Indian cooking lesson
I wasn't sure I'd survive two weeks in India, two weeks of hot and spicy Indian cuisine.
My first experience with "intensive" Indian food, so to speak, was a head-on collision from which I staggered out: I introduce the first bite, and everything seems to be allright, but I only have an infinitesimal amount of time to taste what I'm eating before everything starts to burn. My forehead starts to sweat, it seems that the waiter has turned up the heat, and then nothing: my taste buds no longer perceive the flavors and everything I introduce in my mouth only feeds the general burning.
Fortunately, the apocalyptic scenario of my gastronomic experience in India was accompanied by a more heartening result obtained by Nic, who after some alarming symptoms such as hyper-perspiration during the first meals, developed some strange habituation and enjoyed every spicy meal with tasted from the beginning to the end of the trip.
For me, unfortunately, there were no rice, yoghurt, bread, industrial quantities of lassi, that managed to turn off the spiciness and could make me enjoy a full meal. Maybe I can survive a tandoor, as long as it is small, I can enjoy a few samosas, but I can barely reach the end of a very spicy curry made in India.
The curious thing about Indian cuisine, is that most of the preparations are curries, and not the mix of spices we Europeans are used to. They speak generically of curry in terms of a preparation based on a thick sauce with a complex mixture of spices and herbs, which varies depending on the dish. They may contain meat, fish, vegetables or cheese. However, the consistency is always very similar, the flavours, for us naive Westerners, very alike to each other, and it is difficult to distinguish the ingredients that make them up. Not to mention the whole complex series of names that will make you get lost on the menu and you will hardly be able to remember those of the most exotic dishes you have eaten.
The curiosity to understand the complex structure of these dishes led us to look for a cooking class to attend in Udaipur. The panorama of courses offered was indeed vast, and we were lucky enough to find a kind Indian lady willing to give us a lesson at a time of our choice during the day. When we made our reservation, 3 more people joined us, so we had an afternoon group lesson to learn the basics of spicy Indian gastronomy.
With a basic stretched English, Mrs. Shashi, supported by her son, who however spoke impeccable English, gave us a lesson of a couple of hours to learn some basic techniques.
We learned what the basic spices are and how to dose them. We cooked the sauce that serves as the starting point of every preparation called curry. We made a delicious palak paneer, the thick spinach curry in which float delicious fried cheese bites. We made delicious pakora.
The most interesting part was the preparation of naan bread, simple, to accompany curries, stuffed with a delicious tomato sauce, or sweet. We loved this cooking lesson: the preparations are conducted from start to finish, from the raw ingredients, and no elements have been prepared beforehand. We were able to get our hands on everything, and proceed with each step ourselves.
Moreover, at the end of the lesson, we ate the meal we prepared, and I can state with certainty that it was the most delicious meal we ate in India, not only because of the freshness of the preparations, but also because, fortunately, we were able to dose the most intense spices according to our tastes, and finally be able to feel the taste of what we ate, without giving up an adequate dose of spiciness.
PRICE
The lesson cost varies according to the number of people. We paid more or less 10€ each.
LOCATION
Gangaur Chat 18,under Sunrise Restaurant. The sign with the name is clearly visible outside.
SMART TIP
Book the evening lesson at 17:30 and enjoy the prepared meal for dinner, instead of going to a restaurant.
GOOD TO KNOW
You can make pictures and record the lesson after asking permission to Shashi. You will be given a paper with the recipes, to bring home with you. The drinks consumed during the meal are not included in the price.
shashicooking@gmail.com
