day 90: Indian cooking
In spite of the fact that it rained all weekend, I had a great time visiting my sister in Illinois. Saturday afternoon after a 3 mile power walk, we headed into Chicago to walk around and to take our cooking class.
We got a good deal at the Hyatt so we spent the night in the city. We wanted to take advantage of some of the time that we had before our cooking class, so we asked the concierge what neighbourhoods would be best for some cool shopping. We asked her about Wicker Park and she looked at my brother-in-law and I and said, “Y’all would fit in there.” I wasn’t sure what she was getting at, until we got to the neighbourhood.
…so apparently I look like a pot smoking hippie. Or at least someone who would fit in with them.
But I did really like the neighbourhood! Lots of really funky vintage shops and a cool atmosphere. We even found this awesome spa called Mojo with homemade, all natural beauty products. Of course, I went on a bit of a shopping spree.
On to the cooking class. . .
We took a private Indian cooking class at Heat and Spice which was so much fun! It focussed on meat and seafood. We learned the techniques of toasting both dry spices and wet spices (onion, garlic, ginger) to bring out the best flavour of the dishes. Sometimes I find that my Indian dishes are bland, even with all the spices so it was good to learn ways to ramp up the flavour.
The menu consisted of:
Goa Pork Vindaloo (Matt’s favourite)
Moghul Chicken in Saffron Sauce
Banana-Toasted Coconut Raita (my favourite)
Kerala Shrimp in Coconut Curry with Turmeric Basmati Rice (Vicki’s favourite)
The last dish seemed like the easiest to make but that could be because by that point I was tired and pretty much just watching it being made.
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Wow, all of that Indian food look incredible! What a fun class.
What a great menu and great experience! The neighborhood sounds great too–right up my hippie ally.
I had to laugh at the pot smoking hippie comment!! Ha ha!!
The cooking class sounded like so much fun! I’m not good abut toasting my spices because I’m always in a hurry, but I should do it more because it does so much!
The cooking class was so much fun! Can’t wait to pick up a few of the spices I’m missing and cooking up an Indian feast.
Oh my gosh! What a fun class! I’m so jealous- I always want to take more cooking classes to explore different types of ethnic cuisine. I took one when I lived in Italy and I loved it. So glad you enjoyed yourself!
YUMMMMMM
Yum yum! Those Indian dishes look fantastic. As an aside, sometimes a dish can taste bland if the spice/s is/are dead (whole spices last for 3 years and ground for 1 year or less, as a general guideline.)
At least there are worse things to look like than a pot-smoking hippie. I love the comment, though!
Ohhhh! I love indian food but never make it at home because I think I won’t get enough flavour to the food, any god tips you got at your course?
All those dishes look so good!
Yum! I’ve always wanted to learn to make some Indian dishes, and seeing the mouth-watering dishes you’ve made, I really want to start venturing into Indian cuisine!
So awesome you took that cooking class – I love Indian food!
what fun! i have never taken a cooking class and the finished food looks so good
Ahhh, so much fun! I love Chicago, and I would love to take cooking classes like that!
I’ve never taken a cooking class of any kind – I’m jealous!!! Looks like a lot of fun!
Yum, looks awesome! I am such a fan of Indian food but have no idea how to make it…
Banana-Toasted Coconut Raita…that sounds AMAZING!
The cooking class sounds amazing!!! I would love to learn how to make Indian food at home!