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