By: Louise Pimm
IF YOU have hungered for one of Britain’s favourite meals, curry, then worry no more. Monsoon, an Indian restaurant in Albufeira’s new town, will tickle your taste buds with demonstrations of how to cook the perfect Chicken Korma and pilaf rice. Twelve members from the As Servanas ladies luncheon club were treated to the first in a series of demonstrations by Monsoon owner, Minaz Mawji, and chef Tito.
While members helped out by peeling onions, Minaz explained to them the importance of frying the whole spices in oil before adding the other ingredients as this intensifies the flavours and creates the perfect base for the dish. After making the curry sauce, Tito prepared the pilaf rice to accompany the Korma.
During the demonstration, Minaz gave away tricks of the trade: always soak your rice in water for about an hour before cooking as this will stop the rice from breaking; always fry the whole spices first; add cumin seeds towards the end as they cook faster than other spices; and, for the perfect rice, cover it with water making sure that there is a centimeter of water above the level of rice.
Minaz has owned Monsoon only for a year. “I came down from Lisbon with the intention of creating a restaurant like no other,” Minaz told The Resident. “Here we serve a buffet of Indian and Thai cuisine and have a home delivery service – nowhere else in the Algarve does either of these. I enjoy the challenge of creating food that my customers will enjoy and we are now starting to get regular customers returning again and again.”
To find Monsoon, drive to the globe roundabout at the end of the strip in Albufeira, turn right, then the second right and it is on your left-hand side. For information about future Indian cooking demonstrations, to book a table or to order take away call 289 541 398.
