Harjinder again delivered a delicious trio of moderately spiced Punjabi dishes. She begin by regaling us with culinary stories from her childhood and past visits to India - they were both descriptive and heartfelt, giving the session a lovely authentic start.
All got involved with the preparation of saag paneer, chopping the fresh spinach, coriander, garlic, ginger, peppers and tomatoes which filled the classroom with wonderful aromas. The group then began to weigh the selected spices from Harjinder’s spice boxes. Everyone paid close attention to the information about the spice mix to be used and how blended together the spices can give you, ‘the discerning chef’, the ability to know which spices to add to accomplish dishes to your personal taste. Each group was equipped with a special puri press to make their puris flat and an adequate size - once fried, the results were great as some rose so much they could have passed for huge fortune cookies! Rightly so, everyone was delighted with their pakorahs, as they looked great and tasted even better.
We were fortunate to have Emma (pictured with me, above) from BBC Radio Manchester’s Manhunt show drop in on the session and help make the yoghurt and mint dips. She was keen to find out what we were making and how the group had come together, and it was such a shame because although she wanted to stay and sample the delights, she had to continue her quest… Anyway, the dip tasted wonderful and was the perfect accompaniment to the aubergine and potato pakorah, so thanks Emma!
You can see more photos from this session on our Facebook page here.
2 comments:
I made Harjinder's saag paneer on Friday night as part of an Indian themed dinner for friends. It was gorgeous, I can heartily recommend it!
Juliet
yeaaaaa nice work.
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