Indian Cooking Classes

Schedule for May 2008

2008-05-24T16:24:00.002+08:00

May 17,2008 :
Daal Makhani - black lentils in a creamy sauce
Palak paneer - cottage cheese cubes in a spinach sauce

May 26, 2008
Butter Chicken Curry - Marinated boneless chicken cooked in a creamy sauce
Bhatura - a deep fried bread.

Schedule for April, 2008

2008-04-09T13:15:00.002+08:00

April 2, 2008
Lamb curry with potatoes and cream
Chole - chick peas curry

April 11, 2008
Samosa - savoury snack, made of potato filling in a pastry shell and fried
Carrot halwa - a dessert made of carrots

April 17th, 2008
Chicken Korma - chicken cooked in a sauce of onions, tomatoes and coconut
Vegetable Pulao - Basmati rice cooked with spices and vegetables

Schedule for March 2008

2008-03-12T19:02:00.002+08:00

Cooking class schedule for the month of March, 2008 :
Friday, 7th March, 2008, 11 a.m :
Paapri Chaat - a mixture of potatoes, chickpeas & chutneys
Chole - Chick peas curry.

Wednesday, 11th March,2008 at 10 am :
Butter Chicken Curry
Bhatura - a deep - fried bread.

Friday, 14th March, 2008 at 11 am :
Chicken Korma
Palak paneer - Cottage cheese cubes in a spinach sauce

Saturday, 15th March, 2008 at 12.30 noon :
Vegetable pakora - deep fried vegetable fritters
Vegetable Pulao - rice cooked with spices and vegetables.

Scedule for February 2008

2008-02-21T09:46:00.002+08:00

The next class is on 21st February, 2008 at 1.30 p.m.
We will be cooking
Chicken tikka
and
Daal fry - yellow lentils.

List of dishes cooked in previous classes

2008-02-18T17:50:00.002+08:00

I thought I would just put up a list of dishes we cooked in previous classes, for new students to browse and decide on what they could try out.

The list is only indicative, not exhaustive - you could ask to try any others you may have in mind, too !
Curries :
Non Vegetarian :

Butter Chicken ( popular with students) - Boneless chicken
pieces in creamy sauce.

Chicken Korma - chicken with a sauce of tomatoes, onion and
coconut.

Lamb curry with potatoes and cream.

Vegetarian :

Chole - Chickpeas curry with onions and tomatoes.

Palak Paneer - cottage cheese cubes in spinach sauce

Starters :
Samosa - pastry shell filled with potato and fried
Chicken tikka - chicken marinated with spices and grilled
Vegetable Pakora - deep fried vegetable fritters

Breads :
Bhatura - a deep fried bread made with refined flour
Roti - unleavened bread made of wheat flour

Desserts :
Gajar ka Halwa - a sweet made of carrots and milk
Sooji ka Halwa - a sweet made of semolina ( cream of wheat)

Rice dishes :
Vegetable pulao - rice and vegetables cooked with spices
Tomato Pulao - rice cooked with tomatoes
Chicken Biryani - rice cooked with chicken ( this is a
advanced one, I teach it to people who have already had few
classes).

Schedule for January 2008

2008-01-18T09:51:00.000+08:00

The next cooking classes for Indian Food will be held on the following dates :

19th January at 11 am :

Chicken Tikka - Chicken grilled with spices
Palak Paneer - Cottage cheese cubes in spinach sauce

23rd January at 10.30 am:

Butter Chicken - chicken in a creamy sauce
Baingan Bharta - eggplant with tomatoes and onions

29th January at 11 am :
Chole - Chickpeas curry
Paapri Chat - a spicy mix of potatoes, yogurt and chutneys
( sorry but there is no apt english equivalent that I can think of, to describe this )

Dishes cooked in previous classes

2007-06-01T17:03:00.000+08:00

Next class

2007-05-17T09:59:00.000+08:00

The next class for Kebabs and coolers is on Saturday,19th May, at 2.00pm.
We will be cooking :
Lassi : a drink made with yoghurt
Paneer tikka : Cottage cheese cubes grilled with spices.

Summer Specials - Kebabs and Coolers

2007-05-09T15:58:00.000+08:00

Summer is here in shanghai ! Summer is the season for barbecues, also time to eat and drink foods that cool the system. Indian cooking has plenty of foods that have this "cooling effect"

I thought it would be a nice idea to have cooking classes with summer specials, like kebabs of various kinds, and foods that keep us cool !

So next class will be held on BOTH Saturday, AND Sunday, that is the 12th and 13th of May, at 2.30 p.m. I chose to have the class on both days since some people find it convenient on Saturdays and some on Sundays.

We will be cooking :

Chicken tikka Kebab - chicken pieces marinated in spices and grilled - ofcourse, you can do it in your oven, or if you do not have oven, even on the stove top !

Badam Kheer - a drink made of almonds and milk.I know, most are going to say - almonds ? but thats lots of calories ! But do you know the health benefits of Almonds ?

Almonds are high in monounsaturated fats, the same type of health-promoting fats as are found in olive oil, which have been associated with reduced risk of heart disease.

Almonds are a very good source of vitamin E and manganese. Almonds are a good source of magnesium, copper, riboflavin (vitamin B2), and phosphorus. Nutritionists recommend that we eat a handful of them every day !

2007-04-10T13:12:00.000+08:00

The next class will be held on Saturday, 14th April, at 1.00 p.m.

We will be cooking :

Chicken Korma - Chicken cooked in a onion, tomato and coconut based sauce.

and

Bhatura - a deep fried bread.

Next class

2007-03-29T16:13:00.000+08:00

Next class will be held on Saturday, 7th April at 1.00 p.m. We will be cooking :
Samosa - a pastry shell filled with potato curry,
and
Carrot halwa, a sweet made of Carrots.

Next Class

2007-03-22T12:22:00.000+08:00

The next class will be held on Sunday, 25th March at 4.00 pm. We will be cooking

Butter chicken curry

and

Peas Pulao - rice cooked with spices and peas

Frequently asked questions

2007-03-15T22:14:00.000+08:00

1. Are you an Indian ?

Yes, I am an Indian. I had lots of people ask me if I was swedish - it seems that Lotta is a swedish name - I was not aware of that. This is my screen name for Shanghai Expat, the website which helped me launch my cooking classes. I have a few reservations against declaring my name on a website, so I gave this name - the story behind the name ? Another time.

2. Is Indian cooking very difficult to learn ?

The answer is - NO. It is not difficult to learn at all - I had students from all age groups, and different levels of cooking skills - and from the feed back I get from them, they find it quite easy !

3. But Indian cooking uses LOTS of spices - How would I know how to use them ? Even remember them ?

While Indian cooking does use lot of spices, there are very few that you would be using in my classes - I try to make it as simple as possible. For the convenience of my students, I have put up in this blog, photos of the spices and their names, if at all you are confused, help is just a click away !

4. Are all dishes very spicy ? I don't like to eat very spicy food. Then is there any Indian Dish that I can learn ?

For most of the dishes, the spicy nature comes from the red chilly powder or green chillies used in the recipe. When you are cooking, you can tone down the spice as per your liking - and all Indian dishes are not spicy ! A number of them use minimum of spices and chilli - you can choose which you want to learn.

5. Can I get the ingredients easily in Shanghai ?

All the ingredients I use in my dishes are easily available in Shanghai. Some spices can be found in Carre four, Lotus and some chinese super markets as well, since some spices are common for both cuisines - though I think the chinese use some spices only for their tea.
Others can be easily got from the Indian Stores, - Bhoomi Stores, 1230 Hong qiao road, by Song yuan road, Shanghai. Phone : 51186847. They do door delivery as well.

6. I am a vegetarian. What options do I have in Indian dishes ?

I can only say - many!! Many Indians are strict vegetarians, do not eat egg, or meat of any kind.
They do have milk though.. so they are not vegans.. :) but so, when restricted by vegetarianism, our ancestors , the gourmets that they were, found a dozen ways or in some cases even more ( I am not exaggerating here ) to cook each vegetable - fried, boiled, pickled, dried..and cooking with a combination of spices - and perfected the combinations so well. When I was a kid, I was just eating them and enjoying the taste of each dish. Now, when I am more interested in nutritive values, I do research and I am amazed that, each dish, carefully planned and cooked, has one ingredient boosting the health benefits of the other, the spices helping in digesting the food. So, vegetarians, Indian cooking is the best for you !

7. What is " Curry Powder" ? I bought some at a store here and tried making a curry with it, but it was not what I generally eat at the Indian restaurants.. Why ?

First thing is that, in India we don't have anything called " Curry Powder" . Most of the dishes which you taste in the restaurant though, have what is known as "Garam Masala Powder" as an ingredient. " Garam" means hot and "masala" name for a blend of spices. There are a number of combination of spices used for different dishes, but this garam masala is most frequently used. The " curry powder" which we get here - I tried a packet out of curiosity, when I first came here - is not at all what garam masala should be. So when you use it for your curry, it will not taste good ! Garam masala has a number of spices carefully measured, roasted and ground to a fine powder. You can buy garam masala in the indian stores I mentioned above.

I think I covered most FAQs. When I get more, I shall include them , too. :)

Next Class

2007-03-12T19:12:00.000+08:00

The next class will be held on Wednesday, 14th March, at 11 a.m. We will be cooking:

Roti - a bread made of whole wheat flour

and

Eggplant curry in sauce.

Home made Yoghurt

2007-03-07T17:29:00.000+08:00

We use a lot of yoghurt in our cooking, from marinating the meats in it to using it for the Raita, Lassi, Kadi... most Indian homes always have yoghurt or "Dahi" as it is called, as a base for next day's yoghurt, a spoonful is always kept aside for setting the Dahi for the next day.
Yoghurt is good for health, in a way better than milk, not only because it has live bacterial cultures which give a number of health benefits, but also since volume for volume, it has more calcium too ! But the health benefits are considerably reduced when we buy ready made yoghurt, since it would have been pasteurized, the harmful as well as the useful bacteria would have been killed - so the benefit from the live culture is reduced - and most yoghurt we buy here in Shanghai has added sugar - which adds unnecessary calories.

It is quite easy to make at home, and the taste of homemade yoghurt is unparalleled - try it !

Preperation time :
Cooking time : 10 minutes. Waiting time : 6 hours
Ingredients :

Milk - 500 ml ( or more if you would like more yoghurt)

Yoghurt culture - 1 Tablespoon
Please buy it from any Indian restaurant- ask for Plain Dahi., or take from some one who makes it regularly - you can use the store bought yoghurt, but the results are not that good .

Method :

Boil milk. Let cool upto 120 degrees F. If you dont have a thermometer, don't panic ! The milk needs to be just a little warmer than luke warm - if you take a spoonful of it and touch it, it should be a just hot enough, not burn.
Add the culture, or Dahi.
Cover the container and keep it in a warm place, undisturbed, for six hours.
In winters, it takes a longer time to set, and in summer, less.
Yoghurt needs temperature between 98 F and 115 F to set well. When the temperature drops in winters, you need to cover the container with an old scarf, and place it in a warm place - say a microwave oven, or ordinary oven. Since it needs to be undisturbed for six hours, if you are placing it in a microwave, it would be better if you plan it in such a way you dont need to use the microwave for that long !
Once set, store the yoghurt in the refrigerator or it will get sour.
This can be stored for one week to ten days in the refrigerator, at 40 deg F.

Home made Cottage Cheese - Paneer

2007-03-02T18:20:00.000+08:00

You can make good cottage cheese at home. Lot of Indian dishes use this, so I am giving the recipe here, and some photographs I took as I made it. I hope it helps my students to make it - so they can try dishes like Palak Paneer, Kadai Paneer, Paneer Tikka... List is endless !

You will need, beside the ingredients, Two utensils, a colander, a chopping board, and a thin linen cloth - any cotton cloth, which is thin - and does not have the loops of thread on the surface, so the regular hand napkins we use are not suitable. I bought mine in Ikea. Any clean, thin, cotton cloth will do.

Preperation time : cooking time : 15 minutes Waiting time : 1 hour

Yields about 150 grams of cottage cheese .

Ingredients :

Fresh Milk - 1 carton

One Tablespoon White vinegar.

I used this carton of milk, but Bright brand Fresh milk is good as well. I found that these two brands make good cottage cheese. With one carton of milk, you will get a block of cottage cheese, about 150 to 200 gms - If you want more, use more milk. The whey has lot of nutrients - so I don't throw it away - I use it to knead my roti dough - gives soft, tasty and nutritious rotis !

Generally lime juice is used in India to split the milk , but here in Shanghai, I found that lime juice does not always work, so I have started using the white vinegar.

Method : Pour the milk into a container and place it on the stove.Bring it to boil.

While you are waiting for the milk to boil, place a colander on a utensil, which can hold about 600 ml or more of liquid, since this is

going to hold the whey which seperates once the milk is split. If you use a smaller one, it will overflow with the hot whey. Also take care that the utensil is such that does not mind hot boiling liquids - do not use light weight plastic ones. Make the napkin a little damp, just wet it and wring it out - this facilitates easy draining of the whey - and drape it on the colander.

When the milk comes to boil, it will start rising up. At this point, add the vinegar to it, and mix well, turn the heat to low.

After one minute or so, it will split.
Turn off the heat, when you can see greenish whey seperate, like in this picture.

Now strain the split milk through the napkin draped on the colander, and you will have the cheese remaining on the napkin.

If you are uncomfortable about pouring the hot mixture out, you can wait a few minutes and do this step after the mixture cools - it will not effect the quality of the cheese.

Lift the four corners of the napkin, twist the napkin above the cheese contained in it. take one corner of the napkin and wind it around the place where you twisted it. You can also tie it with a piece of string, if you wish. You can tie it up and let the liquid drain out, if you can , and it will take a longer time to drain this way, I just place a chopping board on it, and put a weight on it. You can do it either way, if you are hanging it up for drain, be sure you make arrangements for the whey draining out - either hang it up above the sink or place a container beneath to catch the drips.

So if you wish to use the weight, then :

Place the bundle on an upturned dish or, if you have a strong colander, on the colander, and put the chopping board on the bundle. Place a weight - even a one kilo bag of grocery will do - on the board, leave for one hour. After one hour, remove the weight, the board and you will have your cottage cheese ready.

Now you can cut it into pieces, if you are using it in a dish like palak paneer, or grate it and use it as you like.

This is what I made that day - Palak Paneer - or Spinach cooked with cottage cheese - Yum!!

Spices used in Indian cooking

2007-02-16T10:28:00.000+08:00

I wanted to write about spices, since my students did not know the names of some spices used in Indian cooking, some were taking pictures to remind them of how they looked so they could buy them at the Indian store. Here is a short list of spices commonly used for Indian cooking:

Cloves : Cloves are the immature unopened flower buds of a tropical tree. When fresh, they are pink. When dried, they turn to a rust-brown colour. These are freely available in the local chinese stores, as well as the supermarkets.
In India, Cloves have been used since ancient times to treat respiratory and digestive ailments. The oil extracted from them is used to treat toothache, used in toothpastes as well. A dry cough is best treated keeping a clove in the cheek, like a lozenge.

Selection and storage : Look for cloves with an intact head, the top rounded part should be attatched to the stalk. Store in an airtight container.

Cinnamon : Cinnamon is the inner bark of a tropical tree.

Recent studies have determined that consuming as little as one-half teaspoon of Cinnamon each day may reduce blood sugar, cholesterol, and triglyceride levels by as much as 20% in Type II diabetes patients who are not taking insulin.It is mildly

carminative and used to treat nausea and flatulence. It is also used to treat diarrhoea.

Cinnamon is available in all the chinese stores and supermarkets.
Selection and storage : Whole cinnamon keeps its flavour indefinitely. Store in air tight containers.

Cardamom : Cardamom is the fruit of a plant native to India, with aromatic seeds. It was used in India, not only for the aromatic properties, but also its mild carminative and digestive properties.
It is also rumored to have mild aphrodisiac properties.
It is widely used, not only in spicy dishes, but also to flavour most indian desserts.
This spice is available only in the Indian stores.
Storage : Powdered cardamom tends to lose its flavour quickly, so it is best to powder them when using in desserts. Whole cardamom can be stored in air tight containers.

Cumin: Cumin seeds resemble caraway seeds, but the flavour is quite different. Cumin seeds are a good source of iron, and aid good digestion.It is supposed to increase lactation in nursing mothers and reduce nausea in pregnancy. It has been shown to be effective in treating carpal tunnel syndrome, as well as diarrhoea and morning sickness.

Cumin seeds are also available in the chinese markets and the supermarkets.
Storage : store in an air tight container.

Mustard seeds : Mustard seeds come from the mustard plant, which is a cruciferous vegetable related to broccoli, Brussels sprouts and cabbage. While there are different colored mustard, the black mustard seeds are used in indian cooking.

Mustard seeds have phytonutrients which fight against gastro - intestinal cancer.
Mustard seeds are also a good source of omega-3 fatty acids, iron, calcium, zinc, manganese, magnesium, protein, niacin and dietary fiber.
Storage : Store like other spices, in air tight container.

Fenugreek seeds : Fenugreek seeds are from the seeds, with a bitter flavour, from the fenugreek plant, grown widely in India. The leaves of the plant, both in fresh and dried form, are incorporated into curries to give it a unique flavour. The seeds are used in various curries.

Fenugreek aids digestion, has been proven to lower the sugar level of the blood, it is used in diabetes in conjunction with insulin. It also lowers blood pressure, relieves congestion, reduces inflammation and fights infection. It is also a good source of selenium, which helps the body utilise oxygen.
Storage : Store in an airtight container.

More spices and condiments in next posts !

Ginger - Garlic paste

2007-02-14T09:04:00.000+08:00

This is the basic paste used for many curries and other dishes. Most of the recipes call for this so I shall give the recipe for this.
Ingredients :
Garlic flakes, peeled - 10
Ginger, 2 inch piece, peeled and cut into small bits.
Oil - 2 teaspoons.
Method :
Grind the the garlic flakes and ginger pieces, using a food processor, into a smooth paste. Use the oil to facilitate smooth grinding. Store in a air tight glass jar in the refrigerator.
Since we use only a little for each curry, this recipe yields more than you need for one use. But most food processors will not grind such small quantities, it is easier to grind more quantity and store - it can be stored upto one month in the refrigerator. You can freeze it, if you wish, but it does take away some flavour from it.
Note:
1. If you do not have a food processor, you can grate the ginger and garlic seperately, using a grater. In this case do not cut the ginger - just peel a two inch piece and grate it. Then mix the grated ginger and garlic together. This will not give you the smooth paste, but you can use it.
Alternatively if you have a mortar and pestle - you can find them in Metro and Ikea - you can use that as well.. that is the way it was done in India since ancient times !
2. The traditional recipe does not call for oil. But here the garlic has something in it, that if we grind or grate it, after sometime, it just turns green! To avoid this, I use the oil, so that the paste keeps its colour, and stores well in the refrigerator.

The first class

2007-02-13T10:45:00.000+08:00

Well, my first student has very graciously given me permission to use her photographs on my blog. I thank her for her co operation, and also for giving me the required boost " Wow, the first class went so well, let us do it again !" - she and her friends were so appreciative about the dishes that I felt that I must do more of this - and here I am, doing more and more - and most importantly, enjoying what I do !

In the first class we had Butter Chicken cooking on one stove, while the students merrily rolled out Rotis - an unleavened flat bread - They really enjoyed rolling the rotis. I must say, they were good at it, too ! They had great fun first making and then tasting the food they made. I enjoyed their involvement in cooking and the pleasure they took in puffing up the rotis..It was a wonderful experience.

Tips on Indian Cooking

2007-02-13T09:36:00.000+08:00

The first question most of my students ask me is whether it is difficult to learn. My answer is - it is not difficult to learn, it only takes a little time, just like any new skill. Once you learn the basics, you can experiment, add a little more of this or less of that, add a new ingredient, and you have a dish which suits your taste.

The first thing to note is that most of Indian cooking is done on a low to medium flame, cooking slowly, giving the spices time to release their flavour and aroma into the dish being cooked. The problem here in Shanghai is that, Chinese cooking being done on high heat, the burners are not really suited for the low heat - food tends to burn if left for a long time. To prevent this, when you are cooking, you may need to turn the heat off, when adding spices to the oil in the pan, wait a few seconds and start the flame again. This is a little irritating at times, but necessary to see that the end result is good.

Second question I get is - what kind of cookware to use ? Indian cooking is preferably done in heavy - duty vessels - not the light, non stick version which we get here - they tend to burn - a cast iron wok is very useful, you can find them in most supermarkets or even in the chinese stores. Cast iron retains heat and helps cook food well. The important thing is that the base of the vessel is thick, the ASD brand cookware is good, though a little more expensive.

Cooking oil - sunflower oil or corn oil is fine, in India we do use peanut oil - but the peanut oil here is slightly more smelly and tends to have an aftertaste which is not desirable. Soya bean oil too has a slight smell, which might over power the spices used in the dish - Sunflower or corn oil are better options, both for the curries, as well as deep frying.

In future posts I shall discuss about different spices used in Indian cooking.

First Post

2007-02-12T20:17:00.000+08:00

I have been holding Indian Food cooking classes in Shanghai, for past few months. My first students were members from Shaghai Expat Website, which was one of the reasons for starting the classes in the first place. I had read a thread where the person posting the thread wanted to know if there were places where she could learn Indian cooking, hands - on. It made me feel that I should start a cooking class. I had replied by saying I would teach, and some other members had come for a first class. The particular member who came to the class with her friends was a very sweet girl, who took pictures of the food they had cooked, and posted the pictures with a recommendation, on the site. This photograph - they say pictures say it better than words - gave me a number of inquiries, few of them resulting in me having regular weekday as well as weekend classes. Then when I had a class last time, I tried to take some pictures, to post on the website - then one of the students wanted to know why. I told her that I wanted to post it on the Sh Expat website, when she remarked that, I should have my own site !

That set me thinking, well, why not ?

So here is my first post. with it, the photo of the Butter Chicken we made on that day in the first class. This is not the photo my first student has taken, but I guess it should suffice for the time being till I can ask her permission to use hers !