Discover the Best Indian Cooking Classes Near Me
Indian cooking is one of the most diverse and flavorful in the world, and varies widely across the different regions of the country. Generally, though, it is characterized by its use of unique spices like turmeric and cardamom, which add depth and complexity to the dishes. Indian cooking is also steeped in tradition and culture, no matter which region of the country it comes from. Many Indian food dishes have been passed down through generations, and others are associated with specific festivals and religious ceremonies.
Why You Should Learn Indian Cooking
There are many good reasons to learn Indian cooking. It can be a way to connect to the rich culture and traditions of India, since Indian food is intimately connected to Indian culture. It can also be a way to discover new flavors and dishes, since you’ll probably find that you are introduced to ingredients and combinations that are completely new. Indian cooking is also known for its budget-friendly ingredients such as beans and vegetables, and so learning to cook in this style can be good for your budget. Finally, learning Indian cooking may be beneficial to your health, since many of the spices used in this type of food are thought to have health benefits.
5 Ways to Learn Indian Cooking
You’ll find lots of different ways to learn Indian cooking, from finding a recipe and following it in your own kitchen, to enrolling in an Indian cooking class at a local cooking school.
- A common way to start out is by following a recipe. If you already have some cooking experience, this might be a good option for you. It will mean that you won’t have to pay for a class, however, it may take a lot more time to learn this Indian cooking this way, since many recipes don’t include everything you need to know about the unique ingredients and techniques involved in Indian cooking. This method is likely to involve some trial and error.
- Another option is to find a free online cooking tutorial on a site like YouTube. This is also a common way to start out, because there are so many free resources out there. However, because there are so many resources, you might find that it takes you a lot of time sorting through them all to find something helpful and authentic. For this reason, a lot of people who start with free resources end up deciding to enroll in a paid class.
- Enrolling in a paid Indian cooking class can be one of the quickest ways to learn this type of cooking. Paid classes are led by experienced instructors who can make sure you know which common mistakes to avoid, and offer tips and tricks for success. If you enroll in an in-person class, all the ingredients and kitchen supplies that you need will probably be provided. Some people also find in-person learning to be the most engaging class format.
- Online classes are another way to learn Indian cooking. A common online format is virtual instruction, where the instructor lectures in real time, and you can get immediate feedback. You can take an online class from anywhere, as long as you have a computer and an internet connection.
- Some Indian cooking classes are in an on-demand format. On-demand classes are not live, so you don’t get to interact with your instructor, however, you can work at your own pace, which can be great if you have a busy schedule and need flexibility. On-demand classes are often cheaper than live ones.
In-Person Indian Cooking Classes
If you’re interested in learning Indian cooking, you’ll find that most large cities offer in-person Indian cooking classes. With an in-person class, all ingredients are usually provided, which can be an advantage for beginning cooks, who might not have some of the spices and other specialty ingredients used for this cooking style.
Mukti’s Kitchen is an Indian cooking school located in Brooklyn, which is about five miles outside of New York City. Mukti Banerjee founded the school because she wanted to share the variety and uniqueness of her Indian cooking with other people, and she also wanted to empower people to cook their own healthy food. Mukti’s Kitchen offers a number of fun, interactive classes focused on different types of Indian Food. In Indian Bread, students learn about Indian spices, and also make a variety of different Indian breads. The menu for this class is: roti/chapatti, naan, aloo paratha, poori, and chana masala. Tuition is $135, and the class runs for three hours. There is an average of six students per class.
Home Cooking New York also offers an Indian cooking class. Introduction to Indian Cooking is $110 and two and a half hours long. Students learn a variety of Indian cooking techniques, and how to use Indian spices, so that they can make their own Indian food at home. During the class, they cook: matar paneer, golden chicken korma, lentil dal with spiced butter, cilantro-mint chutney, and fresh garlic naan. They also end class with a sit-down meal, and leave with a recipe packet. Students are welcome to bring a bottle to share at the meal. Home Cooking New York is in Lower Manhattan. It was founded in 2002 by Jennifer Clair, former food editor at Martha Stewart Living.
Chef Eric’s Culinary Classroom is in Los Angeles, about ten miles west of downtown. It offers a class called Indian Cuisine, where students cook chicken murgh tikka, deep-fried samosas filled with quick keema, aloo gohbi masala, traditional basmati rice, coriander-mint sauce, and cilantro-chile chutney. This cooking school was founded in 2003 by Chef Eric, who is a European-trained professional chef. Chef Eric runs both recreational and professional cooking classes, and emphasizes hands-on learning in an intimate environment. Indian Cuisine is two and a half hours long and tuition is $150.
Another option in Los Angeles is Indian Flavors, which costs $80, and is offered by the Cook LA Cooking School. In this class, students cook naan bread, baked samosas, spicy red lentil dahl or pineapple/tamarind chutney, vegetable biryani pilaf or Indian lentil pilaf, chicken tikka with a masala sauce, and chai latte or mango lassi. They also learn about Indian flavors, ingredients, and cooking techniques. All participants should wear closed-toed shoes. They can bring in their own beer or wine, with no corkage fee. Chef Liz opened Cook LA Cooking School in 2010. She is dedicated to using organic, local, and seasonal ingredients, and to educating people about healthy eating. The school is about ten miles northwest of downtown Los Angeles.
In Chicago, Arya Bhavan offers a number of different Indian cooking classes including Cooking with Indian Masala. In this class, students learn to cook with masala, which is a common flavoring in Indian dishes. They will make masala dosa, which is a thin crepe stuffed with potatoes and onions, a chickpea dish called chana masala, and masala tea. The class runs for two hours and costs $40. The average class size is 25. Arya Bhavan is a restaurant that also offers cooking classes. It is about an hour north of downtown Chicago.
If you’re in Atlanta, you can book an Indian cooking class through ClassPop! One option is Vegetarian Indian Classics. This two-hour class costs $89, and has an average size of about 15 people. Chef Shan leads students in a fun, hands-on cooking class where they learn kitchen skills and master some Indian cooking recipes. This class is beginner-friendly. Another option through Classpop! is Learn Authentic Indian from a Native, which costs $95.
Pondicheri in Houston is an Indian food restaurant that was founded by Anita Jaisinghani, who was born and raised in India. The restaurant also offers a number of different Indian cooking classes, such as Indian 205, which costs $110. Students in this class learn to make Indian flatbreads, including naan, breakfast items like masala eggs, and complex curries from scratch. They also learn about intermediate layering of spices, with traditional Indian cooking techniques. Pondicheri is located less than five miles from downtown Houston.
If you live in the Boston area, you take an Indian cooking class at EZ Compliments, which is located in Andover, about 25 miles from downtown. EZ Compliments was founded by Chef Shilpi, who was born and raised in India. She strives to share her passion for Indian cooking, and help make it accessible and enjoyable to everyone. In Healthy Indian Cooking 1, students learn about Indian spices and cooking techniques, and make usal curry, which is mixed lentils with coconut, a spiced bread called masala paz, and sweet potato chaat. This class costs $75.
Virtual Indian Cooking Classes
A virtual Indian cooking class can be a great alternative to in-person learning. Virtual classes are live, and you can see what your instructor is doing, ask questions, and get immediate feedback, just like you would with an in-person class. The difference is that you don’t have to drive to a cooking school; instead, you can cook from the comfort of your own kitchen. Unlike with an in-person class, you’ll probably have to supply all your own materials, however, many of the things you need in order to cook Indian food are probably in your kitchen already. Another benefit of the virtual format is that you aren’t limited to schools that you can commute to. Instead, you could enroll in a virtual class that takes place on the other side of the country, if you wanted to.
If you want to learn Indian cooking virtually, you could take a class from the League of Kitchens, which is a group made up of women from all around the world, who offer a variety of different cooking classes. In these classes, they share both their family recipes and their personal stories. Indian Cooking Online w/ Yamini is led by Yamini, who was born and raised in Mumbai, India, and now lives in Queens. In this two-and-a-half-hour class, Yamini teaches students three of her family recipes: homemade flatbreads stuffed with spiced potatoes and onions, refreshing cucumber, and yogurt raita. Participants also take the time to share questions, conversations, and stories with one another. At the end of the class, everyone attends a virtual dinner party. Students need to supply their own ingredients, and can find a list online. This class has an average of 13 students per session. It costs $50 and runs for two and a half hours. The League of Kitchens has been featured in a number of large publications including the New York Times and the Los Angeles Times.
EZ Compliments offers a variety of online Indian cooking classes. In each class of the Tuesday Workshop Series, students make a complete meal. Some menu examples include chicken rogan josh and cumin rice, goan fish curry and peas pulao, and keema matar and plain paratha. Students can take one class, or sign up for a four-week series. Each dish can be personalized for dietary requirements such as vegetarian or gluten-free. A single class is an hour and a half long, and costs $50, and the average class size is about 12. EZ Compliments offers online workshops and private in-person parties. It is based in Andover, Massachusetts. Chef Shilpi was born and raised in India, and her goal is to help everyone enjoy Indian food.
Another place to learn Indian cooking virtually is Mukti’s Kitchen, which is based in Brooklyn, New York. Mukti started this school in order to share the variety and uniqueness of her Indian cooking with other people, and to empower them to make healthy choices when it comes to nutrition. In Authentic Indian Vegetarian, she teaches students to make eggplant masala, saag paneer, and vegetable pulao/pilaf. This class takes place via Zoom and costs $75.
Private Group Indian Cooking Classes
If you’re looking for a fun and easy group event for a work function or a party, a private group Indian cooking class is a great option. Almost anyone can participate in a cooking class, and many people are excited to learn about Indian cooking in particular. If you book your event through CourseHorse, you find the entire process easy, with no registration, and no booking fees. Within 24 hours, you’ll get confirmation that you booked, and provided you meet the minimum group size, you can make changes up to 72 hours before your event takes place.
If you’re holding your event in New York City, you’ll find a group Indian Cooking class in Greenwich Village. It is run by Abigail Hitchcock, chef and owner of Abigail’s Kitchen. Up to 24 people can attend at once, and the cost is $135 per person. The class runs for three hours. Students learn to make a number of classic Indian dishes including cauliflower pakora, chicken korma, basmati pilaf, and spinach and potato samosas. Alternatively, menus can be customized according to the preferences of the group. Students work on beautiful butcher block work tables. Beer and wine are included in this class, and ingredients are sourced from the local farmer’s market as much as possible.
For groups that are interested in cooking, CourseHorse also offers a Virtual Sushi Making Workshop. In this workshop, a professional chef and instructor teaches participants to make sushi rice, cut rolls, hand rolls, nigiri, and crunch rolls. They also learn fish basics and basic knife cuts. Each participant receives a sushi kit in the mail, which contains all the materials they need, including chopsticks, a rolling mat, sushi rice, sesame seeds, nori, soy sauce, wasabi, and pickled ginger. They also get a gift card to buy vegetables and/or seafood to put in their sushi. Participants need to supply a few common kitchen items including a knife, saucepan, kitchen towel, and bowl. This workshop costs $110 per person, runs for 90 minutes, and can be taken by up to 500 people.
If your event is virtual, participants can meet via Zoom, Google Meets, Microsoft Teams, or WebEx. Contact CourseHorse for more details about private group events like Indian cooking.
What Will I Need to Learn Indian Cooking?
If you’re planning to learn Indian cooking, you’ll need some specific ingredients and cooking equipment. You’re likely to have many of them in your kitchen already, however, Indian food often involves unique ingredients and techniques, so you might have to buy some things too. For ingredients, you can find certain things at a regular supermarket, but you might also have to look for a specialty Indian market. If you take an in-person class, all the materials you need will probably be supplied.
In terms of kitchen equipment, you might want a pressure cooker, which is used to more quickly and effectively cook the lentils and beans that are common in Indian food. A heavy-bottomed pan is also useful, and is used for frying, sauteing, and making curries. A flat griddle is helpful for making bread. Since Indian food involves a lot of spices, you might want to invest in a mortar and pestle for grinding them. Other things that you might use are: a blender for making chutneys and sauces, a rolling pin for rolling out bread, tongs and spatulas for flipping food and stirring, and a good set of knives and a chopping board.
When it comes to ingredients, you’ll definitely need spices, since these are an important part of any Indian food recipe. Some common Indian spices include cumin, coriander, turmeric, cardamom, and cinnamon. Fresh herbs like cilantro and mint are also popular. A lot of Indian food contains lentils and beans. Basmati rice and different types of flour, like chickpea flour, are also common. Other widely-used ingredients include vegetables like eggplant, okra, spinach, and potatoes, vegetable oil, and ghee, which is clarified butter.
Is it Difficult to Learn Indian Cooking?
Almost anyone can learn Indian cooking. However, that doesn’t mean it will come easy on your first try. Indian cooking involves unique techniques and ingredients that you might not be familiar with, and you’ll probably need to spend a lot of time and practice mastering this skill. For instance, if you haven’t cooked Indian food before, you’re likely to find that you don’t recognize some of the ingredients that you’ll be using. Many Indian recipes also involve time-consuming processes like soaking, grinding, or marinating. It’s a good idea to start with easier dishes, and gradually work your way up to more complex techniques. It can also be very helpful to take a class, where you can learn tips and tricks from an experienced cook. Overall though, with practice and patience, you will be able to learn this skill.
