I want to begin by thanking every single person who came to the VEGETARIAN COOKING WITH AN INDIAN TWIST cooking class last night at KINGS COOKING STUDIO, SHORT HILLS, NJ.

One of the best experiences ever. I can walk you through the KINGS COOKING STUDIO mentally for those who missed it-

The Cooking Studio at Kings is one of the best teaching studios in NJ and seats upto 20 people in an exquisite setting. It is so well equipped and has anything and everything required for any cooking class. There is a television for people to watch the Chef/ Instructor cook and the camera is placed in such a way that it covers every angle and corner of the Chef working.

If you missed it, I would highly recommend you to register for one of the classes. They have classes all through the year.

Randi, the main cooking lead and who heads the Cooking Studio is very friendly, extremely helpful and passionate about it!

Yesterday, my menu was Indian Vegetarian and so I made a:

Lentil Soup with Caramelized Onions, Cumin and Cilantro for a starter,

For Main Course,  Skinny Basmati Rice Pilaf (the one with low glycemic index- came across it for the first time and is very good avaialble at Kings!) with Indian Cottage Cheese prepared two ways:

1)  Indian Cottage Cheese in a Rich Creamy Tomato Sauce with Colored Bell Peppers;

2) Indian Cottage Cheese with Veggies in a Rich Creamy Cashew Nut Sauce

For dessert, Sweet Lentil Pudding with Coconut Milk, Raisins and Cardamom

My cooking class asked for Voluntary Participation. So I welcomed all my students with a warm “NAMASTE” and all of us introduced each other and they took their seats.

Barbara and Sarah were a mother daughter team who from what they told me are such opposites. Barbara is such a fun loving person who enjoys delicious food – she doesnt mind some butter being thrown in or some rich cashewnuts!!! as long as it tastes good.

Whereas Sarah on the other hand is very healthy vegetarian:) She said to me she turned a vegetarian at the age of 13 and has never looked back ever since. I wondered why she took up Vegetarianism and she simply said to me” I simply dont like eating meat ” 

Then we had Lynne and Walter – another wonderful couple. They were so warm and appreciative of all my cooking and food. I also had one of my very good friend Sumukha and her daughter Dolly who are always such great supporters!!! Dolly was my little helper giving me bowls/ plates and serving everyone :), clicking away pictures!!

I took a few minutes to explain the menu and what I planned to do for the class. Then I said to them” All of you get to jump in and help”. And trust me, they were so delighted to participate:) Sarah and Walter impressed me by their chopping skills.  I assigned every one responsibilities simply because I wanted everyone to feel involved and enjoy themselves at the same time.

I must mention ELSA- my assistant at Kings Cooking Studio. She is an amazing organizer, helper and a great assistant to have whenever I needed anything. Whenever I was missing something, it was like she would wave a magic wand and it would appear:)

We first cooked the starter, the Lentil Soup topped with Caramelized Onions, toasted Cumin and Cilantro and served everyone. Everyone enjoyed the hearty soup, Lynne said to me that she never would have thought of topping it with Caramelized Onions and she loved it and everyone agreed.

Then all of us were back in action to make the main course. Sumukha who is also from India helped me with grinding my spices. I let everyone smell the spices and everyone thoroughly enjoyed some spice knowledge.

For a sweet ending, we made a Lentil pudding with Raisins and ground Cinnamon. Finally we clicked some pictures and said Goodnight.

I want to thank every one who came last night once again and not to mention I completely enjoyed my cooking class experience with such wonderful students!and I hope you all did too:)