Discover local produce at one of Calcutta's old-world markets before returning home to learn to cook a traditional Bengali meal.
After your welcome drink of ampura sherbet (a refreshing raw mango drink) or, in the winter, apple juice with a hint of ginger, you will share a traditional Bengali meal eaten in courses with Bibi and her family. Dishes may include rice with a shaag bhaja (fried greens) or shukto (mixed bitter vegetables), dal, and vegetable bhaja (fried eggplant, crisp fried potato sticks), khao suey (Indian style Burmese chicken curry and noodle) and papad and chutney. To finish, a dessert of mishti doi (sweetened yoghurt) or payesh (rice pudding with jaggery made from nectar from the date palm tree).
Join Bibi in her small kitchen watch her demonstrate how to cook authentic Bengali food that centers around a variety of vegetables and the flavors of mustard and panch poran (Bengali five-spice). The cooking demonstration will last about 1-2 hours.
The road leading to Bibi's house is rough and the entrance will appear run down but once you enter her home and meet Bibi, you feel comfortable and at home.
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.
Bibi lives in a traditional Calcutta home with her teenage daughter, Joyee, and husband. Bibi, a restaurateur, started her career selling momos (steamed pork dumplings from Darjeeling) at the Nari Seva fair. She is a fun and friendly host passionate about sharing Bengali food and culture.
"Bibi gave a wonderful primer on Bengali cooking in her home. We had great conversation as she wove in her knowledge of the dishes and provided great back story and context to each dish. The ones she chose for the class highlighted different elements of Bengali flavors and were quite satisfying and varied. I can't recommend the class highly enough for people looking to experience authentic home Bengali cooking."
"What can I say “ the high light of my West Bengal holiday “ this was the cherry on the top of a 12 day trip traveling in this beautiful region of India. Bibi is so welcoming and is highly knowledgeable on every aspect of India / Asian cooking. The meal we cooked together was the best Indian / Bengali food I had tasted. The instructions are explained step by step and I’m still watching some videos I shot while the prep and cooking was going on ! Can’t wait to get in the kitchen. Big thanks to Bibi and her family for allowing me to learn something I’ll surely repeat !"
"The experience was amazing for us! Bibi was an amazing host and showed us how Bengali food is cooked. We not only had a great food, but also great "adda" to go with it, which really completes a Bengali meal. I would highly recommend this experience to others who want to taste Bengal as a local!"
"We were new to Bengali food so Bibi, our hostess asked us a few questions about our preferred level of spiciness, and our likes and dislikes. We arrived at her house at lunchtime and she welcomed us with a glass of Kingfisher beer. We settled into her cozy home as her helper prepped some items. After some chit-chat we gathered around for a demonstration as Bibi's helper prepared four dishes. Bibi provided commentary and answered our questions. We returned to our chairs as the gourd dish cooked and the chicken marinated and had some more beer. We shared 2 bottles of Kingfisher strong. Bibi loves literature and we had some good conversations as we admired her library. After a bit, we went back to the hotplate to see how her helper finished the gourd dish and cooked the chicken.
We had developed quite an appetite and were ready to sit down an eat. Bibi and her helper had previously prepared rice and dal to go along with the dishes from the demonstration. Her helper also fried up some fresh puri (a fried dough) for us. Everything was delicious! You could taste the different flavors and each course blended into the next seamlessly. We finished with a sweet vermicelli pudding that had been previously prepared and chilled. Very yummy! I would recommend this experience not only for the food, but for the conversation, and recommendations that Bibi and her husband can provide. Thanks for everything!"
