The Spice Prince, as he’s affectionately known, was in Cape Town last month and popped into our offices for a quick chat.
Reza Mahammad is known by food lovers the world over for his many cookbooks and TV cooking shows – where he enchants his audiences with flamboyant arm gestures and high spirited eagerness to get everyone cooking (and having a blast while doing it).
Apart from his own shows on The Food Network, Reza teamed up with SA’s Giggling Gourmet, Jenny Morris in Jenny and Reza’s Fabulous Food Academy. The two are great friends and travel the world together demonstrating at exciting food shows – predominantly in the Middle East.
We couldn’t let Reza go without quizzing him on what mistakes people often make when cooking curry at home.
Here’s what he said we’re doing wrong…
1. Cooking the curry too soon
“Curries or even stews are much better when done the day before you’re going to eat them because they have time to develop further. The next day it tastes even better, the flavours really come through and you can taste everything. There’s a nice intensity.”
2. Putting in too much spice
“People often think that they’re not adding enough and they tend to over-do it which is not what it’s all about.”
3. Not prepping all the ingredients properly ahead of time
“It’s always good when you’re entertaining to be prepared the day before so that you have more time with your guests than having to faff around in the kitchen all the time – and then you’re not having any fun too.”
Time to practice: try one of our best curry recipes!