Learning Continues... (Baking workshop)

I have always been a foodie, I guess. Cause from what mom says about when I was little, feeding time was no less than a world war. So now every time My friends and I meet it is always some place with good food. There is this one friend who is my partner in crime when it comes to food. We met at previous work place  where I was the course coordinator for Travel & tourism and she was the course coordinator for Hotel Management course, soon we became good friends. So imagine my excitement when I got to taste chocolates, cakes, ice creams, kinds of mousses and pastries, those days, alas shall never return, now etched in my memory forever. By this time though I was aware of cuisines and tastes, I got an in depth knowledge of the art of cooking. One person I missed during these interesting discussion with friends on cooking is my "Kiran thatha", Kiran is the name of apartment building where my paternal grandparents lived, so he was referred to by that name. he was a great cook, wow, avial, was his specialty and I was his favourite critic and fan. he had a style of his own. He cooked with love, maybe that was his way of getting back at life and its difficulties. So during my teens having spent a lot of time with him I learnt a lot about cooking and more about preparing for cooking and the ingredients. The other person who has influenced my cooking is my maternal grandmom, she began cooking for a huge family at a very young age. This continued even after marriage, so with time her cooking improved and her fame spread. Especially her Rasam, also known as "Mulligatawny". She continued to cook even after she moved in with my parents. So as she advanced in age I began helping and grasped the nuances of south Indian cooking to some extent, but never to her class. And when she passed away I got the opportunity to try my hand at cooking. having tried full fledged cooking my appreciation for and the art of cooking has grown immensely.

That's grandpa & me cooking, I think making crispy dosas. Man, his dosas were crispier than crisp can be.

My cooking was restricted to typical south Indian dishes, those for regular meals and during festivals I graduated to savouries, which I am really proud of. Confident that the food I make is palatable I wanted to try my hand in something else. That opportunity came knocking at my door in the form of a week long bakery course. I was thrilled and enrolled myself. It was fun. I kneaded the dough, saw edible yeast for the first time in my life, used the egg beater for the first time in my life, greased a croissant and gobbled up caked and cookies and pastries like there is no tomorrow. I did not know that we always adda little salt in sweet cookies. I learnt the cut & turn method kneadign dough. here are some pictures. This session happened at SNDT Women's University, NML, Mumbai, organised by the Hotel Management Department.

Black Forest cake

Croissants

Strawberry Cake