Craving for 'payasam'? Learn South Indian cooking at this workshop in Mumbai

Curd Rice

If you often crave for a hot bowl of rasam but are unable to figure out its consistency in online recipes, a two-hour South Indian cooking workshop may just help you whip up the perfect tangy-spicy, peppercorn-laced concoction. "South Indian cuisine is technique-sensitive, so it's difficult to learn it off the Internet.

French Beans Vazhattiyathu

A hands-on class can help you understand the correct balance of spices, right textures and consistencies, and the doneness of vegetables," shares 38-year-old Sajida Khan, who has organised a South Indian cooking class this Saturday at Culinary Craft, a studio that she launched last year. Open to 20 guests aged 16 years and above, the class will be taught by a trained chef.

Lime Rice

Instead of offering fare from a particular state, the workshop's menu encompasses staples from across the southern region. These include Sambar, Curd Rice, Rasam, Idiyappam or string hoppers, Lime Rice, a side dish called Raw Banana or Cabbage Thoran, milk-based dessert Payasam and Avial, where a mix of potato, drumstick, yam, snake gourd and long beans is cooked in a coconut-based paste.

Avial

The guests will also learn to make French Beans Vazhattiyathu, a lesser-known side dish where the thinly sliced beans are tempered and spiced with red chillies, peppercorn and coarsely crushed Madras onion. The dish is enjoyed with Malabari Paratha. "Going in depth into a particular state's cuisine required us to source region-specific ingredients that aren't readily available in the market.

Sajida Khan

The idea is to help people incorporate the dishes in everyday cooking - so we have curated the list based on availability of ingredients, ease of preparation and the universal appeal in terms of taste," shares Khan.