Masterclass with Sarah Koshy

As CFG continues to innovate and provide more workshops, especially after the super success of The Great Biriyani Workout Cookout, the easy cooking with Sara Koshy was more than welcome. This workshop, in association with one of my favorite stores in Chennai, Gormei Market, turned out to be exactly as I thought it would be.

If you are a big fan of Masterchef Australia, and have drooled over Masterclass and the unlimited pantry,  then, Sarah's class is a must. Limited participants, unlimited pantry and a class chef who is patient to enough answer the queries, live cooking, tasting sessions and interactions with other participants - it was absolutely worthy of a Saturday afternoon.

A three-course easy-to-cook menu was on the cards - cream of mushroom soup, fresh vegetable salad and pasta.

Sarah explained the process of making the soup and we all gathered around to take a peek into the saucepan. The soup was done in about 25 minutes, it was poured into small cups for us to taste. The milk that was used for the soup is organic cow's milk, and has a shelf life of 2-3 days (if frozen). This is procured from Erode, as Sriram explained, and is completely pure and non-pasteurized. After the milk is extracted from the cow, it is directly packed and shipped. This has to be boiled before consumption. Bhoomi milk is priced at Rs 28, for a 500 ml pack.

Next on course was the pasta. The vegetables were cut and ready for use. Pasta was poured into boiling water, and a learning here was to not add oil when the pasta is cooking. Sarah says the sauce wouldn't stick on to the pasta if oil is added. And the 8-10 min al-dente time starts not when the pasta is dumped into the pot, but when the water is in a rolling-boil mode.

Simultaneously the salad was getting ready; Fresh cut vegetables & lettuce leaves drying between layers of tissues were inviting. As Sarah said, do not chop the lettuce with a knife, because it tends to cut all the cells and turn it black. Gently tear it off with your hands. Salad dressing was made with apple cider vinegar, mustard and some olive oil.

As usual, the dishes were set in bowls so the shutter-bugs could satisfy their photo-craving and before the tummy started growling, the plates were passed around.

A great session, some good learning & tasting and not to mention the shopping post the class - all part of a bigger plan I say :-)

This is one class that you should not miss. Keep watching the space at CFG for announcements.

Update: Here's the video of the event (copyright - CFG, shot by Mohamed Ali)