Next class

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

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 !

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

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

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

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

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.