In the early morning hours of Sunday, February 25th (2024), a group of enthusiastic, volunteer cooks met up at the MA Center Switzerland. They gathered to continue preparations for an Indian feast to be served to approximately 40 enthusiastic cooking class students.
The cooking and initial preparations had already begun at 6 a.m. the day before: washing and cutting vegetables, arranging tables and chairs, and planning the process in detail. So, soon the kitchen was filled with the scent of fragrant spices.
By 10 a.m., the curious students began arriving to delve deeply into the traditional intricacies of Indian cooking. Amrita Virtual Academy’s visiting cooking instructor, Vaju Moorthy, opened the cooking class by sharing stories of personal childhood experiences that awakened a deep love of Indian cuisine within her.
Afterwards, the participants listened eagerly to her step-by-step instructions given for making the popular Indian breakfast dish, Uppama (or, “Upma”)—made of ground wheat or quinoa, with vegetables, spices and herbs.
Many questions arose, such as, “How do you make the dough for Uppama?” “What is the most important thing?” “What is the optimal consistency before and after fermentation?” “What should it smell like?”
All the students received a folder with a detailed description of the recipes, ingredients, procedure and possible alternatives. Some participants diligently took notes. At the end, everyone stood at the front of the stove to get a taste of the fried dough, inspect the special mixer blades, and discuss their impressions of the class.
With the excellent guidance of Amrita Virtual Academy’s cooking instructor, Vaju Moorthy, the meal was ready to be served to all the students by noon. The Uppama turned out to be delicious, resulting in some people eating more than they usually do. Everyone found the company to be delightful, too. Many stayed until late afternoon to chat, and share their experiences with each other.
Vaju Moorthy is a cooking instructor for Amrita Virtual Academy.
“When I talk about cooking, the first thing that comes to mind is my mother. She was an excellent cook; her food was loved by the whole family, and everyone who visited our home. I learned a lot just by watching her prepare the food, and serve people.” – Vaju Moorthy
Join our online cooking classes with Vaju, by signing up for our monthly or annual AVA membership. In the AVA membership, there are 60+ online courses on different themes available for you.
Amrita Prasadam
Learn more about authentic Indian cooking through the online cooking courses with Amrita Virtual Academy. There are more than 70 recipes from across India available. You can follow the course at your own pace through instructional videos.
In addition to delicious snacks—such as Masala Dosa, and healthier options, like Quinoa Uppama—we also demonstrate how to prepare traditional foods associated with the important festivals of the year.
This post was originally written in German and posted on the website of MA Center Switzerland. See the original post: https://www.macenter.ch/news/2024/2/28/rckblick-authentisches-indisches-kochen-und-essen