Learn to cook Indian food with a class with Jas's School of Spice.

Express & Star

We meet Jas from Perton who runs an Indian cooking School, and get some ideas for good local Indian places to eat.

Transcript

00:00So we're here in Purton with Jazz and it's Jazzy's School of Spice. Hello Jazz.

00:04Hi Steve. What you got cooking Jazz?

00:06Right today I'm making pakoras for you.

00:09Cool good stuff aren't I lucky.

00:11You're very lucky but you know what anybody that comes to my house always gets fed and

00:15they nearly always get fed pakoras straight away because they're nice quick and easy.

00:20Good stuff.

00:20Very tasty.

00:22So what is Jazzy's School of Spice all about then Jazz?

00:25So I've always been passionate about cooking.

00:28I've been cooking since I was seven years old and um and you know what my my cookery

00:34classes they don't feel like work.

00:36I feel like I go there I have a jolly with people we have make new friends we have a

00:41laugh together and they walk away having learned new skills take a home take home loads of

00:46yummy food and then all evening I get you know messages from people telling me how much

00:51they enjoyed it and sending me pictures of how much the family were all enjoying the

00:55food so I feel like I'm on a constant high.

00:58During these classes and during the classes I uh yeah I love them because I'm passionate

01:04about cooking but also about people eating healthy.

01:07Yeah.

01:08I mean growing up you know I'm a Sikh Jat so Sikhs are traditionally farmers back home

01:13so when we came from India my dad used to grow everything everything that we ate came

01:18out of the garden so Monday to Friday we were vegetarians we came out of the garden or we

01:24lentils and pulses.

01:25Yeah.

01:26And all the spices that went into those foods were all good for all had benefits you know

01:31health benefits for you.

01:32Yeah.

01:32So we knew everything that went into those foods the only thing in our house that came

01:37out of a tin was um baked beans or Spam.

01:42Yeah.

01:43Everything else was fresh and you know what I didn't I didn't hear anybody talking about

01:48cancer in those days I didn't hear any of my mom's generation talking about going through

01:54the menopause because everybody knew what went into the food there was none of this

01:58processed stuff at all.

02:00Yeah.

02:00Um so yeah I'm all about eating you know knowing what's going into your food.

02:05Yeah.

02:05And also the thing that you do food it's with you know the cost of living and everything

02:10so economical.

02:11Well yeah a lot of people say oh you know I can't afford to eat healthy I can't afford

02:15this and that and but actually that's that's a lack of understanding and education a lot

02:20of time isn't it.

02:21Yeah.

02:22So I mean I showed in my class everybody is always shocked at just how many pakoras you

02:26can make with one potato one onion.

02:28Yeah.

02:29And I show them how with a packet of red split lentils you could that's cost four pounds

02:35you can feed 20 people with it.

02:36Yeah.

02:37You know and how cauliflower and potato will make you a beautiful curry.

02:42Yeah.

02:42And then we end up the class by them all making rotis and uh and they're always amazed at

02:48how they how they manage to fluff up.

02:50Yeah.

02:50So.

02:51So where are your classes held at then?

02:53Where do you do your teaching?

02:54So in the kitchen at Codsall Village Hall.

02:56Yeah.

02:57Yeah.

02:58And you also do little one-to-ones as well if needed.

03:00Yes I do.

03:01I've got a lovely family in Codsall that I go and do some classes for.

03:06Yeah.

03:07And um and then I've had and I've done a few team building events as well.

03:12Yeah.

03:13You know they've been absolutely fabulous.

03:15And your classes are split into kind of different categories just tell us a little bit about

03:19that.

03:20Okay so my beginners class it's all through all my classes I take you through a journey

03:25of my life my childhood and everything.

03:28So the beginners class is all about um auntie and uncle turning up.

03:33So we've got unexpected visitors and suddenly we've got to feed them.

03:36So you know they're all dishes that can be prepared very quickly easily with ingredients

03:41that you're going to have at home.

03:43Throughout the whole beginners course you only need four spices.

03:46So you don't need a cupboard full of spices just four spices.

03:49And salt and then the next one is my mix and match class which um they're all dishes

03:57that can be mixed and matched to create other dishes.

04:00But also it coincidentally it fits in with my life story whereas my parents identified

04:07as just being Indian.

04:09My grandchildren identified as being British and we were that mix and match generation

04:14of where at home we were Indian but when we were out we we tried to be British.

04:19We tried to be something different and then my next class is my restaurant style class

04:25which are all dishes that you'd find on in a on the menu of a typical um in an Indian

04:31restaurant.

04:33And um and during that class I talk about arranged marriages you know and how it was

04:39for my parents what it was like for my generation and and what it's like for you know my daughter

04:45generation who you know she she actually went away with her fiancé for a year before

04:50they got married you know.

04:51So I just sort of show how things have progressed and changed over the years.

04:56And um if what's your kind of go-to dish then?

04:59So if you were going out for a meal you're on holiday what's um what would you what would

05:04you go for?

05:04I want holiday.

05:05Yeah is it I mean it depends what country I'm in.

05:08Yeah I guess I mean I guess Indian dish then so what's your favorite Indian dish?

05:12Oh my favorite Indian dish um if I'm eating at home it's different it's saag.

05:18Yeah.

05:19But that's because it's I cook it the proper traditional way um when I go out it's probably

05:28some um well normally it's a it's either a lamb lamb um broken josh and a probably a

05:38paneer you know saag paneer or mutton paneer.

05:42And we were having a little chinwag off camera.

05:44Yeah.

05:44Um give us your tips for shook a few um two or three restaurants gone around this area

05:50Black Country and that that you you recommend you you know you've sampled and uh.

05:54Oh for me it has to be the first in Castlecroft.

05:58Yeah.

05:58Fabulous um Indigo.

06:01Yeah.

06:01And Wallstones then Dosterhut on Dudley Road absolutely amazing.

06:08Yeah.

06:08And then the other two there's the Yewtree and the Builders Arm which are like proper desi pubs.

06:14Good stuff great stuff.

06:15So the people that are coming to your class are they um have they dabbled in Indian cooking before

06:20and and or is it kind of a generally a new thing for them?

06:24Yes it can be a mixture some people uh just like Indian food have never ever cooked Indian food.

06:30Yeah.

06:31Uh other people have done some cooking you know but just want to learn how to

06:36do more authentic dishes so yeah a real mixture.

06:39Yeah.

06:39But the one thing I am finding now is I'm getting a lot more men coming to the classes.

06:45So when I first started you'd get maybe eight ladies and one man.

06:52Now I actually had a class the other couple of weeks ago where it was the other way around

06:56and the reason I'm getting a lot of men coming is because we women aren't daft.

07:01Is that the ladies have been buying gift vouchers for the men.

07:05Christmas and birthdays.

07:08So they not only get the man learns to cook and then two he's going to bring food home for her.

07:16That's a sensible way to play it isn't it.

07:18Yeah so yeah a lot lot more men in the class now.

07:22What are you what are you cooking up here then Jas?

07:24So I'm making pakoras.

07:26So um Indian tradition is that whenever anybody comes to your house you're always going to feed

07:32and I've always lived with that tradition.

07:34Yeah.

07:34Nobody that ever comes here that doesn't get fed.

07:37Yeah.

07:38And nearly always I make pakora because they're quick and easy.

07:42Take no time at all and they are super yummy as you'll soon find out.

07:46So what's your what we got going on in the bowl in there for a pakora.

07:50In the bowl so these are if you anybody's gluten intolerant they're perfect.

07:55So we've got onion, potatoes, ginger, chilies, ground flour and salt and garam masala.

08:04So just very very simple ingredients.

08:06Yeah.

08:07These are covered on my beginners class because my beginners class is all about

08:13getting unexpected visitors.

08:15Ah okay.

08:15So it's all about auntie and uncle have turned up and we've got to quickly prepare a meal for them.

08:20Yeah.

08:21So we start off with making pakoras and then we we go on we make trocadile and aloo gobi and rotis.

08:28Yeah.

08:29So yeah.

08:36They are the simplest and the most yummiest thing ever.

08:40So they're like an Indian bar.

08:42So you're going to show us Jaz best way to peel ginger.

08:44Yeah.

08:45Right here we go.

08:46With the edge of a spoon just scrape and just scrape and then you're not losing half the ginger.

08:54Look how easy that is.

08:55Interesting.

08:58Whereas when you do it with a knife you end up losing half of it.

09:01Yeah.

09:02There you go.

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