Indo soirée chez friends

An informal nouveau-Indian cooking class in the comfort of your own home! This was an evening spent last mid-March in Montreal among good friends, informatively cooking up a small Indian storm. Wine and clever conversation included. 🙂

Photos from the evening…

: Tools to drool over.

: Fennel, fenugreek and two red chilies. (Oh, and look, a wayward whole clove which I removed, actually).

: Preparing the butternut squash, under the watchful gaze of baby spinach

: Indo-Smörgåsbord: save time and confusion by organizing your spice mixes for each dish in pretty little bowls. Clockwise from bottom-left: fenugreek and fennel seeds and 2 whole chilies for the squash bhaji; chopped chilies, 2 black cardamon pods, cumin and coriander for the shrimp curry; cumin for the palak paneer. Then, we have red onion, fresh coriander, white onion and garlic, red bell pepper, fresh paneer and fresh ginger.

: Sexy side view of ingredients.

: Sautéeing red onion, bell pepper and cumin together

: Hello, my excellent shrimp friends!

: Sautéed spinach added to the red bell pepper fry, now blended and receiving a tsp of turmeric. Look at that colour!

: Exciting! Shrimp is getting curried in yoghurt with remarkable friends like zucchini, tomato, yellow bell pepper and ginger.

: Adding fresh coriander to the pot, followed by a a tsp of garam masala at the end.

: This bhaji has turned into more of a bharta (mash) due to the highly amenable softness of the squash. The carrots are in charge of keeping the crunch, the coconut milk adds a certain velvety-ness and the coriander decorates.

: Cucumber-mint raita: yoghurt with the cooling effects of grated cucumber and finely chopped mint. A tsp of roasted cumin and a dash of paprika join the party as well.

: Basmati rice and Le Creuset, you can’t get any better pairing than this.

: Delectable shrimp curry cooked in vegetables, yoghurt and a precocious spice mélange of cumin, coriander, turmeric, black cardamon, garam masala and fresh chilies.

: Et voilà! A sumptuous indian meal is served. Palak paneer, butternut squash and carrot bhaji/bharta, cucumber-mint raita, basmati rice and shrimp curry.