Meet Debjani at her apartment and then drive together for seven minutes to the Lake Market or Jodhpur Park Market for a guided market tour. This unmissable local market in Kolkata has everything from seasonal fruits and vegetables to arts and craft! Walk through this bustling market with your host, and stop at her favorite vendors to buy fresh vegetables. After the market tour, head back to Debjani’s apartment for your Kolkata cooking class.
You can enjoy this experience at Debjani’s cozy, artistic apartment situated in Kolkata, which upholds a perfect juxtaposition between the old world and the modern. Debjani uses traditional ingredients and recipes that have been passed down from generations. Her grandmother’s recipe for shukto (traditional mixed vegetables), which is so close to Debjani's heart, is one of the dishes you may try. Debjani is fond of cooking the dishes she grew up eating, using recipes she learned from her mother and grandmother. She will try her best to give you a taste of the diverse flavors of Bengali cuisine. And you will be in for a treat as you join her at the table to share dishes such as begun bhaja (eggplant fritters), shorshe bhapa chingri or maach (steamed prawns or fresh river water fish, in a mustard sauce) or kosha mangsho (mutton curry in a home ground spice mix), which will be cooked in earthen pots. End your meal with must try Bengali sweets - rosogulla (ball-shaped dumplings cooked in light sugar syrup) or rosogolla payesh (sweet milk pudding), served during winter months.
Join Debjani in her kitchen to try your hand at cooking authentic and flavorful Bengali dishes. She uses recipes passed down from her grandmother and presents it in a modern way. In your Kolkata cooking class, you will help Debjani make Bengali masoor dal (lentils), begun bhaja (eggplant fritters) and shorshe bhapa chingri or maach (steamed prawns or fish in a mustard sauce). You can expect your cooking class to last for about 1.5 hours, after which you will be sharing the meal that you prepared with Debjani and her family (when they are home).
Debjani can accommodate lactose-free and vegetarian diets, on request. Please indicate your preference when creating a booking online.
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.
Shorshe bhapa chingri or maach (steamed prawns or fish in a mustard sauce)Rosogulla (ball-shaped dumplings cooked in light sugar syrup) or rosogolla payesh (sweet milk pudding)Steamed riceBengali masoor dal (lentils)Begun bhaja (eggplant fritters) or Shukto (traditional mixed vegetables)Residing in the ‘city of joy', Kolkata, Debjani delights her guests by preparing authentic Bengali dishes that showcase the culture she is very proud of. She earned a Ph.D. in Horticulture, an area which she is extremely passionate about since it makes her feel so in touch with nature. Debjani also developed a love for design and art over the years, which has helped her create luxurious decor and experiences at prestigious hotels. Having spent over 30 years in the hospitality industry with notable groups such as Taj and Oberoi, Debjani loves to host people from all over the world, hear their stories, learn about their cultures, and introduce them to delectable Bengali dishes.
"This was my first traveling spoon experience, and it was just amazing!
Debjani was an excellent host. We started in the morning markets to get a few ingredients and to have a nice cup of chai with local biscuits. Later we cooked and she gave me more insights into Bengali cuisine. After seeing and smelling all the mouthwatering cooking, I was served a delicious thali of several traditional Bengali dishes (My favorite new cuisine in India).
Not only did I have a delicious meal but an engaging conversation with Debjani and I now have a new foodie friend. If you’re visiting Kolkata, you must book this wonderful Traveling Spoon experience with Debjani!"
"Wow! What an amazing experience to have had the opportunity to be hosted by Debjani, for my first Traveling Spoon. She took me to local markets nearby her lovely home and we stopped to have some tea and snacks as well. She did detailed insights into the cooking method and ingredients and then a beautiful thali presentation of fabulous Bengali cuisine was served to me. We shared travel, food and life stories and not only did I have a wonderful meal but also engaging conversations with Debjani. I can highly recommend this experience to anyone seeking to find a truly local Bengali food and life experience, it will be the highlight of your Kolkata visit!"
"First I must thank Debjani, for welcoming us into her home and making us feel so comfortable. We spent the afternoon learning to cook some Bengali traditional dishes. Debjani and her assistant did so of the preparation before so we could make some delicious dishes that we would not of be able to make in the time we had for the class. I learned so much about the different herb and spices that go into Bengali cuisine.
So if you want to learn about India cuisine you should consider looking into this class. You will love it.. I can’t wait to try and make some of the dishes we made for my family back home."
"The cooking class with Debjani was my absolute favourite part of visiting Kolkata!
I went for a lunchtime class, along with the market tour—here are some of my highlights:
- Debjani was such a lovely host! She made me feel really comfortable immediately and had so many interesting stories about her life, the food, and Kolkata
- Her apartment is beautiful! It's a love letter to Kolkata, full of tasteful pieces of art, all of which have fascinating origins
- The market tour was my favourite part of the whole day. We drove down to a nearby farmer's market and tried and bought lots of super fresh and unique ingredients—most of which I had never seen before. We also went to a classic Kolkata fish market with some of the freshest seafood I've seen
- Debjani also drove me around that area of Kolkata and gave me a lot of background and stories about the different parts of the city. We stopped by an iconic tea stall and got chai and snacks too!
- The cooking was so much fun—Debjani had planned five or six separate dishes and some of the prep (like overnight marination and mise en place) had already been done to make things a bit smoother
- Everything was incredibly tasty and there were lots of dishes that I had never heard of before but will definitely be making again!
It ended up being a full afternoon and the whole experience gave me a view into Kolkata that I would have completely missed if I just did all the touristy spots. I'd highly recommend the class for anyone who is interested in food, history, architecture, or Bengali culture!"
