by Currylicious | Mar 30, 2016 | BLOG
On March 19th at 2 pm I taught a cooking class to an awesome bunch of people.
The theme was healthy vegetarian and Whole Foods wanted me to keep it healthy and quick. So I came up with the dish – Brussel Sprouts with curried tofu and bright peppers served on a bed of Bulgur Wheat.
Reason to pick Bulgur Wheat:
Now Bulgur wheat is very wholesome grain when compared to rice, has more fiber and proteins and most importantly has low glycemic index. It also contains higher levels of most vitamins and minerals.
Reason for picking Brussel Sprouts:
Brussel Sprouts belong to family of green leafy vegetables. It contains sulfurophane, a phytochemical which contains anticancer properties.
Important Note: Boiling Brussel Sprouts may result in lowering the level of sulfurophane so sauteing or steaming or roasting would be a great way to cook them.
Brussel Sprouts also contain high amounts of Vitamin K and C and moderate amounts of Vitamin B like Vitamin B6 and Folic Acid.
I completely enjoyed teaching how to make the dish and hope everyone enjoyed it as much as I did!
by Currylicious | Jul 2, 2013 | BLOG
As you all know, summer s here and its that time of the year when I plan cooking camps for kids. I had planned for 1 week cooking camp in July and August.
Among all the emails that I received in response to the cooking camp, I received an email from Stephanie, a mom who was interested in the cooking camp for her son Jake whose school closes in June. I was tempted to take up the challenge in June but I needed atleast a minimum of 6 kids for the camp, so I communicated that with Stephanie. A few weeks later, I received an email from her again saying she said she might be able to get about 6 kids for the camp so we decided to give it a shot. Stephanie emailed a bunch of her friends and I was pleasantly surprised. I had emails from about 12 moms who were very interested in my cooking camp and so I was thrilled to plan it out. We picked June 11th and 13th for the camp from 10am- 12:30pm.
We decided to make Chocolate Chip pancakes from scratch on the 11th and Pasta with Sweet Peas, Corn and Broccoli in a Pink sauce on the 13th. I was eagerly awaiting the day when the kids were dropped off at 10 am on the 11th. The kids came running in excited and not knowing what to expect:) The parents were asked to sign in each kid as they entered and each kid was given a name tag. The kids were then asked to pick a spot as I had arranged toddler chairs and table for them. Each kid was asked to give a brief introduction like their name, the school and the things that they love to do the most so they all felt comfortable and at home.
When I asked them what they knew about making pancakes, they all had different things to say which I thought was very cute. One of them said ” I know pancake is made of bread” :))) and I cracked up. Then I had this fun story about how we would make the pancake from scratch and not the mix that you find at the supermarket. We made the batter from scratch and each kid got to whip and mix and get messy. They were wiped down after the mixing and preparation of the batter. Each kid was then asked to form a line and got a chance to make one big Mickey/ Minnie with a bow/ heart shaped pancake topped with milk and white chocolate chips. Then they were given few M and M s for decorating their pancakes, they were a time after the kids emptied their juice boxes so we sang a few songs like” My Bonnie Lies over the Ocean”, the ABC song, Twinkle Twinkle and many more….
We were singing as the moms came in and signed out each kid and picked them up.
On 13th of June, we had planned to make pasta with veggies like corn, sweet peas and broccoli in a pink sauce with fresh basil.
This was a particularly challenging task since some of the kids were picky when I mentioned veggies to them and asked them what their favorite veggies were? I decided to get all the kids involved so we played a game. The kids sat in their spots and one of them was made the “Leader” and was asked to pick and send each kid to perform a task. Every kid got a turn to cook the pasta, sort the veggies, wash and clean them, cook the veggies, wash basil leaves and pat them dry, remove all the basil leaves from the stem, add pasta sauce, mix, add freshly grated cheese to it and so on…
They had so much fun helping me with every step of making the pasta and finally they were all seated at the table. I served the pasta that was cooked by all, and I must say that they all did an excellent job finishing up the pasta and the picky eaters were atleast open to trying the veggies !!! I considered the class a huge success.
I had goody bags packed for each kid which had a collage picture from the cooking class of each child along with some pasta packed in a box, recipe cards and a cooking class completion certificate.
I completely enjoyed cooking with all the adorable little kids and look forward to many more…..
by Currylicious | Apr 11, 2013 | BLOG
My daughter goes to art classes in a small warm cozy art studio in Maplewood, NJ. The owner is an extremely talented, warm and nice. She was organizing an Art Show at her studio and wanted me to cater some short eats to go with wine for all the people who were invited. I decided to make Polenta but wanted to make it mess free for people to pick and eat. The first thing that came to my mind was the mini cupcake baking pan. I have baked so many cupcakes and done bake sales for my daughter’s school. I decided to use the cupcake bake pan to mold the polenta. I always try and use Bob’s Corn Grits or Polenta from the supermarket simply because its convenient and easy to prepare.
The instructions usually tell you to cook the corn grits with water but I do it differently.
Currylicious Tip: I whisk half heavy cream and half whole milk in a pot until it comes to a boil. Then, I add corn grits and whisk well to avoid lumps. By the way dont 
ask me why I whisk the cream/milk and bring it to a boil:))) lol I just feel that it tastes absolutely delicious when I make it this way!
Once the polenta is creamy and hot, I spooned it into the mini cupcake baking pans and leave it in the refrigerator to set for about 1/2 hour. Once you take them out of the refrigerator, you can scoop out the polenta cupcakes easily. I also made a baked 
eggplant dish which i used to top off the polenta cupcakes.
I also made a Tuscan ChickPea spread with garlic and tomatoes and it was served on toasted bread.
I took all the food to the studio as I was also invited to the Art Show. It was so much fun meeting several people and to see them taste my food and get their feedback and appreciation.
With much love …….
by Currylicious | Apr 4, 2013 | BLOG
One of my very dear friends called me to check if I could cater for Millburn Elementary school’s International Fair day. On this day, all the parents and kids get to taste different cuisines from all over the world and so I decided to take up this challenge to represent Indian Food. According to the instructions that was given to me by my friend, they needed something that was easy for kids as well as parents to pick and eat, dishes I prepare should obviously have flavors of my country India, it has to be ALLERGY FREE 🙂 and not very spicy. They also mentioned that they needed a dessert as well that had no nuts, no milk and so forth so even kids or parents with nut or milk allergies would be able to enjoy it. I decided to make VEGETABLE ROLLS and for dessert, my favorite CARAMELIZED BANANAS WITH TOASTED SWEETENED COCONUT FLAKES AND CARDAMOM.
I woke up early this morning all ready to take up the challenge. My vegetable rolls needed stuffing for which I decided to saute onions, bell peppers and boiled cooked potatoes with a bunch of home ground Indian spices. Once the stuffing was cooked and ready, I started spooning in some of the stuffing in each roll and folding it and cutting it into 3 for mess free eating:)
I was asked to make 75 such Vegetable rolls and cut into 3 so a total of 225 pieces and a small tray of dessert.
It took me a while to make and cut those 225 pieces:) I then had to start on my dessert. Dessert was simple but healthy and delicious. I had some cardamom seeds in my pantry so took them and freshly ground them using mortar and pestle. I chopped the most number of bananas I ever have in my life so far:) and used a tad of clarified butter along with brown sugar to get those puppies cooking and caramelized! Then I sprinkled some toasted sweetened coconut flakes on top and added some freshly ground cardamom as garnish- Pure heavenly bliss!
I packed everything up and had it dropped at the Millburn Elementary school, my dishes proudly representing my country India and its flavors!!!! My friend also sent me a picture clicked at the fair with most of the food gone in the trays:)
by Currylicious | Mar 20, 2013 | BLOG
Hello everyone,
As promised, I am posting some pics from my cooking demonstration at Williams Sonoma in Short Hills Mall, NJ on March 23rd. It was a lot of fun and
like always I had a wonderful audience. This time, I must confess that I had this one lady who came up to me and asked me how I could stay vegetarian for so long? and
if I missed eating meat? I said to her ” Not really since I love to cook with veggies and put a ton of flavor in it and share my secrets with everyone:)”
She was so thrilled she sat in a chair and watched me as I cooked away my dish. She had a pen and a book and was making a note of whatever I said.
So the dish I made was an Eggplant Tapanade with cilantro chutney served on a cracker. Lot of people walked in tried my dish and appreciated the flavors!
It was a truly memorable experience since the manager of the store at Williams Sonoma, Short Hills walked up to me, ate my dish and said to me” There was this lady who walked up to me and said that you did a great job answering all her questions, she loved your dish and thought it was great. That must mean a lot to you”.
And yes it did, I was so happy to merely listen to something like that and would consider myself lucky and all my efforts seemed to have paid off. This is the most rewarding job that I ever had – not in terms of money but in terms of happiness and appreciation! Nothing can beat this:)
Thanks again to all who walked in and tasted my dish- for all your kind wo
rds an
d time.
by Currylicious | Mar 20, 2013 | BLOG
Hello everyone,
As promised, I am posting some pics from my cooking demonstration at Williams Sonoma in Short Hills Mall, NJ on March 23rd. It was a lot of fun and
like always I had a wonderful audience. This time, I must confess that I had this one lady who came up to me and asked me how I could stay vegetarian for so long? and
if I missed eating meat? I said to her ” Not really since I love to cook with veggies and put a ton of flavor in it and share my secrets with everyone:)”
She was so thrilled she sat in a chair and watched me as I cooked away my dish. She had a pen and a book and was making a note of whatever I said.
So the dish I made was an Eggplant Tapanade with cilantro chutney served on a cracker. Lot of people walked in tried my dish and appreciated the flavors!
It was a truly memorable experience since the manager of the store at Williams Sonoma, Short Hills walked up to me, ate my dish and said to me” There was this lady who walked up to me and said that you did a great job answering all her questions, she loved your dish and thought it was great. That must mean a lot to you”.
And yes it did, I was so happy to merely listen to something like that and would consider myself lucky and all my efforts seemed to have paid off. This is the most rewarding job that I ever had – not in terms of money but in terms of happiness and appreciation! Nothing can beat this:)
Thanks again to all who walked in and tasted my dish- for all your kind words and time.
