Traveling Spoon

The Sweet and Tangy Bengali Experience

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Originally from Calcutta, Abhinanda now lives in Oshiwara with her husband and son in a contemporary apartment. She studied economics and worked in a bank before deciding to pursue her passion for food, and from there her venture Pepper Corns was born. Abhinanda conducts cooking workshops, hosts birthday parties and TV shows, co-partners food exhibitions and continuously explores other food related events. Her passion for food started at the age of 11 when she made her first apple flan! In her home, all family conversations revolve around food and she enjoys hosting parties for friends and family so that she can help create happy times by cooking for them.

What to expect:

Market Visit:

You will meet Abhinanda at her home and then proceed for your market tour. Here she will introduce you to a wide variety of fruits and vegetables.

Cooking Experience:

You can expect to learn from your host Abhinanda how to make 2-3 of the dishes you will be eating, such as maach paturi (fish steamed in banana leaves) and aloo poshto (potato curry). You can expect to be cooking for 1 hour before you share the meal you helped prepare over conversation with your host.

Meal:

Abhinanda will welcome you into her warm home which reflects the rich art, music, literary and philosophical traditions of the Bengali culture. While sipping your welcome drink she will briefly explain the characteristics of Bengali cuisine, famous for its maach (fish) and bhaat (rice) and its blend of sweet and spicy flavors. Your meal will be served in courses, rather than all at once and there is a story, a memory, a history behind every dish. Your meal might include cholar daal (lentils), prawn mustard malai curry cooked in tender and grated coconut, kosha mangsho (spicy mutton curry), luchi (deep fried flatbread). The meal will end with a sweet dish either of bhapa doi (steamed yogurt) or rosogollas (balls of fresh cheese soaked in a sweet syrup). Choose a starting time, either: 1:00pm or 7:30pm.