Spicing up home cooking

Steaming and fresh off the stove, aloo gobi and butter chicken are a couple of well-known dishes in Indian cuisine.

Twenty-three ladies of the American Women's Association received first-hand information on preparing these delicacies, courtesy of the Crowne Plaza Bahrain, Manama.

The hotel's new Indian restaurant, Spices, hosted a cooking demonstration for the ladies where Chef Gopal Singh taught how to prepare three of his signature dishes including aloo gobi adraki, sesame fried prawns and murg makhani or butter chicken.

Rena Fuhr, 54, jewellery designer from Seef, said: "I didn't realise it was a cooking demo until I reached here and it was a pleasant surprise as I love Indian food.

"Chef Gopal's presentation was wonderful and I sure will come back for more demos."

The guests were welcomed with a glass of sweet or salted lassi (a refreshing and popular yoghurt-based drink in India).

As Chef Gopal prepared the dishes, the ladies were busy taking notes and getting acquainted with the cuisine.

For Thai guest Suatra Kesonpat, the occasion was an introduction to the flavours and tastes of the Sub-continent.

Mrs Kesonpat, 45, from Saar, said: "This is my first visit to an Indian restaurant. My husband worked in India for a year but I couldn't join him then.

"The food tastes similar to Thai cuisine but it is heavier and uses more spices."

After the demonstration the ladies were treated to lunch and a photo shoot with the Chef and hotel staff.

Chef Gopal comes to the island with 11 years of kitchen experience. He began his career in Manas Resort in Nashik, India, in 1997 where he joined as a management trainee after graduating with a bachelor's degree in commerce from Mumbai.

Cooking has always been of great interest to Chef Gopal who decided to take it up professionally during his training stint. He then returned to his home in Mumbai where he worked with various restaurants before getting the opportunity to join the 'Talk of the Town Ltd' restaurant chain in Tanzania.

He stayed for more than two years and was involved in opening two restaurants with the group before returning to Mumbai to join well-known seafood restaurant Sheetal Samudra.

After a year he joined the Kohinoor Continental restaurant before landing an offer to open a restaurant owned by the Dragon Group of Hotels in Egypt. He stayed there for two years and then joined the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Sharm Al Shaikh, Egypt before being offered to open the Spices restaurant in Crowne Plaza Bahrain.

He said: "Over the years, I have gained a lot of knowledge about opening restaurants for various hospitality groups. I have opened a total of seven, which has involved many stages of preparation including arranging the ingredients, raw materials, equipment as well as liaising with the suppliers.

"But this is what I love to do and I really enjoy it."

Chef Gopal has had the opportunity to meet and prepare meals for various celebrities, sports personnel and states of heads including former British Prime Minister Tony Blair and his wife as well as various leading Bollywood film stars.

Chef Gopal explained that as spices are an integral part of Indian food, at the new outlet the spices are made in-house with simple and homemade recipes where guests can feel the food is appetising and easy to digest.

Chef Gopal shares one of his favourite recipes with GulfWeekly readers.

Aloo Gobi Adraki

Ingredients:

Four potatoes and equal quantity of cauliflower, both boiled

Gravy:

Onion finely chopped 4

Finely chopped tomatoes 5

Garlic flakes 10

Ginger julienne 1 large piece

Garam masala 1tbsp

Coriander powder 1tbsp

Turmeric powder 1/2 tbsp

Chaat masal 1/2 tbsp

Cumin seeds 1/2tbsp

Lemon juice 2tbsp

Coriander finely chopped 5tbsp

Procedure:

Heat the oil in a pan, add cumin seed with garlic, ginger and sautŽ until slightly brown. Add onions until golden brown, mix tomato and cook well. Add all the powder spices and cook for 15 minutes. When the sauce is well cooked, you will notice bits of oil floating on the top. Add the potato and cauliflower. Finally, add the lemon juice and sprinkle fresh coriander and ginger julienne on top. Serve hot with rice or naan (Indian bread).