Monday, July 24th, 2017
A delicious morning of somosa making at Shropshire Hills Discovery Centre in Craven Arms.
There was a small group learning how to make somosa from scratch. Here’s the summary in photos:
Meet Martyn and Maisie, two of my somosa making experts for the day. Martyn generously brought his camera along to capture some moments.
Even the best somosas in the world are served with a fresh dip and we learnt to make two, this one’s a fresh tomato one. One of my favourites, it guarantees tasty results, every time.
Made with fresh, de-seeded and chopped tomatoes, finely chopped red onion and seasoned with fresh garlic, sugar, salt, chilli, Garam Masala (always home made) and fresh mint.
Ooops, I must remember he’s almost 20 and I shouldn’t be telling him off, especially in a cooking class, please meet Sam, my son, he’s the greatest.
Ah that’s better (slightly). It all looks neat and tidy, even though we are cooking a complicated dish.
Always time for a nice photo, whilst roasting cumin in the cutest little pan. It only takes a minute or so and is so much better than any commercially bought ground cumin.
Here’s me sharing a tip or two with Jack, there’s a great chef in the making. In between smiling and posing for photos, we do actually cook.
Learning to make the cones, requires concentration. It’s so important to seal the somosas well so they don’t burst. A top tip is a little pea or sweet corn in the cone base to offer structure to our somosa. I took the class through using filo pastry so they knew how to make a cheat one, too.
Here we are sharing the home cooked dishes. We made a fresh tamarind and orange juice dip, seasoned with star anise, it’s so good!
We also made the tomato dip and Indian Chai, (tea) seasoned with ajwain and fennel seeds, cardamom pods and cinnamon.
The next two lessons we plan with the Grow, Cook and Learn team at the Shropshire Discovery Centre in Craven Arms will be concentrating on birianis (rice dishes) and another with parathas (flat-breads). Huge thank you to all the staff at the Discovery centre who support us through the cooking workshops, you make the lessons flow smoothly, thanks again.
Please get in touch if you would like to cook with me and I will create the perfect package for you.
If we have inspired you to make somosas, here’s the recipe from my website with lots of tips, especially for you.
Lajina Leal, Founder, Lajina Masala
Lajina had a Corporate Career as an Accountant for many years and whilst discussing an impending redundancy in an Indian restaurant with her friends, they persuaded her to set up an Indian Cooking School.
The fun started in October 2013 and the business has grown from strength to strength.
Hi Lajina
Wish I ‘d known you were in Craven Arms I live only 10 miles away and I would have come over with a few friends and joined in! Please tell me if you are coming back anywhere near. Brenda x
Hi Brenda,
It’s such a shame you didn’t cook with us.
Please, can you send me your email address and hopefully look out for my newsletters, I usually add all the bits I am doing on them.
Thanks again for getting in touch, Lajina x