After you enjoy your welcome drink, Shivani will take you to the Kailash Colony Market where you will learn about the different kinds of seasonal produce available. You may pick up a few ingredients before returning home to the kitchen.
Shivani will welcome you into her beautiful bungalow. They have a small outdoor seating area where they like to barbeque meats and paneer (fresh cheese) in the winter. After you sip on your welcome drink and chat with the family, you will enjoy a traditional Amritsari meal that may include rajma chawal (red kidney beans in a thick gravy served with rice), gobi aloo (cauliflower and potato), chole (chickpea curry), sarson da saag with makki di roti (a seasonal winter dish of mustard leaves and spices served on corn flatbreads), her mother’s special Amritsari mutton (goat) curry and end your meal with something sweet, either kheer (rice pudding) or gud ka halwa (dessert made with semolina, jaggery and loads of nuts), an Amritsari specialty.
Your host Shivani will teach you how to make 2-3 of the dishes during your cooking lesson. This may include dal makhni, a slow cooked dish using whole black lentils, kidney beans, butter and cream, a dish with paneer (fresh Indian cheese) or rotis (flatbreads). You can expect to be cooking for 1 hour before you share the meal you helped prepare over conversation with your host.
Shivani can also prepare Mughlai and Hyderabadi dishes with utmost perfection, so do not forget to tell her your preference while booking an experience with her.
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.
Methi Malai Chicken Makhani PaneerSeasonal VegetablesShivani is a Punjabi from the holy city of Amritsar in north India and her husband Kapil is a Peshawari who settled in Delhi after the partition. Shivani has been cooking since she was a teenager and has inherited all her Amritsari recipes and cooking techniques from her mother. Her biggest passion is to cook for her family, and both her husband and daughter relish good food. After marrying Shivani’s passion for cooking grew and she started to develop new recipes. She runs a catering company that provides wholesome and delicious home cooked food for parties, gatherings and office lunches.
"What a wonderful evening we had with Shivani. She was an excellent hostess and just so fun to visit with. We enjoyed our trip to the local market with her and learning all about how it works. Then we came back to her lovely home and prepared several dishes together and enjoyed eating dinner with her and her husband. It was just a great evening and I would recommend it to anyone."
"I had a great time with Shivani and her family. If you're considering going for a class you should do it!Part of the experience is getting to talk to her and her family about all things India and get to know the country from another perspective.The food we cooked and ate was delicious, just learning the basics of making masala was worth it. (Btw, I'm apparently a natural at making Roti's ... just saying). She's also very accommodating with dietary restrictions. Overall: Amazing =)"
"Tivemos uma excelente experiência com Shivani. Foi uma boa oportunidade de conhecer um pouco da cultura local através de sua culinária. Shivani foi muito solícita com nossas perguntas e trouxe diversas boas respostas. Nos ensinou não apenas sobre a culinária da Índia mas também sobre aspectos de comportamento local e tradições. Uma experiência que recomendo."
"I signed up for a lunch with Shivani in her home and had a great two hour experience. It was my first day in India and she made me feel so welcome and was incredibly open with information about herself, her family, her country. I learned so much and had a marvelous meal and great introduction to Indian food. Shivani's husband also joined us for lunch and that made it more personal and special. I highly recommend Travelling Spoon and Shivani."
