A cooking course that heats up winter
Doug Ashbury
Northern News Services
Yellowknife (Dec 20/00) - With the latest cold snap finally off the front burner, chances are there's another one simmering on the back burner.
One way to beat the cold is to heat things up with some East Indian cooking.
Last week, Seema Chugh hosted five Yellowknifers in her home to do just that.
The group learned how to make pakodas -- deep fried onion and potato slices.
The one-night event is part of a series of East Indian cooking courses offered by Chugh.
Chugh says offering the course beats "staying at home and getting bored."
And any extra money raised after supplies are bought are donated to charity.
"I do volunteer work. Raising money for charity makes me feel good," she said.
Chugh said she is able to find most of the ingredients at stores in Yellowknife. What she can't find locally, she orders from down south.
"My children and I love this type of cooking," Gisele Forget said.
Forget adds she first caught the bug for spicy hot food when she lived in Israel where it's popular faire.
"I find East Indian cooking very easy once you've been taught," Shawna Yoeman said.
"I enjoy different cooking classes. Whenever they are offered, I try to take them," she adds.
The Thursday evening course was a chance to learn about just one kind of East Indian food.
But after dipping pakodas in some coriander chutney, the group agreed they are keen to take a course which starts on Jan. 24 and offers participants the chance to learn about many more East Indian dishes.
Earlier this year Chugh hosted her first six-part series on East Indian cooking.
The longer courses include making curries and breads as well as sweet dishes, said Chugh.
Among sweet East Indian dishes popular at Christmas time is gajerla, a type of carrot pudding sweetened with sugar.
And of course, with this course the participants enjoy the spices of their labours.
