I didn’t choose this cooking class. Our study abroad group was told we were going, and I figured it’d just be a fun thing where we cooked a little and ate something decent. But it turned out to be one of the most interesting things we’ve done on the trip so far. It wasn’t just about food. It was also about history and culture and how something as simple as rice can say a lot about a place.
Before we even got into the kitchen, our instructor Monisha, who is world famous Indian food chef and has written 17 books, took us to a nearby Indian store. She walked us through the shelves and explained different spices and ingredients. She pointed out the best kind of rice to use for these dishes, which is aged basmati. Apparently, it not only holds flavor the best, but it also becomes fluffier when cooked. We looked at spices like cumin, turmeric, and coriander. Some of them I recognized but had never used properly or knew what they did for a dish.
After the market, we went to the cooking class space where Monisha gave us a full explanation of how Indian food became such a big part of British culture. She explained that during British colonial rule in India, a lot of British people brought back spices, recipes, and even Indian cooks. Over time the food got changed to fit British tastes and that is how dishes like chicken tikka masala were created. It is not something you would find in India but over here it is seen as a classic. That really surprised me and made me think about how food travels and changes depending on where it goes.
Then we started cooking. We made five dishes. Pulao is rice cooked with spices. Egg Curry with a tomato and fenugreek sauce. Chicken Korma with a sunflower seed (due to allergy restrictions). Channa Masala which is chickpeas in tomato curry. And Vatana Usal which is green peas cooked with coconut and chili. It smelled amazing the whole time. I had never used fenugreek before, but it gave the Egg Curry a unique flavor and smell. That one might have been my favorite.
Something I didn’t expect was Monisha teaching us how healthy a lot of these dishes were. None of them used butter or cream and a lot of them were plant based. According to nutritionvalue.com the chickpeas and peas are full of protein and fiber. And the spices like turmeric and cumin are known to help with digestion and inflammation. It kind of changed the way I think about comfort food. Curry doesn’t have to be heavy or unhealthy.
Coming from the US, Indian food is something I’d get every now and then, but it is not really part of everyday life for most people. In the UK it feels different. Curry is everywhere here. People are more familiar with it, and it is a normal part of the food scene. I felt like an outsider at first but being able to learn about it this way helped me connect with it more.
This class wasn’t just about learning to cook. It was about understanding how food tells stories. I learned a lot about how dishes got here, why they matter, and how they’re made. And now I feel like I could actually try to make one of these again at home. I probably won’t try to cook all five but I’ll definitely pay more attention next time I eat curry.