On Sunday, I participated in a One-Day Curry cookery course at The Cookery School in Merchant City, Glasgow.
As you all know, I love curries (from Thai Red Chicken Curry to Murgh Masala), but I’ve never been that confident with using spices or playing around with the flavours. So this class was perfect for me.
Look at the menu for the day… is your mouth watering too?
- Spice Workshop
- Chicken Madras
- Chicken Vindaloo
- Chicken Korma
- Lamb Rogan Josh
- Kulcha Bread
- Spiced Onions
- Cardamom Rice
I parked at the nearby Buchanan Galleries since it was only £3.00 to park all day (much cheaper than the train). I’ve been to The Cookery School once before, for a one-day baking class. I’m not much of a baker myself, but it was still lots of fun and I came away with a most unexpected, yet valuable skill: how to make risotto! It was a wee side lesson to get us through our lunch break, but to this day I follow all the same steps, and my risotto has been perfect every time (if I do say so myself. Try my Risotto with Prosciutto, Rocket & Cream Cheese, or Parmesan & Mushroom Risotto and tell me if you agree!).
Anyway, back to the curry course. By the time I arrived, there were already a few others there and we chatted over coffee while waiting for the rest to turn up. The general consensus was that we all loved curries, but were more used to ordering takeaways rather than cooking them ourselves! It was reassuring to know I wasn’t the only novice there, so don’t think for a minute these classes are only for experienced cooks.
We gathered around the main workstation where Danny, the chef, demonstrated each of the dishes then sent us off to our individual stations to follow suit. The steps were so basic and thoroughly explained that there was no need to refer to a printed recipe whilst we cooked, though we did receive printed copies of all the recipes at the end.
The layout of the cookery school is perfect; I wish I had a condensed version of it for my own kitchen! All the equipment was close to hand and, what’s more, we didn’t have to worry about dirty dishes or cleaning up after ourselves. We kept piling our used equipment on to a trolley and a Magical Dish Fairy, by the name of Sara, took it all away and brought it back sparkling and fresh. Give that girl a medal!
We were shown how to make a spiced tomato sauce, which would serve as the base for each of the four curries. This was a revelation to me! You could make batches of this base sauce, freeze it into portions, then make either a Korma, Madras, Rogan Josh or Vindaloo, depending on what you’re in the mood for at the time. In fact, there are two portions of this sauce currently nestled in my freezer! If, like me, you’re into Once A Month Cooking, batch freezing or meal planning, this should be right up your street.
When we were each passed a raw, free-range chicken to cut up, I was apprehensive at first. You know I’m squeamish. But I was spurred on by Danny and the others, who made it look so easy. And it really wasn’t as horrifying as I imagined. The legs and wings came off easier than expected and the chicken breasts had so much more meat to them than the slinky wee things you see in the supermarket. I’ve been converted! It makes financial sense to buy a whole chicken and learn to remove all the meat properly, then you can make a stock with the remains. I’m sure all you frugal foodies will know this anyway. One thing that did surprise me was Danny’s insistence that you shouldn’t use a cooked chicken carcass (e.g. from a roast chicken) to make stock. One guy in the class cried that he’d been doing just that for the last twenty years and was promptly informed it must taste like dishwater, much to our hilarity. On a serious note, Danny told us to look out for speckled marks on a chicken’s legs: it can indicate acid marks from caged ones standing in their own waste all day. So keep on the lookout for that!
What I loved most about this class wasn’t just being taught how to make curry – let’s face it, I can figure that out for myself if I dip in to one of my cookbooks or look online – but all the new skills, tips and tricks I came away with. Danny is an oracle of all things foodie. He demonstrated how to core a tomato, and how to crush and mince our garlic into a paste really quickly, using our knives (goodbye awkward garlic press!). Even being told not to bother peeling my ginger before mincing it was a small epiphany. I hate peeling ginger! We were given a masterclass in all the different types of chillies and spices, and encouraged to have a good sniff and/or taste to get a proper understanding of them. I’ve discovered that I love Fenugreek and hate Cardamom seeds!
I haven’t even scratched the surface on the food/cooking knowledge Danny imparted on us. It truly is an education. So if you’re thinking of getting someone (or yourself!) a Cookery Class voucher as a gift, then use the term literally. It is a gift: of knowledge and skills that will last longer and absorb deeper than any cookbook out there.
Here’s a photo of the Korma I made only two days after the course! It’s Colin’s favourite curry and the best curry I’ve made so far… just thinking about it has me salivating.
To find out more about The Cookery School, visit their website here. The curry course details are here, but have a browse. I personally like the look of the Stocks & Sauces & Kitchen Skills one, and Irene & I are planning to book up for the Italian one in the new year!
You can also like them on Facebook or follow them on Twitter, if that’s your bag.
10/10 from Noble Nourishment. Thoroughly recommended!