Sharmini's Inspirational Indian Cuisine

  Sharmini taught me how to cook her award-winning coconutty Kerala chicken curry on a Larks.live cooking class.

I was so nervous before joining the class, but I've always... read more wanted to learn and lockdown meant I actually had the time to give it a try! Sharmini very quickly calmed my nerves and nurtured everyone on the class through the recipe. Before I knew it, I had made a delicious restaurant-quality curry and, as if that wasn't enough, I even managed to make fluffy rice to go with it (rather than something more akin to a rice pudding!)! This dish is now a staple in our home and I make it at least twice a month. Learning how to make Rogan Josh later this month and I can't wait!

  I have done 3 Zoom classes with Sharmini so far and she has improved my understanding of Indian cookery. The Prawn Curry and Keralan coconutty curry were lovely

  I took part in sharmini's Zoom class this evening and had a great time. I also have attended a vegan demo in the past which was also great. Since then... read more I have cooked a lot of Indian food using Sharmini's cookery book and spice kit.

The instructions were clear and I learnt lots of new things. The end result was delicious and I can't wait to make it again!!

  My first visit to Yorkshire Wolds Cookery School was a special birthday gift and I chose Sharmini's course. An excellent choice and Sharmini shared her love of spices... read more and her knowledge of how to combine them to create tasty Indian meals for our friends and family. The whole experience was amazing and it has inspired me to try more of the dishes in Sharmini's recipe book. I've found new uses for the crop of tomatoes from my greenhouse! Since returning from the day I've consolidated my learning and cooked a number of the dishes and so far they've been very well received and I'm enjoying a new confidence with Indian cookery. Sharmini is a lovely lady and very generous with her patience as we learned to take our time re-creating the recipes, many of them handed down to Sharmini from her family.

  Loved every minute
Of this day, shamini knows so much and you can absorb her love of spices and knowledge, she is such a lovely lady, I had an absolute... read more brilliant day x x x

  Firstly let me say what a lovely lady Sharmini is.

I made 2 excellent curries in the day along with Onion Pakora and Bombay Potatoes, all delicious,
My... read more favourite food is Indian and I class myself as a connoisseur having been to 100's of restaurants and tried every local takeaway!

I attended the course 24th Sept and since then, following the guidance in Sharmini's cook book I have made, Shammi Kebab and Jalfrezi, I have been making good curries for years but these were different class, I quote my wife "best kebabs you have ever made" followed by "best curry you have ever made" complement from my Mrs is complement enough!
Not sure my local take away will be happy when they don't see me so much!
If you love curry and want to make your own, you now know what to do, get yourself booked of Sharmini's course, up there with the best birthday presents i have had.

Steve

  I had an unforgettable experience at Sharmini's Inspirational Indian Cuisine at the Yorkshire Wolds Cookery School. Sharmini lived up to the title - she was truly inspirational!
... read more /> The day started off with a hands (and nose!) -on introduction to spices which was informative and fun. The cookery workshop which followed was excellent. We learned how to prepare and cook an impressive array of dishes and Sharmini created a very relaxed and informal atmosphere. The Yorkshire Wolds Cooking School is also very impressive and provided a state of the art environment with individual work stations and equipment to hand.

Sharmini demonstrated each step of the preparation before we were let loose on the ingredients. Dishes ranged from Butter Chicken (Murg Makhani) to Lamb Jalfrezi and onion pakoras to desserts like Carrot Halwa (which was delicious!) , plus side dishes. Somehow we managed to fit in time to have an enjoyable lunch and chat too!

Sharmini was so good at explaining techniques, how to produce perfect rice as well as explaining a bit about the history of dishes and ingredients, what the names meant and how and when they were enjoyed in India. It was a truly authentic experience as Sharmini is not only an experienced tutor and teacher, she has also always cooked traditional Indian food for her own family.

The dishes I cooked received an enthusiastic response from my own family. I have used the recipes many times since at family events and dinners when guests are always suitably impressed. I can also heartily recommend Sharmini's excellent cookery book: Sharmini's Inspirational Indian Cuisine which has clear recipes that are easy to follow and wonderful photos.

  I was thrilled to have come across Sharmini's food posts on Instagram and to have learnt that she teaches Indian Cooking in York. I do love eating Indian food... read more but I didn't love the idea of cooking it. Needless to say I signed up anyway.

Before I could attend my class I received an email from her enquiring about allergy related information, etc. She was thoughtful enough to offer a substitute to the ingredients I was allergic to and even ensured that the snacks she provided during the course were free of the said ingredients.

Coming to the course itself, we spent about 6 hours and she taught us around 6-7 recipes which I thought was great value for money. Some of us (mostly me) required extra assistance and we were immediately attended to by her or her helpful assistant Helen! Some dishes which I would otherwise find very daunting (eg. fluffy rice) turned out to be really easy and it blew my mind!

I would definitely recommend this course because there is so much you can learn apart from just the recipes. The introduction to spices and their health benefits, the tips to getting the base for a curry right, the secret behind a perfectly crisp onion pakora..i could go on!

Also I highly recommend buying the spice box and the recipe book! so so useful!! I love it and have ordered a few more for my friends!!

  Sharmini is an inspirational teacher. She is so knowledgeable and makes cooking fun. I have learnt so much from her and regularly use her recipies.