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Anupy Singla Demystifies Indian Cooking Through Classes and Dining Events
I was still early into my second career as a food writer and advocate in September 2014 when I accepted an invitation from Anupy Singla — cookbook author and founder of her Indian as Apple Pie company — to join a press tour of Devon Avenue in the heart of Chicago's Little India.
We stayed in touch mainly by social media over the ensuing years until we reconnected in person at a charity event last November. We agreed that Local Food Forum readers would be interested in learning from Anupy that Indian home cooking is much easier and far less complicated than many believe.
Anupy, who was born in India and grew up in Pennsylvania, is herself a former journalist. She contributed the following article that focuses on the different platforms she uses to give people confidence in their Indian cooking adventures.
I have participated in one of her Restaurant Tour dinners (at Chicago's outstanding Coach House), and the online cooking class about Coconut Egg Curry that she describes in the article. I plan to participate in her April 12 class and learn how to make some beautiful dal.
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by Anupy Singla
While some say knowledge is power, it’s acting on the knowledge that makes me feel most powerful — especially in the kitchen, whether it’s toasting spices, mincing onion or watching a curry bubble to perfection.
Doing it myself is the key to learning how to cook anything, especially Indian food. And it is the concept behind my company and website Indian As Apple Pie. It makes Indian cooking actionable for both those who think it is unapproachable, and for the next generation of Indian-Americans who crave their family recipes but don’t know where to start.
My formula is an homage to my journalism background: to always show, not just tell.
I watched my mother cook growing up, but it was my grandfather on my father’s side who gave me the cooking lessons that changed my life. On one visit to our new home in Pennsylvania from his tiny Punjabi village in India in the late 1970s, he declared that I would learn to make a well-spiced potato and eggplant dish called Aloo Baingan.
He was tall, strong and fierce, so ‘declared’ is the only way to describe everything from his mouth. Less a question and more of a command. I was around 10 years old and he was the self-proclaimed foodie of the family.
It wasn't my ideal activity on that bright, sunny Saturday, but I didn’t have a choice at the time. Now, I’m so glad that I didn’t and that he had the foresight to instill in me the love of my culture, roots and country of birth through food.
We diced the potatoes just so, spiced the dish perfectly, and left the woody ends of the eggplant in for added effect. This showing — not just telling — in the kitchen is what carried me through a career in television reporting, and once I had kids, the realization that I wanted to instill in them this same love of Indian food and culture.
This drive to master and simplify every Indian recipe I grew up with was, and still is, the premise of the blog I launched in 2009. That led to my first and best-selling cookbook a year later, The Indian Slow Cooker, and eventually three more books, a line of spices-sauces-legumes, virtual cooking classes, and an upcoming cooking show.
Do you love eating Chana Masala, Palak Paneer or Dal Makhani? Want to unlock the secrets to making them without losing your mind? No worries, hop on my Indian As Apple Pie website and you’ll find clear instructions, links to the ingredients, and instructional videos all housed in one spot.
I was reminded of cooking with my grandfather on a recent Saturday morning as I adjusted two cameras — one on me and the other over a 4-quart pan warming on the stove. After greeting participants from Seattle, Boston, Houston and Chicago, I took the class on an hour-long journey to make Coconut Egg Curry.
I began by dispelling myths, clarifying that curry to us means gravy, not spice. We use whole spices like cumin seeds, cardamom and cinnamon sticks or spice blends specific to dishes called masala: chana, chaat, garam and so on. I showed them the Kashmiri technique of sautéing hardboiled eggs in ghee [clarified butter] and turmeric powder ahead of making a simple yet complex coconut curry.
Some watched. Some cooked. They all walked away experts in a dish and cuisine they once thought unapproachable.
My next Master Class series, The Art of Dal, focuses on legumes (beans, peas, and lentils) or dal in the Indian language. Think beans and lentils are boring? Sign up for classes and you may also come to crave eating them daily. You’ll learn about their dietary benefits and how to cook them from dried, saving on your grocery bill and helping the environment by eliminating cans.
Check out the upcoming classes below:
April 12 – Yellow Split Moong Dal (quick-cooking and delicious)
May 17 – Punjabi Rajmah (a hearty kidney bean chili)
June 7 – Chana Dal (one of the lowest glycemic foods out there!)
For those in the Chicagoland area, my curated Indian Restaurant Tours are another way to experience Indian cuisine while supporting and getting to know local restaurateurs. Through my guidance and background from the chefs, dinner guests get a unique behind-the-scenes look at each course.
Recent tours were held at Coach House, the concept of Zubair Mohajir, who has twice been nominated for James Beard Foundation culinary awards, and Indienne, Chicago’s first Michelin-starred Indian restaurant.
From providing recipes that work and making it easier to source ingredients that are authentic, I’m proud to say Indian As Apple Pie is creating a generation of Indian food lovers who are finally learning to master it by cooking at home. Action is indeed powerful.
Anupy Singla is a Chicago-based entrepreneur, former journalist, and author of four cookbooks: Instant Pot Indian, The Indian Slow Cooker, Indian For Everyone, and Vegan Indian Cooking. She is a member of the prestigious Les Dames d’Escoffier, a global philanthropic organization of women leaders in the culinary and hospitality industry. Her work has appeared in the Chicago Tribune, the Chicago Sun-Times, the Wall Street Journal, and more. For more on Anupy, visit www.indianasapplepie.com.
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