Ever since i became a part of the Chennai Food Guide group, well, more family, it has been an amazing journey. The only thing i have not been able to attend till date were the workshops, and i was about to change that...Partnering with Gormei Market and Sara Koshy, CFG had begun this new series of workshops. The 1st one was held last evening at Gormei Market,, Sara Koshy created a few simple dishes within 2hours using the ingredients available on the shelves in the store. It was my 1st time at a Cooking show/demo [the last was when a friend & i enrolled in a baking and candle making class eons ago]
If, like me you are hooked onto Masterchef Australia & for that matter other cookery shows, you will love this.
If you have drooled watching the chefs whip up delicious dishes within minutes, this class is one that you should not miss.
With a small group of participants, a patient chef, unlimited access to the pantry [umm, the store in this case] the session was not only fun, it was interesting and informative. A wonderful way to spend a few hours on the Saturday.
Sara showed us how to make Cream of Mushroom soup [except the soup was not blended and creamy], a Pasta Pomodori [ pasta cooked with few vegetables in a tomato sauce] and a simple Fresh Veg Salad.
The Mushroom Soup
- Took in total about 20- 25mins to cook
- Basic soup making recipe
- Fresh button mushrooms
- Sara used Organic Milk that was available in the store- Bhoomi milk [Rs 28, for a 1/2 litre]- this milk has a shelf life of upto 3days. And it is advised that you should boil the milk before drinking it [unlike the regular pasturised milk ]
- Butter was Milky mist
The Pasta Pomodori- All vegetables were cut in same shape so they cook well
- Prego Pasta sauce was being used- simple tomato one
- Sara suggested that while we add the Pasta after the water begins boiling, to add a pinch of salt but no oil [ she said the pasta will not stick, and the sauce might not either if you add oil]
- The water was boiling with the pasta cooking in it that was referred to as the Rolling-boil mode
- At the end, a drop of lime juice was added to the pasta after turning off the heat. [an interesting tip that i shall try]
The Fresh Veg Tossed Salad
- Cucumber, Celery stalk, carrots, red capsicum, cherry tomatoes and lettuce leaves were the core ingredients
- Lettuce- never cut always tear the leaves apart with your hands.
- Rub a raw garlic all along the base and side walls of the dish to add a bit of garlic flavour
- Salad dressing- apple cider vinegar, english mustard, olive oil[twice the quantity of vinegar], salt, sugar and pepper
- Add all the ingredients, and then toss well.
Ta da... All the dishes were done in less than 2hours... It was then onto plating them, clicking photographs and trying them out!
Gormei Market also gave each of us a T Shirt and some gift coupons... Which i and few others used up then and there...The store has just about every thing you could dream of- sauces, pasta, quinoa, rice, bread, cheese, herbs, organic ingredients, meat, biscuits, chocolates and so on.............. :-)
Watch this space to know more about the next workshop!! You don't want to miss it....
