Traditional Gowda cooking in Bengaluru in a local home
Host offerings
Meet Archana
Archana lives in a modest and clean apartment with her husband Rajesh and their two children. A native of Bangalore, Archana is a warm and inviting host with whom you will immediately feel at ease. She has worked in the telecom industry for 15 years but her passion is cooking. She started cooking as a teenager and learned to make traditional Gowda dishes from her mother and mother-in-law. Archana is excited to share her culinary traditions and famed Karnataka hospitality with guests over a healthy and delicious meal.
What to expect
Please note menu might vary. If there are particular dishes you are interested in trying, please include your request in the booking form.
In-home meal (1 - 8 guests) Archana will welcome you into her traditional home where you will dine on a traditional Gowda meal, which is typically served on a banana leaf and eaten while sitting on the floor. Enjoy a welcome drink of paanaka (lemonade sweetened with sugar) while snacking on a variety of starters such as kosambari (lentil salad), neruli bajji (fried onion fritters), or crisp snacks like nippat, chakli or usli. Main dishes might include holige (a lentil-stuffed flatbread), ragi mudde (millet flour balls which are typically eaten in rural Karnataka state), mamsada saaru (stewed mutton), followed by traditional Gowda sweets for dessert. If you would prefer to eat at a table please make a note when you confirm your experience and Archana can provide a table and chairs. Please note that as is typical in her culture, Archana prefers to serve you your food so you can enjoy it while it is hot. She may not join you at the table but her husband Rajesh or Archana's mother will join you for the meal.
Cooking experience (1 - 8 guests) During your cooking class in Bangalore learn to prepare 2-3 traditional Gowda dishes including bisi bele huli anna (a savory dish of rice, vegetables and lentils) and ragi balls, before you dine on the meal you helped prepare. You will share a traditional Gowda meal served on a banana leaf as you sit on the floor. Archana is excited to share her culture through food through this traditional cooking class in Bengaluru. She can also accommodate a vegetarian diet, if informed in advance.
Market visit (1 - 8 guests) Meet Archana at her home and go together to explore local and regional produce available in a local Bangalore market before returning to her kitchen to cook.
Notes: Please remove your shoes before entering Archana's home. This home does not have air conditioning so it can get hot in the warmest months of March - May.
Languages spoken: #<HostLanguage::ActiveRecord_Associations_CollectionProxy:0x00007ffaf22c8900>
Sample menu
This is just a sample menu to give you an idea of the types of dishes the host cooks. Your menu will vary according to seasonal availability.
- Gowda sweets
- Mamsada saaru (stewed mutton)
- Holige (a lentil-stuffed flatbread) or Bisi bele huli anna (a savory dish of rice, vegetables and lentils)
- Ragi mudde (millet flour balls which are typically eaten in rural Karnataka state)
GOOD REVIEWS
{ "trip_advisor" : [{"author_name" : "deanp215", "rating" : 5, "body" : "I went with my wife and had a wonderful evening with Archana and her charming family. The experience takes place in a well looked-after home and started with meeting Archana and her family and a relaxing talk through what we would be doing. This included some background on the different influences on food in the region and wider country. Soft drinks and spicy nibbles were provided to start with and then we headed to the kitchen.Archana leads the food preparation but gives you plenty of opportunity to help produce the dishes that you'll eat later. You can see all the basic ingredients, are told all about them and how to balance the spice vs blander foods to your own taste. Once the food is ready you get a chance to sit together and eat the food served from a banana leaf. The spiciness / heat of the food can be varied to your taste; I like milder curries by local standards and Archana served a number of side dishes, such as yoghurt, which help you balance the spiciness really well.The meal was excellent and the overall experience felt more like spending an evening learning something new with good friends.Very much recommended if you like good company and a more authentic cooking and eating experience; we'd definitely repeat the trip again.Enjoy !"}, {"author_name" : "FRTraveler06", "rating" : 5, "body" : "We had an amazing evening! Our host and his wife were very hospitable! Our cooking experience was fun: we prepared a few dishes under their guidance and supervision! We later on, had the opportunity to sit and enjoyed a very nice meal (great food, great conversation). We finished the evening with a walk in town and a wonderful cup of coffee! My husband and I have taken many cooking classes throughout our travels. The Bangalore 3-hour Cooking Lesson was one of the best experiences we ever had! If you are passing through Bangalore, don’t miss it!"}, {"author_name" : "ElizabethS956", "rating" : 5, "body" : "This was truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience for our family, and we are so grateful we were able to meet Archana and her family, and spend the afternoon together.We are a traveling, homeschooling family (myself, my husband and our 11-year-old daughter). My daughter loves to cook and we try to take cooking classes wherever we travel. This experience went way beyond a cooking class - Archana, Rajesh as well as Archana's mother and aunt all shared so much of their culture and family with us. We all enjoyed ourselves but the experience especially resonated with my daughter. Archana shared how she uses food as medicine for her family and ways to nourish my daughter as she continues through puberty, taking into account different spices and needs. Her mother shared pictures of Archana and Rajesh's wedding and recounted the day to us. And needless to say the meal was excellent. While I certainly have *a lot* left to learn about Indian cooking (and indeed we just focused on one region's cuisine) I left with a deeper understanding of the art and culture behind Gowda cuisine and that feels more valuable than a bunch of recipes!"}, {"author_name" : "liztemmy", "rating" : 5, "body" : "I am currently in Bangalore, India for work with a few others and we decided to do a cooking class together. I found BInu's page on Traveling Spoon and was very excited at the prospect of doing an authentic Indian cooking class in her home. First of all, Binu's home is absolutely beautiful and she was extremely kind and welcoming towards us. Her son lives close by and actually came over and joined us for most of the class as well! I wouldn't necessarily describe this as a cooking class since we didn't actually do any of the cooking but she walked us step by step through what she and her chef were making, gave us some great tips for when we're on our own, and allowed us to smell/taste all of the ingredients. The meal we had was absolutely delicious and probably the best I've had in India thus far! Unfortunately, I will only be in India for another week but the rest of our group will be here through the end of January and is already planning a trip back next month! I will be recommending Binu's class to all of my friends and family that visit Bangalore in the future!"}, {"author_name" : "bitesizedtravelsAUS", "rating" : 5, "body" : "We booked a market visit and cooking lesson - what we ended up with was a fabulous cultural experience. We were warmly welcomed by Archana and her family, followed by an enjoyable trip to the market where we learnt about different vegetables, sweets & other products. Archana then produced the most wonderful meal, talked us through the cooking process and showed us all the spices she regularly uses. We sat down to a beautifully presented meal and learned more about the local culture. We had a lovely few hours with Archana and her family and would recommend!"}] }
