India To Perth
Head to Perth to learn all about Indian cooking with classes from the city’s top chef
When...
Classes run every Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 9.30am to 2.30pm
How Much...
£99.95 per person
Where...
38 Edinburgh Road, Perth,
PH2 8DR
INDIAN cuisine is among Scotland’s most popular, being home to many exquisite Indian restaurants. One of the best is Tabla on Perth’s South Street, owned by South Indian chef Praveen Kumar and his wife Swarna.
The award-winning restaurant is a must-visit when in Perth and its popularity led Praveen and Swarna to set up an Indian Cook School in the city, which has been running for five years.
Along with Chef Sanjay, the couple run the school, which offers classes on Indian cooking to anyone who wants to learn how to produce Praveen’s world-class dishes.
“Some of our students are quite good, some are really good and some have never touched a pan before,” says Praveen.
As well as teaching students how to make the dishes – using the same recipes Praveen uses in his restaurant – the goal is to help each student become more confident in cooking.
“By the end of the class, the idea is they’ll look at recipe books and say ‘oh yeah, I’ve learnt how to use this spice, I know this technique.’ It gives them confidence to use the spices,” Praveen says.
When it comes to the ingredients used in the classes, Praveen, Swarna and Sanjay use a perfect blend of Scottish and Indian.
“We use what we grow here in Scotland from our farm and the spices from my family home in India. I show some videos of how the spice has been produced and how they are processed,” says Praveen. “It’s not just learning how to cook and going home, it’s more about the produce and how you use them.”
With visitors coming from across the UK to visit Indian Cook School, Praveen loves hearing their stories when he’s running a class.
“My schedule is quite busy but I still love taking time out to cook and teach,” he says. “What I like the most is meeting people. The class can take up to 10 people. They talk about the food, they talk about their experience, some of them have been to India, some of them never have. I get to know them, why they are there and teach them new skills.”