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Learn with Atul Kochhar

Indian Cuisine

Atul Kochhar teaches you Indian cookery, with classic dishes from across India.

Course overview

Starting in Kerala Atul will show you how to prepare a vibrant Meen Moilley – a Keralan fish curry, served with Keerai Poriyal and rice.

Meet Atul Kochhar

One of the pioneers of Indian fine dining, two-Michelin-starred chef Atul Kochhar, was responsible for changing our perceptions of the cuisine and helping British diners realise how refined Indian food can be. Combining the flavours of north, east, and south India with the finest produce, his contemporary style and love for traditional cooking have brought him his success. Today, he continues to showcase the incredible flavours of his home country in the UK. Born in east India but growing up in the north of the country, Atul came to appreciate food from a young age thanks to his grandfather – a baker – and his father, who owned a catering business. ‘I learnt a lot of things from a young age,’ he says. ‘Going to the market, buying the right ingredients, looking at the melons and pumpkins – it was a part of my everyday life’. Atul already had a good knowledge of northern and eastern Indian cuisine, so he decided to study in southern India to expand his culinary knowledge even further. ‘It was like being in a new country,’ he says. ‘The language was different, the people were different, the food was different; I had to put my learning boots on and start all over again. I loved living there.’ In 1994, Atul migrated to the UK and opened Tamarind, which was soon known as one of the best Indian restaurants in the world. In 2001 it won a Michelin star – making Atul the first Michelin-starred Indian chef in the world. This spurred him on to leave Tamarind and open his own restaurant, Benares, which was awarded its own Michelin star in 2006. Since then, he has opened numerous successful, award-winning restaurants: Sindhu and Hawkyns in Buckinghamshire and Indian Essence in Kent. In 2018, Atul left Benares to pursue other independent ventures, most recently Kanishka in Mayfair, London. Atul has published several cookbooks, including Curries of the World and Indian Essence. He is also an International and UK nationwide TV personality – featuring on Million Dollar Menu and Saturday Kitchen and the first three series of Great British Menu.

Course description

Join Michelin starred chef Atul Kochhar's cookery course and learn how to make some of the most iconic Indian curries, breads, rice and vegetable dishes.

This course will teach you to cook recipes from across India, including some of Atul's favourite dishes from Kerala, West Bengal, Kashmir and Goa.

Choose Expert option for personal feedback and advice from Atul on your cooking.

By the end of the course you will have prepared four classic Indian dishes, and will have an understanding of the history and culture of each region, and how this feeds into the ideas, ingredients and flavours behind the dishes you have created.

You'll be going behind the scenes of Kanishka, the Mayfair restaurant run by two Michelin starred chef Atul Kochhar which focuses on the unexplored cuisine from the so called 'Sister States' of India.

Atul is keen to highlight the regional differences in his home country’s food.

Indian cuisine doesn’t exist to be honest – we have very specific regional cuisines instead. Sometimes the tastes are like chalk and cheese; it would be like comparing Finnish cuisine with the food of southern Italy. Calling food Indian is just as vague as describing a dish as European.

People often shy away from Indian food, worrying that it’s too complicated and requires too many ingredients. Atul is here to debunk this myth:

“If you cook along with me and follow my basic steps, by the end of the course you will be cooking these dishes exactly like me.”

 

You'll learn:
  • About the regional differences in Indian cuisine
  • How to cook curries including Keralan fish curry, a West Bengal Macher Jhol fish curry, Rogan josh and chicken Xacutti and a black-eyed bean curry
  • Rice and bread recipes to serve with your curry
  • Vegetable side dishes
Time to complete Atul Kochhar's cookery course:

Every student is different but in general we think the whole course will take around 13 hours 20 minutes to complete including:

  • Video lessons: 2 hours 20 minutes
  • Course notes: 15 minutes per lesson
  • Assignment: at least 2 hours per lesson
  • Interactive classroom time: 15 minutes
  • Tutor feedback review (Expert level): 15 minutes
You'll need:

You'll be making curries, rice, bread and vegetable dishes from across India. All the recipes and ingredients are included in the lesson notes.

The course is suitable for all levels - curry lovers and home cooks to professional chefs who are keen to learn about Indian cuisine.

The course includes:
  • On-demand video lessons - presented by Atul Kochhar
  • lifetime access to the video, notes and interactive class
  • flexible classes - join and learn when and where you like
  • downloadable lesson notes
  • practical (optional) Indian cookery assignments for each lesson
  • access on your mobile, PC, Mac or laptop
  • small interactive online classroom chat online to students from around the world
Ready to get started?

Just add the course to your basket above - choose the 'Expert' option for personal feedback from Atul on the Indian dishes you cook in the course.

Any questions? Contact us by clicking on the orange speech symbol - we'd love to hear from you.