Latashas Kitchen

11 September 2009

Dear ,

Feature Article - News From Latasha

Many of our customers who have been eating at Latasha's over the past 6+ years still believe Latasha employs cooks and chefs to cook everything offered on the menus - much to Latasha's amusement. Overheard regularly are customers' queering Latasha's staff as to whether they were the cooks who created the dish they'd just enjoyed eating.

This sceptical view is being slowly dispelled, now that Latasha is teaching as well. The classes have well and truly taken off with bookings coming from 12 year olds to 84 year olds, chefs and restaurant owners, cooks from other cafes from around metro Perth and even some from regional WA. Interestingly, more and more regular diners are booking classes for a variety of lessons all taught and personally conducted by Latasha.

We guess one of the best compliments is when new customers come in and say they have eaten what was cooked by one of our students and would like to book in an experience for themselves. And recently we received requests from three other businesses who have asked Latasha to bulk cook orders for on-sale to franchise holders, hotels and bistros.

Give your loved ones, family, friends, colleagues and staff ‘A Gift of Valuable Life Long Lessons in Cooking with Fresh Herbs & Spices'

At Latasha's Kitchen Studio, each Demo & Dine class menu is a discovery lesson. We explore the spice trail and hand-make each dish from scratch. You get to sit down, watch 4-5 dishes demonstrated and then feast on everything Latasha prepares.

We also run Hands-on Cook & Dine courses over 2, 4 or 6 week durations. These courses tend to be a hit with the more serious and discerning foodies. Yet, the courses still attract the curious. You will be amazed about learning the art of cooking and using different regional spice blends.

Gift Vouchers from Latasha's Kitchen make ideal gifts for family, friends and staff who would like to attend Cooking Classes at Latasha's Kitchen. With over 80 cooking classes and course menus to choose from, there's bound to be something for everyone. Our vouchers are highly sought after and prized by recipients.

Gift Certificates Gift vouchers start at $25 and can also be used for pantry products as well as to dine-in or as take out meals. Vouchers can be purchased in store, online or by phone. They have a validity date of 1 year from the date of purchase.

Upcoming Cooking Classes & Courses

Demo & Dine Classes

Vietnamese Table - Friday 18th September 6pm to 9pm Cost: $130pp

Chicken in Lemon Grass & Chilli
Stir-fried Lamb with Mint & Chilli
Vietnamese Spring Rolls
Spicy Beef Salad with Fresh Herbs
Rice

Malaysian Table: Johor -Friday 25th September 6pm to 9pm Cost: $130pp

Nasi Himpit (Rice Cakes)
Sayur Lodeh
Satay Chicken with Peanut Sauce
Rojak Tauhu
Soto Ayam
Mee Rebus

Western Indian Table: Rajasthan-Thursday 15th October 6pm to 9pm Cost: $130pp

Red Meat Curry
Pappadum Curry
Watermelon Curry
Lentils & Dumplings
Millet Flatbread
Rice

Malaysian Table: Negeri Sembilan-Friday 16th October 6pm to 9pm Cost: $130pp

Green Chicken Rendang
Rendang Beef Rembau
Spinach in Coconut Chilli Gravy
Turmeric Rice

Fabulous Snack Favourites-Wednesday 21st October 6pm to 9pm Cost: $120pp

Samosas
Lamb Curry Puffs
Prawns in Batter
Ikan Bilis & Bean Sprouts Fritters
Crunchy Chicken and Corn Cakes
Homestyle Chilli Sauce

Hands-on Cook & Dine Courses

Advanced 4-weeks
Monday Oct 5, 12, 19, 26 - beginning 2pm to 6pm $720 pp (1 place remaining)
Beginner 6-weeks
Monday Nov 2, 9, 16, 23, 30; Dec 7 - 11am to3pm $900 pp (1 place remaining)
Beginner 6-weeks
Tuesday Nov 3, 10, 17, 24; Dec 1, 8 - 4.30pm to 8.30pm $900pp (1 place remaining)

Call on 08 9328 8184 or e-mail latasha@latashaskitchen.com.au to reserve your place.

Recent Functions @ Latasha's Kitchen

We've been conducting birthday get-togethers, hen's nights, blokes day off, mystery dinners, and the variety keeps life very interesting in our little kitchen.

Corporate Get Togethers

From Accountants to Pharmacies, Banks and Mining Industries, we've been kept on our toes these last couple of months....some classes have been conducted as Chef's Demo presentation cocktail style; others as a semi hands-on where we start with a couple of hands-on sessions in our rear kitchen and finish off with some demo presentations in our front studio kitchen.

Private Classes @ the rear of Latasha's Kitchen

We continue to conduct private, customised classes for couples, friends and families in our rear kitchen. So if you like the idea of having your private session hands-on with Latasha, contact us and ask for details. Cost starts at $190 pp and runs for 3.5 hours, and you get to eat everything cooked or pack take-aways.

Cafe News

Our meals continue to generate plenty of support from our loyal customers. Many are keen to try their hand at making our Black Eyes Beans Stew so we have included it in this newsletter. Do send us your feedback....

Black-Eyed Beans Olan

Method

Wash beans and bring it to boil with water and half the onions, green chillies, curry leaves and grated ginger. Cook until tender or al dente for at least 45 minutes. Drain the stock water and keep that aside separately. Allow the cooked beans to stand aside. Wash and clean the pot.

In this same pot, heat 2 tablespoons oil, and sauté the remaining half of the onion, green chillies, curry leaves and ginger. Then add the cross cut beans, salt to taste, and pour in the coconut cream. Bring to a quick boil, then add the cooked beans and most of the reserved stock. Adjust salt and sugar to taste

Before serving, heat a few teaspoons of coconut oil in a little wok add a sprig of curry leaves, then pour contents into the wok to form a stew.

Ingredients

2 cup beans - definitely soak overnight
6 cups water
1 cup cross cut beans
7 small hot green chillies - can be purchased frozen from selected grocers
3 fresh green chillies - sliced in half then cut diagonally into pieces
3 cm ginger - finely grated
4 sprigs curry leaves
1 brown onion - thinly sliced in half rings
1 x 400 ml can coconut cream
2 tbsp vegetable oil
Salt to taste
1 tsp raw sugar

Garnish

2 tsp coconut oil
1 sprig curry leaves

Pantry Stuff

1. Deli News

Our best sellers last month have been our Homestyle Curry Paste, Thai Green Curry Paste and Seafood Masala Sauce. Not to mention our Butter Chicken, Tikka and Korma continue to sell out each month.

The latest addition are our Coriander and Walnut Chutneys. Try our Coriander Chutney drizzled over roasted vegetables with Paneer, with roast lamb, steaks and in your sandwiches. Our Walnut Chutney does great as stuffing in vegetables such as capsicum, paprika and mushrooms, and as binding fillers in kheema kebabs and lentil burgers.

Portuguese Devil Curry aka Malaysian Eurasian Vindaloo is quickly establishing itself as a firm favourite alongside our Vindaloo Paste followers. An experience we have to share about our pastes is that of an elderly couple from City Beach. Invited to a neighbourhood bash, they tasted a fish curry made with Latasha's Seafood Paste that brought back memories of much of their time in then British Malaya where they were ‘stationed' in the 1950s. The very next day the couple dropped in to purchase a couple of jars of Latasha's curry pastes and shared their time and food experiences with us. Stories like this keep spreading the word around and often we find our shelves empty of stock before we've had a chance to start producing the next batch!

2. Recommended Reading

Rice, Spice and All Things Nice

Latasha's bed time reading veers towards all things culinary...whether it is cultural, historical, holiday travels, childhood & family experience...and it all reflects in the books stocked in her studio. Customers continually tell us how interesting our small range of books are. Here's a short selection that's currently on our shelves:-

Aromas of Aleppo - The Legendary Cuisine of Syrian Jews
The Food of Cuba
Foods of Sicily, Sardinia and the Smaller Islands'
Guy Mirabella's Eat Ate - A Celebration of Italian Food
The Flavours of Arabia - Cookery & Foods of the Middle East
Hot Sour Salty Sweet - A Culinary Journey of South East Asia
Fresh Mexican
Eating Cuban
Bali Unveiled
The Real Taste of Spain - Recipes inspired by the new markets of Spain
The Vegeterranean - Italian Vegetarian Cooking
The Sultan's Kitchen - A Turkish Cookbook
A Taste of Morocco
Treasures of the Vietnamese Table
Cambodian Cooking
The Asian Kitchen
Izakaya - Japanese Pub Cookbook

3. Herbie's Premium Quality Spices

Herbie's Spices

We seem to be ordering more and more of Herbie's to everyone's delight! We now carry over 80 different lines, much to Ian Herbie's pleasure and our customers' enjoyment!

4. Screaming Seeds Spice Co

Screaming Seeds

Screaming Seeds passionately creates fresh spice blends to tantalise your taste buds. With 24 deliciously fresh spice blends in their range, they are perfect for any style of cooking. The spice blends and seasonings are 100% pure & natural, Gluten free & nut free too; and with:

No artificial fillers
No bulking/anti-caking agents
No preservatives
No wheat/rice/soy fillers
No nuts or msg are added

And that's just how we like it here at our Kitchen! Check out some of their exciting new blends just in store!

Paella Blend - a guaranteed hit for the seafood lover. The very best Spanish Smoked Paprika amalgamates the blend, and a 25g serve is all that is required to satisfy a party of 10. A teaspoon is all that is required to turn your Spaghetti Marinara into a masterpiece!
Ras El Hanout - A "Middle East" inspired blend, it has a beautiful mix of spices that will add a depth of flavour to all styles of cooking. Osso Bucco and Lamb Shanks have never tasted so good, and it is an awesome sprinkle into pasta sauces, soups and tagine dishes.
Baharat - Until now, Screaming Seeds have only been supplying this blend to the "food service industry". After many requests, you can now create dishes at home with this Persian Gulf inspired blend, incorporating exotic spices to create a superb aroma, with a depth of flavour. An excellent seasoning for lamb and beef.
Mediterranean Mix - A savoury flavoured spice blend, with robust hints of garlic and onion, making this the perfect seasoning for a wide variety of dishes, especially tomato based dishes. A perfect sprinkle for pizza's and pasta sauces, and makes a fabulous base for salad dressings.
Greek Seasoning - This blend is the perfect rub for a lamb roast. For thousands of years, the Greeks have embraced the wonder of herbs. Our extra grind on completion brings all the ingredients together, but not losing the individual taste sensation of our superb Oregano. Other uses include the creation of a top salad dressing, and a great addition to soups and pasta sauces.

Recipe

Chicken Varaval

This chicken dish is so simple, tasty and can be prepped up and cooked within 45 minutes, if you decide to use boneless chicken and have all the ingredients. Serve it with steamed basmati rice, parathas, a simple dahl accompanied by a salad of your choice. Give it a go and let us know what you think!

Method

Heat half the oil in a heavy-bottomed pan on medium heat till hot. Add the garlic, coriander and red chilli powders along with the grated coconut. Roast on low heat, stirring frequently till the coconut is evenly dark brown and aromatic. Allow to cool, then grind with a little water to make a thick paste. Heat the remaining oil in the same pan and add the curry leaves, ginger, green chillies along with the chopped onions. Fry on medium heat for about 3 minutes or so till the onions are light brown in colour.

Next, add the chicken, turmeric powder, whole red chillies water and the coconut paste. Sprinkle salt to taste. Mix well. Cover and cook on low heat for about 20 minutes or so until the chicken is cooked. Garnish with finely chopped coriander. Serve hot with white rice or Indian breads.

Ingredients

Ingredients
1.5 kilo boneless chicken cut into strips or 1 whole free range chicken @ 2 kilo bird - cut to 20 medium sized pieces, bone in
2 medium brown onion(s) - finely sliced
2 cups grated coconut
8 cloves garlic
1 tbsp each of coriander and red chilli powders
1 tbsp julienne of ginger
2 green chillies - slit
2 whole red chillies - slit
1 tsp turmeric powder
3 sprigs curry leaves
2 tbsp oil
2 cups water
salt to taste
Finely chopped coriander leaves for garnishing (optional)