Lesson video

Hello, thanks for joining me today.

My name is Mr. Ballam, and today we're going to be looking how to make Aloo Gobi, which is a really terrific and delicious curry together.

So let's get started, shall we?

So what are we going to learn?

Well we're going to use different types of food skills to make the Aloo Gobi together.

So should we get started?

Well, there are some keywords that we're going to go through.

The first one is the Aloo Gobi is a vegetarian dish originating from India.

The second keyword is the word spices, and these are dried parts of a plant which are used to impart flavor.

And the last one is heat control.

And this is all about adjusting the heat using the controls on the hob, which is the top of the oven.

So let's get started with the first part of the lesson, which is about the origins of Aloo Gobi.

So this is a vegetarian dish originating from India, and it comprises potatoes, cauliflower, and spices.

It's a really popular everyday dish and is made in lots of different ways.

So it might have different types of spices used, as well as different types of vegetables.

It really depends on the region.

So aloo means potato and gobi means cauliflower.

So that kind of makes sense, doesn't it, as though they're the main ingredients.

Now, a wide variety of spices are grown across India, and many are used in lots of different types of traditional dishes.

And Indian spices include things like pepper, turmeric, cardamom, and cumin.

You may have heard about some of those before.

And spices are dried parts of a plant, such as the bark, roots, berries, and seeds, but not usually the leaves.

They're often things like herbs, if you can imagine those in your mind.

And this recipe uses garam masala, which is an aromatic blend of Indian spices and includes things like cardamom, cinnamon, cumin, cloves, and peppercorns.

What an amazing mix of spices.

So which of these are spices?

A, B, or C?

It's B and C.

So rosemary is a herb, but cardamom and turmeric are both spices.

Well done if you got that correct.

Now we know that the Eatwell Guide recommends everyone to have a plant-rich diet to be healthy.

And at least two-thirds of the Eatwell Guide is based on food from plants.

And we all need to eat more fruit and vegetables, at least five a day, and we need to base our meals on starchy foods, such things like potatoes, bread, rice, and pasta, for example.

Now the recipe that we're making can form part of a healthy diet because it's made from plants: potato and cauliflower.

Now both of these grow really well in the UK, and there are over 80 different varieties of potato, for example, and they're all different shapes and sizes, and there are lots of different types, but the main types are fluffy, salad, and smooth potatoes.

And cauliflower is grown and harvested all year long.

Often it's frozen, which is really good to use in this dish as well, as it's often cheaper, but still forms part of our five a day.

So which of these is correct?

A, B, or C?

Read them carefully and then we'll come back shortly.

It's C, isn't it?

C.

We need to eat more fruit and vegetables.

Most people do not eat enough, so we all need to eat at least five portions a day.

Well done if you got that correct.

So here's a little task for you, and Izzy has some questions about the recipe.

Let's think about what Jacob might say.

So the first question is, how does the recipe fit into the Eatwell Guide?

What would you put?

And the second question is, that I've heard that we should only use fresh vegetables.

Is this true?

What would Jacob's response be?

Pause the video, have a go, and we'll come back shortly to have a look together.

Good luck!

Let's see how you got on, shall we?

And we're going to look at some example responses here.

So the first question about the Eatwell Guide, the answer could be something like: "It has vegetables and starchy foods, and only a little bit of oil.

" So this meets the Eatwell Guide.

Remember the different types of food groups in the Eatwell Guide.

And the second question about we should only use fresh vegetables.

Is that true?

Well, no, it's not true.

You can also use frozen, canned, dried, and juiced, as well as fresh.

So well done if you've got these correct.

You're doing brilliantly today.

Let's move on to the second part of the lesson, which is all about making and evaluating your Aloo Gobi.

So we're going to use a number of different types of food skills today, and I've listed them on the screen here.

There's quite a few there, isn't there?

So the first thing we're going to do is about measuring, and we are going to use weighing scales, measuring spoons, and also a measuring jug.

So we're going to use the weighing scales for the potato and cauliflower, we're going to use the spoons for the spices and oil, and the measuring jug for the water.

Now, why do you think it's important to measure accurately?

What were your answers?

Well often it's to make sure that we can replicate the recipe again in the future and it tastes the same.

And sometimes it's really important just so the dish works out really, really well.

The other food skill we're going to use is peeling, and we're going to peel the garlic and the ginger.

So for the garlic, we're going to remove the papery skin from the outside.

And for the ginger, we're going to peel away the thicker skin from the outside using a vegetable peeler or you could use a knife.

But we're not going to peel the potato, and that's because it's edible, but also provides fiber, which is really helpful for healthy digestion.

So let's have a quick look together, shall we, about how ginger is actually peeled.

First, cut off the top and the bottom of the fresh ginger to make two flat surfaces.

Then stand the ginger on one flat end and carefully slice or peel away its skin.

It's important to be very careful when using a knife so that you don't get hurt.

If the chopping board moves while cutting, place a cloth or paper towel underneath.

Rotate the ginger around to remove all the skin.

You could also use a vegetable peeler.

Remove the peelings from the chopping board.

That could be used for compost.

Lastly, cut and slice the ginger into the size and shape that you need.

Remember, the ginger could also be grated.

So which food skill is shown here?

Is it A, B, or C?

That's right.

It's B, isn't it?

It's peeling.

You can see here a vegetable peeler is being used to peel a potato on a chopping board.

Well done.

We're also going to be cutting food using two safe cutting techniques.

The first one is called the bridge hold, which I'm sure you've heard of before, and the other one is the claw grip.

The first one is really useful for cutting foods in half safely, and the other one is really useful for slicing.

So let's have a look at these two food skills in action.

First, let's look at the bridge hold.

It's important to be very careful when using a knife so you don't get hurt.

Place the food on a chopping board on its flatter side.

This stops it rolling about.

Create a bridge over the food with your hand.

The finger should be on one side and your thumb on the other.

Guide the knife under the bridge and cut the food by pressing down and pulling it out of the bridge.

The bridge hold is a safe cutting technique to cut foods in half, quarters, or chunks.

If the chopping board moves while cutting, place a cloth or paper towel underneath.

The bridge hold is important when preparing an onion.

First, we use it to halve the onion, then cut it into strips just like we see here.

Then you use the claw grip to dice.

Remember, place the food flat side down, make a bridge over the food, and guide the knife under the bridge, and cut carefully.

Now, let's look at the claw grip.

It's important to be very careful when using a knife so you don't cut yourself.

On the food, make a claw-like grip by tucking your thumb under the palm of your hand and curling your fingertips.

This helps you to guide the knife safely and decide how thick the slices need to be.

Tilt the knife and slice the cucumber using your fingers as a guide.

Slide your fingers back, keeping your grip on the cucumber.

If the chopping board moves while cutting, place a cloth or paper towel underneath.

Dice ingredients into cubes such as potatoes.

First, cut into thick slices.

Remember, place the food flat side down on the chopping board and make a claw grip by curling your fingers together into a claw shape.

Then, cut into strips again using the claw grip.

Rotate the strips by 90 degrees and then slice them into cubes.

Remember, just judge the thickness of the slice and the dice carefully with your fingers.

So why are the bridge hold and the claw grip techniques used?

A, B, or C?

That's right, it's C, to help prevent accidents because they're a safe cutting technique.

Well done if you got that correct.

We're going to cook the Aloo Gobi on the hob, and you can use an electric or gas hob to do this.

And it's really important to use the hob safely to prevent accidents.

You can imagine it gets really, really hot when you're cooking.

So when we're cooking, we need to ensure that the saucepan handle is turned away from the front to prevent any accidents.

So for example, if someone rushed past and pushed the handle and the saucepan tipped over, that would be a very bad accident, wouldn't it?

And when we finish using the hob, we should turn it off, then remove the saucepan and put it on top of a pan-stand.

And to cook our dish today, we're going to fry the garlic, ginger, and spices, and we're going to simmer the potato and cauliflower pieces.

Now we need to make sure that the food doesn't burn when we do this.

So heat control is needed.

Frying uses a higher heat to get the oil hot to begin with, and simmering uses a lower heat, and we can adjust the heat or control the heat using the controls on the hob.

So let's check whether you've been listening, shall we?

So when using the hob, the saucepan handle should be A, B, or C?

That's right, C.

They should be turned to the side.

They should be turned to the side to prevent any accidents from happening.

So now let's make our dish, shall we?

So what I want you to do is to follow the recipe and make your Aloo Gobi.

But before you cook, I want to make sure that you are ready to cook.

So get ready.

So things like tying back any long hair, removing your jumpers, washing your hands, wearing a clean apron.

But also I want to make sure you get your ingredients and your equipment ready.

And then while you are cooking, I want to make sure that you are working safely and hygienically and really think about the food skills you are using.

Make sure you are safe, but make sure you are accurate and precise too.

It's a really good way to demonstrate how well you know your food skills now.

So here's the ingredients and equipment that you'll need, and here's the method.

So use the recipe and make the dish, and then we'll come back afterwards.

Good luck, pause the video, and I'll see you very soon.

So how did that go?

I bet your dish smells absolutely amazing, doesn't it?

So to be successful, these are the steps that we should have taken.

So the first thing we did was to dice the potato.

Then we cut the cauliflower into florets.

That means the small pieces.

We then peeled and chopped the garlic and ginger.

We then fried the garlic and ginger for about 30 seconds.

We don't want it to burn.

Then we added the spices, so the garam masala, the turmeric, and chili.

Then we mixed in the potatoes and cauliflower into the spices so they were all covered.

I bet that smelt really good.

Then we poured in the water.

We then brought it to a boil, so we increased the heat.

So that was the heat control.

And then we reduced the heat to a simmer.

So we controlled the heat again.

And then we cooked our dish for about 15 to 20 minutes, just when the potatoes were tender.

And we could test that just using the tip of a knife to check that they were tender.

I bet you did brilliantly.

I'm really pleased with your progress today.

I bet the room smells absolutely fantastic.

Well done.

Next, what I want you to do is I want you to evaluate your dish.

And I want you to ask five people to assess the dish that you made.

And I want them to assess its appearance, its odor, its taste, and its texture.

So the mouthfeel.

What it feels like in the mouth.

And if you can, get some comments from them too.

And all they need to do is to tick under the different types of faces.

But also, I want you to think about what's the overall opinion for your dish.

Okay.

So pause the video, go ask, get them to assess your dish, and we'll catch up again very, very shortly.

So what did people think about your dish?

Was it brilliant?

I bet it was.

Let's look at an example, shall we?

So this is the first part, and these are five people that have assessed the dish.

And you can see here, the appearance did really well.

There was lots of ticks there.

And the same with odor.

It must have smelled absolutely brilliantly.

The taste also was good.

But look at the texture and mouthfeel.

That didn't do very well at all, did it?

And these are the comments that they made.

So they really liked the sauce and the cauliflower looked great.

Professional, they said.

The odor, the potato smells good and it was aromatic, exotic.

What great words they've used here to help to describe the curry.

The taste, they liked the sauce.

Good seasoning.

Mild.

Great curry flavor.

But the texture, it was crunchy, hard, uncooked, and lumpy.

Not particularly nice, is it?

So what's the overall opinion of the dish?

Let's read this together, shall we?

So it says, "Generally, people liked how my dish looks, but not the texture.

I think this was because I overcooked the potato and the other vegetables were crunchy.

Next time, I need to cook the vegetables for longer.

" So that's pretty fair, isn't it?

But you see how you can use evaluation to help you plan and improve for the future.

Okay, I want you to answer these questions about your dish too.

So what went well today when you were cooking, and then what would you improve next time?

Pause the video and come back shortly when you've written your list.

Good luck.

So what have you put here?

Shall we look at some examples together?

So what went well?

Well, you could have put something like: "My knife skills were accurate and I worked hygienically.

And I followed the recipe correctly.

" What else did you put?

I bet you come up with some really good ideas, didn't you?

And what could improve next time?

Well, they found the hob tricky to use.

So the heat control wasn't quite right and they burnt some of the potato.

So next time they're going to be more careful and reduce the heat of the hob to a simmer.

So they're going to use heat control next time.

So as I said before, by evaluating what you've done, thinking about what went well as well as what you can improve, will help you in the future with your cooking.

Well done for your brilliant answers.

You've done so well today.

Well, I really hope you've enjoyed this lesson, making this terrific dish.

Let's have a quick summary of what we've learned today, shall we?

Well, we know that Aloo Gobi is a vegetarian dish originating from India, and it has potato, cauliflower, and spices.

And we also know that spices are dried parts of a plant such as bark, roots, berries, and seeds, but not usually the leaves.

That's usually herbs.

And we also know that the Eatwell Guide recommends everyone to have a plant-rich diet.

Do you remember about two-thirds of the Eatwell Guide are foods from plants?

And when we made the Aloo Gobi, we used lots of different types of food skills today, didn't we?

And we used measuring, cutting, particularly with the two safe cutting techniques, stirring, and we used a hob, and we used heat control to control it from a boil or frying to a simmer.

And lastly, we learned that the results from a sensory test and other feedback can help justify any changes for the future and help us improve what we do.

So congratulations on making this fantastic dish.

I really hope you make it again very, very soon.

And remember, you could use different vegetables in the future and perhaps different types of spices too.

Thanks ever so much, and I hope you pick another cooking and nutrition lesson very soon.

Take care, and I'll see you soon.

Bye!