vegetarian indian cuisine

i had a carnation instant breakfast shake (strawberry packet, banana, soy milk) before running out the door this morning..

i made it into boston just in time for my vegetarian indian cuisine class (taken at the BCAE with inna!)

on the menu: green mung dhal, palak panir, simple raita, and paratha!

this class was run differently than last week’s. it was less hands on but there was much more instruction. we watched our instructor, ananya, cook all the dishes while she explained the processes and answered any questions. after all the cooking was finished, we all sat down for a delicious vegetarian indian meal 😉

the first dish she prepared was the green mung dhal. i just love the spices in indian cooking and as soon as she opened up all her spice jars and seasoned the oil, the kitchen started smelling sooo good. we were given a tiny “shot” of the finished dhal to taste and it was spicy perfection.

spices and ghee (clarified butter)

green mung dhal

next up was the palak panir.

adding in blended spinach and cream into pan of sauteed onion, garlic, chiles, etc…

the gorgeous green spinach and colorful spices ready to be mixed in…

paneer!

torture= having to wait til the end of class to taste this!

next up was the raita…she roasted then ground whole cumin seeds for this dish. i don’t think i can have the same love for plain ol’ cumin powder anymore.

and we finished with the paratha (we made the dough in the beginning of class)

i gave rolling a couple portions into “lemon sized balls” a try…

rolled into triangles

cooking the parathas. it’s time to add in the butta when they start to bubble…

and finally, lunch is served!

such deliciousness! i decided i need to recreate dishes asap while the info is fresh in my mind!

after the class, i window shopped a bit before heading home on the commuter rail. i had some of this dried fruit while waiting for my train.

i ate my daily lemonade cookie when i got home.

and then some real fruit: an apple 🙂

and then i got dressed to go out to boston all over again! i had a yelp elite event to attend. it was lots of fun, and there was a cupcake or two involved. this post is already way too long, so i’ll put those pics up tomorrow. for now, i’m ready to chill out with the boyfriend!