Archana lives in a modest and clean apartment with her husband Rajesh and their two children. A native of Bangalore, Archana is a warm and inviting host with whom you will immediately feel at ease. She started cooking as a teenager and learned to make traditional Gowda dishes from her mother and mother-in-law.

Archana will welcome you into her traditional home. Enjoy a welcome drink of paanaka (lemonade sweetened with sugar) while snacking on a variety of starters such as kosambari (lentil salad), neruli bajji (fried onion fritters), or crisp snacks like nippat, chakli or usli.

Roll up your sleeves and join Archana in the kitchen for a hands-on cooking class. You will learn to prepare 2-3 traditional Gowda dishes such as bisi bele huli anna (a savory dish of rice, vegetables and lentils). Enjoy the delicious meal you helped prepare with Archana on the floor to eat your meal off of a banana leaf in the traditional way.

Main dishes might also include holige (a lentil-stuffed flatbread), ragi mudde (millet flour balls which are typically eaten in rural Karnataka state), mamsada saaru (stewed mutton), followed by traditional Gowda sweets for dessert. Please note that if you would prefer to eat at a table, please make a note when you confirm your experience and Archana can provide a table and chairs.

Leave with a full belly, new recipes, a true glimpse into a local's life, and lifelong memories.

Please note, this is not a professional cooking class, rather this experience is a visit into an authentic, local home to meet a local person and share the culture and cuisine together. This home does not have air conditioning so it can get hot in the warmest months of March - May.