Plate Culture: Indian Cooking Class

Tyler and I are always in search of our next meal. Criteria; It needs to be big in flavour and bang for our buck. In Kuala Lumpur there is no shortage of restaurants that fill the bill. However, it's no secret that around the world, my kitchen of choice is the extremely convenient, transient and ever-local, Casa de Tyler. Tyler is amazing at using a variety of spices, fusing the best flavours from different cuisines and recreating world-dishes at home. One of the trickiest dishes to recreate at home has been (North in particular) Indian curries. Up until now, Chef Ty has done a great job with various curry dishes....but there has always been something missing from the spice equation. (His words, not mine. I would NEVER bite the hand that feeds me, figuratively or literally). So, this past weekend Tyler and I finally took an Indian cooking class.

Similar to the TV show 'Come Dine with Me', where amateur chefs host diners in their homes for an evening, Plate Culture invites customers into individuals' homes to have a private cooking lesson, share in their company and enjoy authentic cuisine. Having found our wonderful Chef Shamini online, we were eager to find the missing link to a perfect curry. We made several dishes that were all different, equally colourful and impressive...if I do say so myself. It was a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon; slowly cooking and chatting about Indian food and culture, learning about the different spices and pastes (some of which we had previously been using incorrectly), and finally enjoying the fruits of our labour in a full blown Indian mid-day feast! Check out the goodness;

South Indian chicken curry, spicy pumpkin, prawn sambal, raita and chai tea served upon a banana leaf~ holllaaaa

 Although the highlight for Tyler was the chicken curry, mine was, hands down the ever popular paneer (cheese) butter masala. I know this is not a notable achievement for over a billion people, but for us this is a major culinary milestone. Yes, we can now make butter chicken in our house, probably everyday.

Ingredients
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 tbsp ginger garlic paste
2 tbsp oil
2 tbsp butter
1 bay leaf
2 green chilies
1 tsp red chili powder
2 medium tomatoes, finely chopped&pureed
1/2 tsp garam masala powder
1 tbsp coriander powder
1/2 cup full fat milk
1/2 cup water
Salt to taste
250 grams paneer
Toasted cashews to garnish

Ok so I know it seems like a lot of ingredients and a labourous dish to make, but Chef Shamini made it seem so easy (even at times with a sweet little babe on her hip)! We are super confident we could do it again... and plan on it. As Tyler already makes a great bbq chicken tikka, we are excited about some curry-filled patio evenings with our fellow spice-route lovers. Until then we are looking forward to our next visit with Shamini, where we will add to our repertoire and figure out some breads for dipping!

***Please note that although I have consistently used 'we' in this blog post, it is most definitely meant as the 'Royal We'. Tyler is the King of the Kitchen in our house. I on the other hand, rarely wander over to that corner of our studio apartment.