“What a wonderful experience”

My wife and I had a wonderful experience with Sandya’s Curry Class. Before arriving into Bangalore, we reached out to Sandya to inquire about the class. She was very prompt and very informative, so we decided to give the class a try. We worked out the menu ahead of time and she gave us directions to the house. Upon arrival, we felt welcomed and were ready to get started. The day was filled with laughs, learning and fun. We learned some tricks of the trade and all about the different spices. At the end, we sat down for a tasty meal and afterwards some ginger tea. We arrived at 11:30am and were shocked to look up at the clock to see it was 5:00pm. We couldn’t believe that we had spent so much time at Sandya’s house.

For anyone who loves Indian food and wants to learn how to make it, I highly recommend spending the day with Sandya.

“Oh! The Biryani!!”

“A great experience!”

“A lot of fun, delicious, and educational”

I’m just a guy with an interest in cooking. I had some time in Bangalore and wanted to explore the food culture. What better way than to take a cooking class? And I can’t imagine a better class to recommend. Sandhya Oza is warm, outgoing, and clearly loves to teach cooking. When I first contacted her we both emailed and spoke by phone to agree on a class menu.

Sandhya holds the small classes in her home kitchen with most of the basic raw ingredients ready to go. We didn’t waste time during the class peeling garlic or chopping onions. But we did discuss the spices and ingredients that I was less familiar with: types of flour used in Indian cooking, green vs. black cardamom, fenugreek leaves, and so on.

Most cooks can follow a recipe, but only with experience does one learn the “feel” of the food: the texture of the dish at different cooking stages, the variations of spice to achieve the desired taste or “hotness”, which spices to leave in a dish and which to remove before the completion (they may leave a bitter taste). Taking a class with an experienced chef is the best way to learn these. I was taught all this and more. Sandhya demonstrated, for example, how to shape and cook roti (soft thin bread cooked on a griddle), then critiqued as I made a few.

For some of the ingredients unfamiliar to me, I photographed the package in order to seek it out back in the USA.

At the completion of our cooking — actually my cooking, as Sandhya allowed me to do all of the essential work — we sat down for a quick meal. My menu was from the south of India: Jeera Aloo (spiced potatos), Chicken Chettinaad (chicken in a spiced coconut sauce), Jerra rice (spiced rice), and chapati (roti)

Sandhya has lived in the UK as well and communicates well with Americans and Europeans, relating to Western dishes and spices, even suggesting substitutions of ingredients that may be difficult to find or others most suitable to Western tastes.

Curry Classes is located in an eastern area of Bangalore, deceptively close on a map, but about an hour and fifteen minutes drive from the center of the city. I rented a taxi and driver for 8 hours for a relatively small cost, which was more than enough for the round trip commute and the time of the class.

I had a lot of fun, learned a lot, and when I return to Bangalore, I expect to take another class from Sandhya at Curry Classes. Next time with a little experience, and Indian food, under my belt.

“A day well spent!”

I was lucky enough to have some free time whilst in Bangalore and wanted to do some cooking. I’m very fond of Indian food, and was fairly sure that what I would experience in India would be quite different from my local take-away here in the UK! I was fortunate enough to find Sandhya (the power of the internet!) and spend a couple of days with her. We had arranged what we would cook beforehand and she was very happy to tailor the days to my requests, though she also has set menus which you can choose from if you are less sure on what you would like to do. The days were great! Sandyha is a very accomplished teacher and shares her knowledge patiently and with humour. Best of all, what you cook, you get to eat!! HIghly recommended for any foodie with a day to spare in Bangalore! One of my lasting memories from my trip to India.

Sandhya’s curry classes have made cooking Indian food accessible & easy.

Sandhya’s explation of when & how various spices should be used have made it possible for me to experiment at cooking variety of dishes with confidence

It really shows how easy it can be to create wonderful Indian food. It is easier than I thought.