Learning Indian Cooking - Mushroom Masala, Aloo Gobi

I have always had a craving for Indian food, but have had to resist the urge due to the extreme level of spice used in most Indian restaurants I have experienced. Having taken a step into the world of cooking, I decided it was time to learn to cook some Indian food for myself, where the spice level would be in my direct control. In my earlier online research, I had found I Heart Curry, an Indian cooking school. Perusing the website and seeing Fharzana's (the teacher) excellent cooking philosophy, I decided to enroll in a class.

Entering Fharzana's home, I was greeted with a hot chai... which I refused to drink due to lactose intolerance ;). Anyhow, in the class Fharzana took the time to teach us about knives, oil, nutrition, ingredients, cutting, spices, shelf life... really everything there is to cooking. As we cooked, Fharzana gave us the opportunity to ask questions and take an active role in the class. Not only this, she took into account everyone's sensitivities, particularly bringing the spice level down and keeping separate non-dairy portions for me. By the end of the class, we had created Masala Toast, Aloo Gobi, and Mushroom Masala. All three dishes felt very good on my system, with Masala Toast being my favorite. Overall, I felt very comfortable in the class.

Apprentice Chef Amil in Fharzana's kitchen

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Knowing that practice makes perfect and that we remember recent things better, I decided to replicate these dishes on my own as soon as practical.

First, Mushroom Masala. With the help of some spices Fharzana gave me and an Indian market,I successfully replicated the dish. It turned out quite well.

The ingredients for Mushroom Masala (note the coconut milk)

The finished product

The mushrooms were begging for some rice on the side ;)

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However, I didn't stop there. No... I became hungry again. The time was right for Aloo Gobi (Potato Cauliflower). Using fresh ingredients from the farmer's market, I took a shot at it. Aside from the improperly cleaned stainless steel pot in which my corn oil caught on fire (hey, I'm still new to this!), everything turned out well.

Fresh Farmer's Market ingredients

The finished product... resting on top of Fharzana's top-secret recipe ;)

I'm really enjoying learning how to cook. It's an Art. Yet, at the same time it is a survival skill... fulfilling our fundamental need for food.

Learning to Cook

Through my training in the Martial Arts, I have become very sensitive to the food I eat. As opposed to taste, I focus more on how food feels on my body. As I am learning, food can have a huge impact on energy level. With good food, I can have an excellent day.

Unfortunately, one cannot always rely on restaurants; for me, it has always been a hit-and-miss experience, with the exception of two excellent restaurants I know of. Many places compromise the freshness of food to save money; others sacrifice cleanliness. Really, we don't know what is going on in the kitchen or where the ingredients came from. At the extreme, there are people that take food from the dumpster and cook it up for others (I know of two).

Having some time over the holidays, I decided to take it upon myself to learn more about cooking. The basic rice and steamed vegetables I had been cooking for about a year was not cutting it.

Where did I start? By looking for a cooking class. Through Yelp, I found two excellent teachers. The first was Sunshine in SF, who taught me how to cook Pad Thai Tofu, Tom Kha Tofu Soup, and Black Sticky Rice with Custard. Going in as a student, I paid attention to her cooking technique and picked up many tips along the way. Sunshine took the time to answer all my questions and even took some pictures of me!

The second was Emily Dellas in SF, who taught me in a group class how to cook "Gluten- Free Gourmet", which included Arugula & Pomegranate Salad, Squash & Fennel Soup w. Spiced Pumpkin Seeds, Whole Seabass Baked w. Mushrooms in Parchment, and Flourless Chocolate Cake. Emily possessed a lot of knowledge regarding the science of nutrition and explained how to find high quality ingredients and how to cook to maximize the nutrition in food. Cooking really is an art!

Knowing that practice makes perfect, I decided to try to replicate the Thai recipes at my place while the experience was still fresh in my mind. Within a week, I had replicated the Pad Thai twice, which turned out very well both times. My second attempt at Tom Kha Soup did not turn out well, but perhaps my third attempt will yield different results!

Anyhow, I now have the ability to cook delicious Pad Thai!