Chole-Palak and cooking the afternoon away!
This past Sunday I gave my first cooking class, in conjunction with Dhyanyoga Centers, and I'm happy to report to went GREAT! I have to say I was pretty nervous, but 15 minutes into talking, I warmed up and before I knew it three hours FLEW by!
We had 12 lovely people registered and a tight schedule for the afternoon to keep to. We transformed my kitchen and art studio into a classroom where we talked about what yogic cooking is, what the benefits are and how to stock a vegetarian pantry, followed by how to unleash your fears, roll up sleeves and start cooking from your heart!
I had a blast sharing what I've learned from my life long love with food and yoga.Our menu for the afternoon was Quinoa-Rice Pilaf- 3 different ways, Zucchini Curry and Chole-Palak (Garbanzo Bean Curry-see below for this recipe). Everything turned out pretty great...I don't usually talk that much while cooking, so that was a whole new, learning experience for me.
Best of all, I introduced my new line of sattvic (pure) spice blends....I'll be posting more about them in the coming weeks! I'm so excited to share them with you....they make cooking so much tastier (and easier)...especially if you're not big on onions and garlic. So stay tuned to hear more about them...
Thanks for everyone's well wishes with this class--- I couldn't have wished for a better outcome! p.s. Below is one of the recipes from class.Completely Grateful, xoKajal[gallery ids="3491,3493,3494,3496,3495,3497,3498,3499,3492"]
- 2 cups cooked garbanzo beans
- 4 cups spinach
- 2 tablespoons ghee or oil
- 1 cup tomatoes, diced
- 2 inch piece of ginger, finely grated
- ½ jalenpeno, finely grated
- ½ cup mint, finely chopped
- ½ teaspoon cumin seeds
- ½ teaspoon crushed fennel seeds
- 1/8 teaspoon hing
- ½ teaspoon turmeric
- ½ teaspoon black salt
- 2 teaspoon garam masala
- 2 teaspoon salt
- ½ -1 cup black tea, brewed and strained
- ½ cup cilantro, finely chopped
- Garnish with a squeeze of lemon juice.
- In a small food processor or blender, combine tomatoes, ginger, jalapeno and mint into a paste.
- Warm oil on medium heat. Once warm add cumin and crushed fennel seeds. When seeds begin popping, add hing, turmeric and garam masala. Mix for a few seconds and then add the paste.
- Saute paste for 2-3 minutes, then add garbanzo beans salt, black salt and black tea. Add spinach. Bring to a simmer, then turn temperature to low and cook covered for 5-7 minutes or until beans are cooked to desired consistency.
- Garnish with cilantro and lemon juice before serving.
