Learn to Cook Authentic Bengali Food in a Local Home

Bibi lives in a traditional Calcutta home with her teenage daughter and husband. Bibi, a restaurateur, started her career selling momos (steamed pork dumplings from Darjeeling) at the Nari Seva fair. You'll be greeted with a welcome drink, perhaps ampura sherbet (a refreshing raw mango drink) or, in the winter, apple juice with a hint of ginger. Bibi will teach you about the local cuisine and the dominant spices in Bengali food.

Join Bibi in her small kitchen watch her demonstrate how to cook authentic Bengali dishes that centers around a variety of vegetables and the flavors of mustard seed and panch poran (Bengali five-spice). The cooking demonstration will last about 1-2 hours.

Once the meal is ready you will join Bibi and her family at the table to sample the dishes. You will enjoy Bengali favorites like shaag bhaja (fried greens), shukto (mixed bitter vegetables), dal (lentils), vegetable bhaja (fried eggplant with crisp fried potato sticks), khao suey (Indian-style Burmese chicken curry and noodle) which are served with papad (crispy wafters made of gram flour), rice and chutney to accent the flavors of the meal. End on a sweet note with a dessert like mishti doi (sweetened yoghurt) or payesh (rice pudding with jaggery, raw sugar made from nectar from the date palm tree). 

Please note, your host is not a professional chef, rather this experience is a visit into an authentic, local home to meet a local person and share the culture and cuisine together.