During your Mumbai cooking class with Reshma in her small home kitchen, you can expect to learn to make 2-3 of the regional Maharashtrian dishes you will be eating later. You may learn to prepare authentic dishes such as junka (gram flour), chicken masala or a seasonal vegetable, typical of what the family eats everyday. Reshma is excited to share her culture through food through this traditional cooking class in Mumbai.
Your meal will be served in a thali or on banana leaves and will feature a masala (spice mix) called ‘tikkat’, which come from Reshma’s ancestral place in Kolhapur. Since they cannot be sourced locally, Reshma makes them in her own kitchen to ensure her cooking has just the right flavor. You might be served dishes such as chicken masala, tambda rassa (a spicy mutton broth), pandhra rassa (mutton broth with coconut milk), masale bhat (masala rice) and shrikhand (a sweet dish made from strained yogurt).
Reshma will welcome you into her apartment with a refreshing drink. You’ll then head to the Santacruz market (perhaps by rickshaw!) and may pick up some fresh ingredients for the meal that you will prepare together. Reshma will show you the different fruits, vegetables and spices available and explain how to select the best ones. After shopping at the market, return back to Reshma's home for your cooking and meal experience.
She can accommodate a vegetarian diet on request, so please inform in advance. Please note that this private cooking class with chef Reshma is very close to NMACC Mumbai, 10 minutes by car/auto.
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.
Chicken masalaShrikhand (a sweet dish made from strained yogurt)Masale bhat (masala rice)Tambda rassa (a spicy mutton broth) or Pandhra rassa (mutton broth with coconut milk)Reshma lives with her father in a beautifully decorated apartment in Santacruz East, very close to NMACC Mumbai. As a child, Reshma’s love for poha (beaten rice with masala) made her curious about cooking and so Reshma spent all of her time watch her mother cook in the kitchen, fixing dishes for loved ones. Like every Indian family, her parents hoped she would become a doctor, engineer or earn an MBA, but she had only one dream: starting her own restaurant. As destiny would have it, she went on to study at the Dadar Catering College. Her passion for food and cooking has translated into a business venture and she now offers catering services for parties and conducts home cooking classes in Mumbai. When she’s not cooking and feeding people, Reshma enjoys photography and playing squash.
"An absolutely amazing experience! Food was amazing and Reshma was knowledgeable
and very friendly and kind. Would definitely recommend doing this."
"The group had a great time! The food was delicious, easy to follow along and I received a lot of positive feedback from participants. Reshma was very good about checking in and asking individuals how things are going. My only suggestion would be to have a better zoom membership for your chefs. I believe Reshma was on a free account and it kept timing out. It was hard to log back in mid cooking and we ended up losing a couple of folks through the class. If I had known that we would be cut off, I would have supplied a zoom link to avoid that issue. But otherwise, it was a lot of fun. My daughter gave the tikka chicken wrap a 10 out or 10 and my family enjoyed dinner. We look forward to our next class!"
"This was a very good lesson and a wonderful day with a great host. We have
Together we make a well-prepared tasty meal with special combinations.
Reshma explains everything well. (Google translated)"
"This was truly my favorite experience during our trip to India. We went to the local market and were shown so many unique veggies and fruits that are incorporated in Indian cuisine. But best of all we learned some simple techniques to Indian cooking that are a staple to so many dishes. Then to learned to make 2 wonderful dishes and enjoyed a large meal with many small plates with our host. It was a truly a something special to talk to the host and learn from eachother. Would recommend to everyone !"
