Rhodes Across India
Kalwant Sahota
"As a Punjabi family we always cooked a lot of rich traditional food from the north. Cooking was something we did as a family, the men and women. When I moved out I took with me the principles of Punjabi cooking and added my own touches, I also decided to become a vegetarian.
"I’d been to India a few times before making the programme but I hadn’t travelled extensively. On this trip I experienced so many different regions and regional styles of cooking, however it was still the Punjabi cooking that stood out the most for me. The techniques are so basic but the results are just incredible.
"The mentors taught me a lot about Indian spices – which ones to use and how to make the most of them. It’s something I’ve been able to pass on in the cookery classes I teach in west London. Whereas these classes are targeting local people, Rhodes Across India has inspired me to register my own company to take the classes a step further.
"My cooking school spans both simple Indian cooking to regional food - all with a healthy twist. Kay's Cookery is about learning to cook again or advance your skills in how to use spices and ingredients that are popular to that particular cuisine.
Highlights
"Cooking over a log fire, under the stars with mentor Jaisal Singh was just incredible. The only draw back was that we were cooking goat and I’m a vegetarian! However, the Gujarati and Marwari food is all vegetarian - in those regions I never went hungry!
"I loved how everywhere we visited cooked alongside the seasons. I really like sarson ka saag (mustard leaves) and makkai di roti, and was looking forward to eating the real thing in India. But when I got out there I discovered that spinach was out of season, hence I really couldn’t get it anywhere! But then I thought about it and realised it’s actually hugely refreshing to experience food as it was meant to be – not everything available year-round like in England."
"I’d been to India a few times before making the programme but I hadn’t travelled extensively. On this trip I experienced so many different regions and regional styles of cooking, however it was still the Punjabi cooking that stood out the most for me. The techniques are so basic but the results are just incredible.
"The mentors taught me a lot about Indian spices – which ones to use and how to make the most of them. It’s something I’ve been able to pass on in the cookery classes I teach in west London. Whereas these classes are targeting local people, Rhodes Across India has inspired me to register my own company to take the classes a step further.
"My cooking school spans both simple Indian cooking to regional food - all with a healthy twist. Kay's Cookery is about learning to cook again or advance your skills in how to use spices and ingredients that are popular to that particular cuisine.
Highlights
"Cooking over a log fire, under the stars with mentor Jaisal Singh was just incredible. The only draw back was that we were cooking goat and I’m a vegetarian! However, the Gujarati and Marwari food is all vegetarian - in those regions I never went hungry!
"I loved how everywhere we visited cooked alongside the seasons. I really like sarson ka saag (mustard leaves) and makkai di roti, and was looking forward to eating the real thing in India. But when I got out there I discovered that spinach was out of season, hence I really couldn’t get it anywhere! But then I thought about it and realised it’s actually hugely refreshing to experience food as it was meant to be – not everything available year-round like in England."
