An intimate crowd of 15 Torontonians transported themselves to India, thanks to the personally-designed recipes by Anjum Anand. This currylicious evening held at Cirillo’s Culinary Academy saw guests cooking delicious treats with British food writer and TV chef of Indian cuisine, Anjum Anand.
The evening started with cocktails that came with a coconut twist. Imagine pina colada served in a coconut shell that took us to the state of coconuts - Kerala. For appetizers, there were juicy burgers and mini pizzas. After a brief introduction, the evening proceeded into a quick-cooking demo session with Anjum. She showcased The Spice Tailor’s latest sauce - Keralan Coconut curry. A simple tadka, mixed with the special sauce and prawns made this a delectable affair.
What’s for dinner? Well, that was on the guests who were given the task of preparing food based on Anjum’s recipes and sauces. Three teams with four participants each were divided based on their choice of protein - chicken, fish, vegetables and beef. Every participant chose their choice of sauce and was given about 15 minutes to prepare their dish. One could also improvise by adding extra ingredients like tofu, mushrooms and broccoli.
Participants made a variety of dishes from tikki masala, rogan josh, butter chicken, fiery Goan curry, to black dal and chick peas salad. There were also a few peculiar combinations like broccoli and black dal, beef and chickpeas, and gobi mixed with butter chicken. With at least 14 freshly prepared dishes served with hot steamed rice and bread, participants had their plates and hearts full. After all, Anjum had turned everyone into creators and quick chefs.