Today I want to talk about an Indian-themed cooking class I took with my family.
On Sept. 29th I travelled to Etobicoke with my family to attend an Indian cooking class. We were taught by a wonderful woman named Chandrika and her husband, Girish. We learned about their lives, their childhoods, and more. They grew up in the western side of India and eventually both moved to Canada, and met each other in Toronto. They have been vegetarian all of their lives, and Chandrika has been vegan for six years. They have been living in Canada for 20 years, and she loves to cook and to teach people to cook.
We learned about the different spices of the western Indian culture, and she showed us how all of the spices that they used frequently are kept in what is called a masala box. All of the spices are very tasty in their own ways, and helps to satisfy the tastes.
You can follow her on facebook:
Chandrika Joshi at https://www.facebook.com/Indianvegankitchentoronto/
Some of the spices (masalas) are:
Whole Coriander
Cumin Seeds
Carom Seeds
Black Mustard Seeds
Yellow Mustard Seeds
Fenugreek Seeds
Mango Powder
Chilli Powder
Roasted Cumin Powder
Turmeric
Cloves
Nutmeg
Ground Black Pepper
We also learned about a significant part of the Indian food culture, the six tastes of ayurveda.
The six tastes are as follows:
- Sweet
- Sour
- Salty
- Pungent (Spicy)
- Bitter
- Astringent (Slightly acidic or bitter)
The ideal meal will, in theory, satisfy all of those tastes within a person. These flavours will in turn help to aid your digestion, and make a meal more satisfying and filling. These favours are used a considerable amount in Indian cooking.
While at Chandrika's, we learned how to make some of her recipes. All recipes listed are vegan and come directly from Chandrika!
One of the recipes we learned how to make was a vegan omelet. (Yes, they exist.)
Vegan Omelet
Ingredients: Chickpea flour, water, spices, salt and pepper, any vegetables of your choice, chilis, black salt
1. Make the "batter" or "egg" by mixing 1 cup of water to one cup of chickpea flour. To increase quantity of "egg", simply increase the quantity of each, ensuring to keep it a 50/50 split.
2. Add salt until the taste is how you like it, add spices if needed. Mix up the batter, and add all of the vegetables or other ingredient you would like in an omelet. Traditionally in india they would use ginger, onion, tomatoes, cilantro, and chillies.
3. Before you pour the batter in the pan, add 1 teaspoon of black salt. The black salt is key in giving it an egg-like taste and texture. Tip: ensure vegetables are cut thinly to make an even layered omelet.
4. Cookin in a pan, frying with light oil.use a flat skillet or pan, as that way you will not burn the sides of the "egg". Add 1-2 tablespoons of oil and pour it in the batter.
5. Cooking on medium to high heat, make sure to check whether the sides of the omelet are cooked before you flip them. Once one side has finished cooking, flip with a spatula and continue cooking the other side. 1 cup of chickpea flour will make 1 large omelet.
Serve warm!
How to make fritters/pakoras
Pakora is a fritter made mostly out of chickpea flour (also called gram flour, besan, channa atta). You can find them in any supermarket. Pakoras can also be made from pulses or lentils. You can use any vegetable to make pakoras. Vegetables can be shredded, sliced, chopped in smaller pieces and even mixed together. Chandrika mostly uses cabbage, potatoes, eggplants and onions. The spices that go well in pakoras are carom seeds, cumin seeds, crushed black pepper, fennel seeds and coriander seeds. You can add ginger, garlic and herbs to make it more flavourful. Important Tip: Use spices in moderation i.e. 2-3 tsps for 1 cup of flour.
Ingredients: Chickpea flour, vegetables of your choice, spices (recommended above), and salt.
1. To make batter, add the chick pea flower to water, ensuring the quantities stay equivalent. After mixed, add the spices and salt. Keep the batter to the side. If you need more water, simply add smaller quantities of flour, and stir to check if the consistency of the batter is correct.
2. Use a small pot and fill it with frying oil, as pakoras are fritters that are deep fried. Take the vegetables and dunk them in the batter (try to make sure you don't make a mess). To test if the oil temperature is right, put a few drops of batter in the hot oil and if it bubbles up the oil is ready. If the temperature is too low the pakoras will come out oily, and if it is too high they will cook too quickly. Adjust temperature accordingly.
3. Once browned, carefully take the pakoras out of the frying oil with a slotted spoon or tongs. Place them on a paper towel (or something dry) and let them cool down and dry out. Once warm enough to eat, serve them up!
This will wrap up the first segment of the Cooking class with Chandrika, It is a long post so I have broken it into two parts. You can follow Chandrika here:
https://www.facebook.com/Indianvegankitchentoronto/
Thanks for reading,
Sam
(A kitchen spice wheel)
On Sept. 29th I travelled to Etobicoke with my family to attend an Indian cooking class. We were taught by a wonderful woman named Chandrika and her husband, Girish. We learned about their lives, their childhoods, and more. They grew up in the western side of India and eventually both moved to Canada, and met each other in Toronto. They have been vegetarian all of their lives, and Chandrika has been vegan for six years. They have been living in Canada for 20 years, and she loves to cook and to teach people to cook.
(Chandrika and Girish)
You can follow her on facebook:
Chandrika Joshi at https://www.facebook.com/Indianvegankitchentoronto/
Whole Coriander
Cumin Seeds
Carom Seeds
Black Mustard Seeds
Yellow Mustard Seeds
Fenugreek Seeds
Mango Powder
Chilli Powder
Roasted Cumin Powder
Turmeric
Cloves
Nutmeg
Ground Black Pepper
We also learned about a significant part of the Indian food culture, the six tastes of ayurveda.
The six tastes are as follows:
- Sweet
- Sour
- Salty
- Pungent (Spicy)
- Bitter
- Astringent (Slightly acidic or bitter)
The ideal meal will, in theory, satisfy all of those tastes within a person. These flavours will in turn help to aid your digestion, and make a meal more satisfying and filling. These favours are used a considerable amount in Indian cooking.
While at Chandrika's, we learned how to make some of her recipes. All recipes listed are vegan and come directly from Chandrika!
(My brother Charlie cooking an "omelet")
One of the recipes we learned how to make was a vegan omelet. (Yes, they exist.)
Vegan Omelet
Ingredients: Chickpea flour, water, spices, salt and pepper, any vegetables of your choice, chilis, black salt
1. Make the "batter" or "egg" by mixing 1 cup of water to one cup of chickpea flour. To increase quantity of "egg", simply increase the quantity of each, ensuring to keep it a 50/50 split.
2. Add salt until the taste is how you like it, add spices if needed. Mix up the batter, and add all of the vegetables or other ingredient you would like in an omelet. Traditionally in india they would use ginger, onion, tomatoes, cilantro, and chillies.
3. Before you pour the batter in the pan, add 1 teaspoon of black salt. The black salt is key in giving it an egg-like taste and texture. Tip: ensure vegetables are cut thinly to make an even layered omelet.
4. Cookin in a pan, frying with light oil.use a flat skillet or pan, as that way you will not burn the sides of the "egg". Add 1-2 tablespoons of oil and pour it in the batter.
5. Cooking on medium to high heat, make sure to check whether the sides of the omelet are cooked before you flip them. Once one side has finished cooking, flip with a spatula and continue cooking the other side. 1 cup of chickpea flour will make 1 large omelet.
Serve warm!
(The omelet we made)
I found that the omelets were very tasty, and that the texture and flavour was very similar to that of an egg. It is certainly an amazing vegan and gluten-free option that I recommend you should try!
How to make fritters/pakoras
Pakora is a fritter made mostly out of chickpea flour (also called gram flour, besan, channa atta). You can find them in any supermarket. Pakoras can also be made from pulses or lentils. You can use any vegetable to make pakoras. Vegetables can be shredded, sliced, chopped in smaller pieces and even mixed together. Chandrika mostly uses cabbage, potatoes, eggplants and onions. The spices that go well in pakoras are carom seeds, cumin seeds, crushed black pepper, fennel seeds and coriander seeds. You can add ginger, garlic and herbs to make it more flavourful. Important Tip: Use spices in moderation i.e. 2-3 tsps for 1 cup of flour.
Ingredients: Chickpea flour, vegetables of your choice, spices (recommended above), and salt.
(Me putting the pakora batter into the frying oil)
1. To make batter, add the chick pea flower to water, ensuring the quantities stay equivalent. After mixed, add the spices and salt. Keep the batter to the side. If you need more water, simply add smaller quantities of flour, and stir to check if the consistency of the batter is correct.
2. Use a small pot and fill it with frying oil, as pakoras are fritters that are deep fried. Take the vegetables and dunk them in the batter (try to make sure you don't make a mess). To test if the oil temperature is right, put a few drops of batter in the hot oil and if it bubbles up the oil is ready. If the temperature is too low the pakoras will come out oily, and if it is too high they will cook too quickly. Adjust temperature accordingly.
3. Once browned, carefully take the pakoras out of the frying oil with a slotted spoon or tongs. Place them on a paper towel (or something dry) and let them cool down and dry out. Once warm enough to eat, serve them up!
(The finished pakoras. Mmmmmmm!)
We made two kinds of pakoras, some potato pakoras and some cabbage pakoras. They were both very good. I would say that if you do not try this in your lifetime, you would be missing out. The crunchy outside perfectly complements the soft inside to make this a delicious appetizer.
This will wrap up the first segment of the Cooking class with Chandrika, It is a long post so I have broken it into two parts. You can follow Chandrika here:
https://www.facebook.com/Indianvegankitchentoronto/
Thanks for reading,
Sam
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