FOR a lot of people the prospect of cooking Indian food can be a little daunting – but it needn’t be.

My Curry Club, the first Indian cookery business in Northwich, aims to show just how accessible – and delicious – Indian cooking really is.

Habiba Chowdhury, the brainchild of My Curry Club, grew up with her family in East London.

Cooking was always a major part of growing up in her household, with her mum pulling the strings in the kitchen.

Habiba, who lives in Rudheath, said: “My heritage is Bangladeshi and I have grown up and learnt to cook from a young age, in fact I made my first tarka dal and rice at the age of nine.

“Living in East London also allowed me to learn Indian, Gujerati and Pakistani dishes from friends and family.

“Most of my family and extended family are restaurant owners, so I guess you could say that food is a corner stone of who I am.”

Habiba moved to Northwich with her husband shortly after getting married in 2014.

She graduated with a media communications degree at Kingston University and for the past 13 years in corporate and international sales, but her real passion is in cooking.

Habiba began holding cookery classes in 2017, as a bit of a side project, after being inspired by Dana Greaves, the Northwich chef who made waves cooking up Caribbean delights in her home.

In January, Habiba decided to take the plunge and throw everything into her business in pursuit of her dream.

“I realised that there is a love of Indian food in Northwich, there are so many takeaways here however, after trying many of them I realised that there is nothing offering residents the means to taste authentic Indian food that isn't overly oily, greasy and cooked in bulk.

“Being a passionate, home chef I wanted to broaden the views of Indian food and offer people the option to learn to cook with spices and promote more healthy, home-made meals at home.”

Habiba says residents have been supportive of My Curry Club so far.

She offers personal classes in peoples’ homes, and group classes at Weaverham Community Centre.

Clients choose from a number of dishes to make, from lamb bhuna or a succulent Bangladeshi chicken korma.

"I also design pre-designed classes for popular requested dishes and advertise them across social media at different times," she said.

"During the summer period I would have more BBQ classes or tandoori classes.

"I am currently offering classes on how to make your own paneer (home made Indian cheese) and then cook a curry with it, or a chicken tikka masala class."

Equipment is provided for all of the classes, all Habiba asks is that her clients purchase the meat and a few onions.

Habiba said her ultimate vision for My Curry Club is for it to become a staple for Northwich.

She said: “I want it to be in the top ten things to do in Northwich on Trip Advisor, and as the business grows I want to get my own unit, build a kitchen just for My Curry Club users who can cook and sit down for a meal together.

“My mission with My Curry Club is to empower people to understand and cook Indian food at home, see that Indian food is versatile for those who need vegan, vegetarian and gluten free meals, to understand that not all curries are unhealthy, oily and spicy.

“I want to put Northwich on the food map.”

For more information visit mycurryclub.uk or like My Curry Club on Facebook and Instagram.