Our philosophy of cooking instruction is slightly different from the norm. We start  the class, first, with a power point presentation for duration of almost one hour. It is about the culture, history & tourism in India. The slides are prepared by Sangita. During this hour, Arijit does the actual instruction & presentation of the slides. It gives a feeling like going to a class with fun and lively discussions.& At times our chats digress to the past and present state of India. We also throw in our travel experiences to the various corners of India.

While this lively class proceeds, Sangita provides appetizers like chai (Indian milk tea) and snacks to the students. With this the action moves to the kitchen, where the students experience the hands-on cooking. Sangita mostly handles the cooking instruction with some assistance from Arijit and volunteers. We try 2-3 different recipes, with sampling also. This is very popular with our students. One gets to see all the ingredients and steps of food preparation in detail.

There are four classes in each sequence & each class duration is 3 -hours. Classes are usually held from 6PM to 9PM on a Friday. Classes cost about $80-$100 (for 4 classes) including the material fee, sampling, and a field trip. We provide all the handouts for the class (recipe preparation details).

There is a field trip organized for students who registers for classes. The students are taken in groups to different locations in Bay area, SFO, where they get a chance to see different Indian stores, including grocery and restaurants. Practically, to learn more about India, it is really necessary to see the varied Indian products. With the limited Indian resources available in the Bay area, it at least imparts some idea to our students about the Indian culture. Though the Indian restaurants in Bay Area are not up to the Indian standards, but yet the students get to taste the Indian food, some of which are taught in classes. It is an experience about cultural exchange. So the field trip is really worth, where all gets to enjoy, have fun and learn more about India viz. food, dress, culture, customs and habits. So don’t miss the field trip, next time you join the class!

In addition we package the spices and lentils in convenient packs for our students and sell them separately. All class materials are also available in electronic media format (disk).

Our classes are held at various locations. In the year 2007 we taught 4 different sequences of Indian culinary tastes (each with a different theme), all at the adult school of Monterey.