Indian Cooking Class - Review

Shoba's Indian Cooking Class

Last Saturday, four friends and I made the trek out to Glenview (quite possibly the only time I've ventured into the suburbs without getting lost, also the only time that I've let my boyfriend do the driving. Any relation between the two is purely coincidental) for our first foray into Indian cooking.

I'm an avid home cook, but for various reasons Indian cooking has always seemed mysteriously complex and more work than it was worth, especially with Devon a mere 5 minute drive from home. When I've tried to find recipes for the dishes I enjoy online, I inevitably come up with 30 versions, sometimes with wildly differing ingredients. Having no idea which one to begin with, I give up. Clearly, Indian cuisine is not only highly regional, it's local and personal as well: recipes vary from region to region, family to family, person to person. The dishes can be manipulated in many different ways - if you're very familiar with what you're working with. Shoba's class, while not challenging from a technique perspective, went a long way towards de-mystifying basic Indian cooking in an American kitchen.

In the weeks before the cooking class, Shoba and I arranged a menu (I'd chosen dishes from the other classes she offers that sounded particularly good). It included:

Chicken Tandoori: Chicken leg quarters marinated in spices and yogurt and baked in oven.
Chicken Makhani: Boneless chicken pieces cooked with spices in a thick yogurt and sour cream sauce.
Dum Aloo(Spicy potatoes): Baby potatoes boiled and fried and cooked in creamy spicy sauce.
Bagaara Baingan: Baby eggplant cooked whole with spicy ground masala into a thick curry.
Jeera Rice: Basmati rice cooked with mixed vegetables and cumin
Jalebis: Petite pretzel shaped loops fried to a golden crisp and soaked in syrup.

When we arrived at Shoba's home, the large (and immaculate) kitchen was already laid out with much of the prep work done. Spices were measured neatly, chicken was chopped, onions minced, etc. We were served a freshly-made savory lassi, and she had several Indian snacks out, including fish cakes and a ground lamb wrap. We eagerly devoured them.

Over the next several hours, we prepared the dishes, simmering the "butter" chicken (we actually used yogurt & sour cream), frying the potatoes, learning about the spices. Overall the lesson learned was: it's not that hard. If you can mince onions and boil potatoes and measure spices, you can make Indian food. The recipes Shoba used are not complicated, they don't have 30 different ingredients that you'll have to go out and buy just to use them once or twice. In fact, they're so easy that I left thinking about how easy it would be to prepare them as quick weeknight fixes.

After all of the dishes were done, we all sat down to a formal lunch in the dining room. Shoba had pre-prepared the tandoori chicken since it requires marinating overnight, but otherwise these were the dishes that we'd just prepared. Everything was delicious & fresh - and relatively healthy, as we skipped ghee in favor of sour cream and yogurt in most dishes.

Three hours after we arrived, we packed up leftovers in the tupperware we'd been instructed to bring - more than enough to last the five of us a couple days. As my friend Mark said, it was worth every penny ($45).

So am I now completely confident in my Indian cooking skills? Well, not entirely. I tried again last night to look up a recipe for Malai Kofta and was daunted by the variations out there. But while I may not stray from the recipes we used in this class, I'm eager to take another one and expand my (small) Indian repertoire.

Shoba's Indian Cooking Class
2110 Warwick Lane, Glenview
Prices range from $40-50 (I think)
847-657-9226
shoba_havalad@yahoo.com

Wow, thanks for this detailed review. How have I missed hearing about these classes? I too have always wanted to cook Indian but acquiring all the new ingredients etc. has always seemed like a bit too much. I have written to ask when the next class is.

Together with two friends, my husband and I took an entirely vegetarian class from Shoba. The cost was $45 and the menu was as follows:

Lassis, both savory (with curry leaves, green chilis, ginger, and lime juice) and sweet (mango)

Parathas stuffed with potatoes

Dum aloo--petite potatoes in a creamy, spicy sauce

Bagara baingan--baby eggplant in a spicy ground masala in a thick curry

Daal makhani--lentils with fried spices and sour cream

Vegetable biryani--basmati rice with cauliflower, potatoes, green beans and spices

Jalebis--basically Indian funnel cakes soaked in syrup

Shoba was a terrific instructor, demystifying Indian cooking like the previous reviewer said. Mostly everything was prepped and ready to go--we got to help put the dishes together, including stuffing and rolling the parathas. There was enough food to feed an army, since she also prepared chole (chick peas) and kulfi (Indian ice cream) ahead of time. We all had a lot of fun, enjoyed cooking, and most of all, enjoyed the eating.

To anyone who would like to learn a little more about Indian cooking, I would highly recommend her classes. Shoba is a gracious hostess, terrific cook and great teacher. I can't wait to go back sometime!

I just took a class today from Shoba. (Mondays are a bit unusual, but she'd had a few of her regulars make a special request, and she e-mailed me to let me know that there would be a class.) Shoba is delightful and enthusiastic. As noted above, her kitchen is spacious and immaculately clean -- and it seems perfectly set up for teaching.

We prepared chicken tikka, a tandoori-like dish of boneless chicken cooked in the oven; lamb kabobs, which involve no skewers but are, rather, ground lamb crammed with spices and other flavor elements and rolled into sausage shapes; aloo gobi, a splendid, spicy stir-fry with potatoes and cauliflower; a 'fried" basmati rice with vegetables; stuff paratha, a surprising bread dish in which flattened dough is filled with a mixture of potato, onion, and spices, is sealed, and then is rolled out until it's only about 1/4 inch thick, and then is pan fried; and jalebis, the previously mentioned fried dough in syrup (yum).

Shoba was waiting for us with refreshments when we arrived (mango lassi, tuna and potato "cutlets," and a variety of fried Indian snacks). She guided us skillfully through the class, emphasizing that a lot of this is done by feel and taste, and making sure we knew what that was. After all the dishes were prepared, we had a late sit-down lunch in her dining room. She added to the things we had prepared a wonderful cucumber and tomato raita, potatoes with fenigreek leaves, and a toned-down chicken vindaloo (vindaloos normally being volcanic, but this one being just a bit spice). Everything was fabulous -- and we got to take home leftoevers.

It was a splendid outing. I'd recommend Shoba's classes to anyone interested in beginning or expanding their experience of Indian cooking. Shoba mentioned that she does classes for special occasions and parties, too, such as a recent one she did for a bridal shower -- so if you're looking for entertainment ideas, her contact info is above, in the original post.

I learned to make some terriffic indian food with a few videos named The Balti Kitchen. A friend let me use these and they were very step by step dummy proof.

Only catch is that the videos were produced in the UK.
I have seen these occasionaly on Ebay and Amazon. If you can find them they are well worth the purchase.

i just got an email about an upcoming class

MENU OF THE WEEK
Sept.3rd or 9th, 2006
LASSI (Yogurt based milkshake)
Cool refreshing summer drink made with buttermilk. Can
be served sweetened or salty.

DUMM ALOO (spiced potatoes)
Boiled potatoes cooked with fenugreek leaves, sour
cream, powdered cashews and spices into a thick creamy
sauce.

BAGAARA BAINGAN (Spicy eggplant)
Baby eggplant cooked whole in a spicy ground masala
into a thick curry.

GOLDEN FRIED SHRIMP
Butterflied shrimp marinated with spices and corn
flour. Then deep fried and sautéed with finely chopped
cilantro, green chilies, garlic and ginger.

CHICKEN TIKKA
Boneless pieces of chicken marinated overnight with
yogurt and spices and baked in oven or grilled on a
grill pan.

VEGETABLE PULAV
Basmati rice cooked with mixed vegetables and cumin.


DATE: SEPT. 3rd or 9th, 2006
PLACE: 2110 WARWICK LANE, GLENVIEW, IL 60026
TIME: 12NOON
COST: $40(includes lunch) NO CANCELLATIONS 3DAYS PRIOR
TO CLASS
PHONE: 847-657-9226-home / 847-778-6973-cell
DURATION OF CLASS: 2hrs Approx

I'd like to add my praise for Shoba's cooking class, and thanks to LTH as I would have never found something like this. She could not have made strangers feel more welcome in her home. My friend's comment as we left was "I felt like I just met a bunch of friends for lunch". I actually took the day off from work and thought the experience was well worth it. I highly recommend the class for anyone interested in real quality Indian home cooking -- better than most restaurants. I guarantee you won't be disappointed!

If you send her a note she'll gladly add you to her mailing list to see what her weekly menus are. I'll definitely be back!!