Traditional Indian Cookery Class with Chef Anirudh Arora, Head Chef at Moti Mahal..
What an opportunity to cook, learn and watch the magic as it happens in Moti Mahal restaurant based in Covent Garden.
The London outlet of Delhi’s Moti Mahal restaurant group, extending over a ground floor and basement, is elegantly furnished with cream banquette and fine dining etiquette, a magnet for business types, it’s also popular with tourists, romancing couples and families.
The extensive menu covers pan-Indian classics, on our lunch menu for our cookery class highlights include distinctive curries – a Kashmiri Rogan Josh, also a Tandoori Chicken Supreme, Pan Fried Red Mullet, Saffron Rice and Baked Yogurt with figs and cardamom.
Chef Anirudh Arora, aged 25 he was cooking for the Prime Minister of India. It is Ani’s obsession with detail that makes him such a conspicuous talent, as well as his curiosity for the cuisines of India and its border country he has spent time in regions as diverse as Kashmir, Ladakh, Lucknow and Calcutta, these formative experiences informing his broad repertoire of culinary knowledge, his research missions continually drawing him back to India.
Meeting Chef Ani was a joy, a great teacher in the kitchen, he cooks with integrative passion as he takes us through the steps of Traditional Indian Cooking, introducing us to his staff he has worked with over the years. And a surprisingly relaxed ambiance in the kitchen where everyone just fits into place.
We were shown around the kitchen, specific places where the tandoor oven is, where the “fish only” fridge is and where the magic all happens. There is no denying the depth to flavours there are in the curries, from the process that undergoes from the start to finish, this was one of my interests in discovering especially in Indian style curries in comparison to Mauritian curries. Using spices such as turmeric, coriander, garam masala, whole spices, deggi mirch powder, caraway seeds to name a few… Here they make their own powders, garlic and ginger pastes, which is why the food tastes so great!
Chef showed us how to make a lamb rogan josh, using K lamb, he sauteed oil with the spices and the onions firstly as a base then added in the meat till well seared. In goes the garlic and ginger paste, water, more spices, slowly cooked till nearly done then the tomato and yogurt go in with garam masala and coriander. There are little tips and tricks Chef would give us as we go along to make this flavourful, rich dish.
The Pan Fried Mullet, was marinated in a beautiful fragrant spice mix of turmeric, paprika, carom seed, ginger, chilli, garam masala and cooked to perfections served with an aubergine mash made from roasted aubergines for that smokey flavour, onions, tomatoes and mashed together. This is served chilled alongside the fish as a chutney/salad.
We were then shown how to make Saffron rice, now rice can be a pain to make, there are so many techniques, but here Chef Ani explained how to make his perfect style rice with added single cream, butter, mace, cardamom, cumin, bay leafs and peppercorn! Well to taste that good it has to have that butter and cream for richness. 
All these spices and ingredients are added to a pot and then the drained basmati rice (that has been washed several times) is added in, stirring constantly till absorbed its added into the oven. I tried this technique at home and had successful results of fluffy, fragrant rice. 
The Chicken Supreme dish was simply divine, using skewered chicken supreme slathered in a marinade of fresh spinach, coriander, mint, basil, lime, chilli and ginger/garlic & yoghurt. Cooked in the tandoor oven for that charred, smokey hint, can be reproduced at home on the bbq or in the oven. The colour was simply amazing!
The sweet dish was the Bhapa Doi- baked yoghurt with figs and cardamom topped with an amazing guava sorbet, so easy to make at home, its dangerous!
After all that hard observing, it was time to sit down and enjoy the food we saw being created in this kitchen.. the food came one after the other. To start, an interesting idea of creating your own salad, ingredients left on a platter with spices and oil to add as you wish.
Followed by the spiced green chicken supreme, spicy, smokey, tender bits of chicken and the crisp Devon crab cakes with lime leaf to start with..
Then came the long awaited Rogan Josh curry, velvety, rich, red/orange hues every mouthful was a spice hit, with delicately tender lamb chunks, ready to be scooped up with naan bread cooked in the tandoor, the yellow tinged spiced saffron rice, paneer with spinach amd black lentil stew. 
And finally the Pan Fried Mullet, simply fresh served with that aubergine mash which I could of eaten a whole pot of it was moreish.
To finish off (there’s always space for dessert) we indulged in the baked yoghurt and sorbet a refreshing palette cleanser and end to the experience. But also being surprised by a decadent chocolate mousse birthday cake was a treat to the day. I could just about move after the morning at Moti Mahal, I would of asked for a duvet and sofa to curl up on for an hour or so.. its that feeling when the food tastes too good you don’t want to waste it and try to eat as much as you can!
It was a great cookery experience, one I would recommend, even the spice blending class sounds interesting to learn the combinations, taking you to the basics, once those are understood, some amazing food can be produced! here http://www.motimahal-uk.com/special-events for more classes available
45 Great Queen Street
Covent Garden
London WC2B 5AA
T: +44 (0)20 7240 9329
F: +44 (0)20 7836 0790
Email: reservations@motimahal-uk.com
Opening hours:
Lunch: 12.00 to 15.00 Monday to Friday
Dinner: 17.30 to 23.00 Monday to Saturday
Sunday closed
Tube Stations: Covent Garden – 3 minutes walk and Holborn – 4 minutes walk
