

CLASS 1

I have named my classes Cook & eat as these tend to be social events where participants cook a meal under my supervision and handy recipes from me. After cooking we all sit down to eat together over choice of our tipple!

in this class like others we did prepare three dishes and sat down together to eat.here i have given the recipe of only Kashmiri rogan josh as other items have been covered in the main blog.

ROGAN JOSH

This is one of the signature dishes amongst Kashmiri Pandits, but is equally popular amongst the muslim who use onion and garlic in their cooking where as Pandits do not use these ingredients. Pandits in India are vegetarian, often not using garlic in their cooking. Kashmiri Pandit however, due their close links with the invading rulers started eating meat but refrained from adding garlic and onions. Despite not having garlic and onions Kashmiri version of Rogan Josh is such a winner.

  

Ingredients:

1 Kg Lamb

10-12 Cloves

1 inch Cinnamon stick

2-3 Brown Cardamoms

1/3 tsf Chilli powder

1 tsf crushed Fennel seeds

1 tsf Ginger powder

1 ¼ tsf Salt (to taste)

5 tbsf Yogurt

5 tbsf oil

Method:

• Heat the oil in a pressure cooker, when hot put the cinnamon stick and cardamoms stir for 3-4 mins or when they sizzle. 
• Now add the lamb, chilli powder and salt. Slightly brown the meat.
• When the meat is slightly brown start adding yogurt spoonful at a time so that it mixes well. If the lamb catches you can add small amount of water. 
• Add ½ cup of water, Ginger powder and Crushed fennel seeds and give pressure for 25 mins (time will depend on quality of meat). You can cook the meat without a pressure cooker but you need a heavy pan with a tight lid. 
• The time lamb should be tender and the dish should be dry. With the lid of the pressure cooker off dry off any water.