Get a Taste of Traditional Indian Foods
One of the best ways to get to know a cuisine is to practice making it yourself. Learn how to recreate the iconic flavors of Indian food at home with hands-on cooking classes led by world-class chefs. Explore the influence of history, geography and culture of Indian food and how Indian food names and ingredients reflect its regional cuisines.
With Indian cooking classes in the Bay Area, Indian cooking classes in NYC and other cooking classes near you, talented chefs will teach you traditional techniques for building depth of flavor and balancing the signature spices to craft authentic Indian food. If you can’t find a class in your area, discover the distinctive stories and spices of this iconic cuisine virtually with interactive online Indian cooking classes.
Indian Breads
As in many global cuisines, bread is a foundational element of Indian food. Although often similar in ingredients and appearance, different styles of bread popular throughout the Indian subcontinent are distinguished by distinct cooking techniques, textures or types of flours ranging from pillowy flatbreads or thin crêpes to stuffed dough or crisp puffs.
1. Naan
The most widely recognized Indian bread is soft, bubbly naan. This unleavened flatbread can be baked or fried and frequently appears as an accompaniment at Indian restaurants in the United States and around the world. Traditionally, naan is cooked in a tandoor, a cylindrical clay or metal oven with a high cooking temperature. The signature bread is served plain or with butter, garlic and/or chilies.
2. Chapati
Chapati is an unleavened flatbread made of finely ground whole wheat flour mixed into dough with water and salt that is cooked on a tava, or flat skillet. This ancient style of bread gets its name from the Hindi word chapat, which means slap or flat. The word describes the traditional method of preparing the dough by wetting one’s palms and slapping the dough between them.
Chapati, known as roti in other parts of the world, is foundational to a number of other cuisines across Asia, the Middle East and the Caribbean.
4. Papadam
Papadam is a thin, deep-fried bread traditionally made with black gram bean flour that is either fried or cooked in dry heat until crisp. Perhaps more similar to a chip or tortilla, papadams are often served with Indian food accompaniments like chutneys, raita (a creamy vegetable dip) or toppings such as lime pickle, chopped onions or chilies and eaten as an appetizer or alongside a meal.
