Join Lakshmi in her favorite place at home – the kitchen, for a one hour hands-on cooking class. Learn to make the popular and traditional Rajasthani dish, gatte ki sabji (cooked gram flour dumplings which are added to the spicy curd gravy) from scratch. First you will learn to knead, roll and cut the dough to make the dumplings. Then you will learn to make the gravy in which the flour dumplings are cooked. You will end your cooking class learning to make a classic Indian dessert, rabdi (a sweet, condensed-milk-based dish) or then a spiced savory fritter, dal bara. Lakshmi will provide you recipes at the end, so that you can concentrate on cooking!
Lakshmi lives in a popular residential neighborhood in an established, leafy and pleasant suburb of Kolkata. The Ballygunge area has a lot of interesting things and travelers should make the most of a meal with Lakshmi to also visit the Birla temples, popular Bengali restaurants, as well as the gorgeous Byloom hand woven textiles shops! The state of Rajasthan is primarily a desert and so its cuisine is influenced by its scarcity, based on the few vegetables and grains available there. But having lived in the lush fertile plains of Bengal since birth, Lakshmi cooks traditional Rajasthani food using the large variety of vegetables available in Kolkata, to create innovative dishes. Lakshmi takes great care to ensure her ingredients are of the highest quality and grinds her own spices and flours and even churns her own butter!
A few Rajasthani dishes that you will try at Lakshmi’s dining table are dal bara (a spiced savory fritter) or dahi vada (fried lentil dumplings, topped with curd), gatte ki sabji (cooked gram flour dumplings which are added to the spicy curd gravy), missi roti (flatbread), vegetable pulao and paneer (cottage cheese) in a cashew nut gravy. Your meal will end with a dessert called rabdi (a sweet, condensed-milk-based dish) and Darjeeling tea from the family tea garden.
Lakshmi only serves vegetarian food.
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.
Appetizer - dal bara (a spiced savory fritter) or dahi vada (fried lentil dumplings, topped with curd)Mains: gatte ki sabji (cooked gram flour dumplings which are added to the spicy curd gravy), missi roti (flatbread), vegetable pulao and paneer (cottage cheese) in a cashew nut gravyDarjeeling tea from the family tea gardenDessert: rabdi (a sweet, condensed-milk-based dish) Accompaniments: masala papad, kachori chutneyLakshmi and her husband, Gordhan hail from a Rajasthani family, who are settled in Kolkata for generations. Kolkata, has a huge population of Marwaris, they are traders who originally hail from Marwar (the desert region of Rajasthan) and have traveled all over the country for business purposes. Lakshmi ancestors came to Kolkatta many years ago and fell in love with the city and have settled there ever since, running their family business. Rajasthani, is the cuisine she grew up with in Kolkata and that her husband Gordhan also enjoys from their shared heritage. Lakshmi leaned to cook as a young wife from her husband Gordhan, who learned to cook by observing the cook when he was at boarding school. Lakshmi and Gordhan eat and serve pure vegetarian food and love having friends and family over for a meal – who have always greatly appreciated Lakshmi’s cooking. In Lakhmi’s words, “I enjoy meeting and interacting with people and love to share my passion for food and cooking.” She is truly excited to share her Rajasthani heritage with travelers coming to Kolkata!
"Lakshmi openly welcomed my Dad & I into her home, treated us like family & gave us an experience to remember. She personalised our menu to our preferences & taught us how to cook our favourite dishes (with exact measurements & the correct spices). Even with my slight medical emergency, she was kind, accommodating & insistent on teaching me exactly how to cook the meal. Lakshmi even printed the detailed recipes & ended the meal with a lovely pot of Darjeeling Tea from the family estate. It was lovely getting to know her & her husband, and the food was delicious. I look forward to trying to replicate it at home once I find the best spices for the job. Would highly recommend, the food was unbelievable!"
