Marinated Chicken with Almonds and Peppers March certainly went out like a lion, weather wise (who knew it would snow in March?). And, March classes at In Good Taste ended on a roaring note as well. Celebrated Indian food guru Raghaven Iyer taught “660 Curries”. (That’s almost two curries for every day of the year!) It was a nourishing experience in every sense of the word.
We started with plates of crispy pigeon pea fritters with a silky yogurt-tomato sauce, consumed moist catfish with mango-coconut sauce, and devoured juicy chicken with almonds and peppers. His Basmati Rice with Spinach and Onion was cooked perfectly. For dessert, there was succulent pineapple, raisins and chiles over vanilla ice cream. In a word- yum. But Raghaven didn’t stop with the food. He also brought a pantry of knowledge, featuring tricks and tips of the most interesting (and useful) kind.
For example- his rice dish was a result of the correct ratio of rice to water (1 cup soaked rice and 1 ½ cups water) and good quality Tilda rice. Everyone took notes as quickly as they could- struggling to decide whether to take notes, or take another bite. To whet your appetite, here are a few of the best nuggets of information that I walked away with.
-the thinner the chile, the hotter it is
-“Indian bay leaves” = leaves of the cinnamon tree
-good basmati rice is aged at least 5 years- this helps reduce the starch levels.
-there are 125 varieties of mango in India
-there is no need to make a slurry when using rice flour as a thickener
-Josie
We started with plates of crispy pigeon pea fritters with a silky yogurt-tomato sauce, consumed moist catfish with mango-coconut sauce, and devoured juicy chicken with almonds and peppers. His Basmati Rice with Spinach and Onion was cooked perfectly. For dessert, there was succulent pineapple, raisins and chiles over vanilla ice cream. In a word- yum. But Raghaven didn’t stop with the food. He also brought a pantry of knowledge, featuring tricks and tips of the most interesting (and useful) kind.
For example- his rice dish was a result of the correct ratio of rice to water (1 cup soaked rice and 1 ½ cups water) and good quality Tilda rice. Everyone took notes as quickly as they could- struggling to decide whether to take notes, or take another bite. To whet your appetite, here are a few of the best nuggets of information that I walked away with.
-the thinner the chile, the hotter it is
-“Indian bay leaves” = leaves of the cinnamon tree
-good basmati rice is aged at least 5 years- this helps reduce the starch levels.
-there are 125 varieties of mango in India
-there is no need to make a slurry when using rice flour as a thickener
-Josie
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