It’s one thing to learn about a language in a classroom setting. It’s another to fully immerse yourself in the culture, not just from a spoken word, but through all five senses. Cooking food is one of the only activities, where we as students, can engage all five of our senses, from tasting delicious mango lassi, to hearing the sizzle of dosa batter on a hot stove, to smelling the alluring aroma of samosa chaat.
Cooking class day is my favorite class of the year. On one hand, I love food, especially Indian food. Therefore, my excitement for this class was a no-brainer. On the other hand, the experience really brings the class together, which no textbook activity can really match up. Cooking alongside classmates & friends made it feel more like a conversation over dinner versus a graded assignment in a classroom. I was never really thinking about my grade. I was just thinking about how amazing the food was, and how fun it was to simply speak Hindi, with no strings attached.
I’ve participated in 2 cooking classes. In the first, we made amazing samosa chaat, mango lassi, and chay. The environment was extremely lively (pre-covid). Many of us were so extremely excited, that we picked up one of our peers (the main cook) by all four limbs, and raised him in the air, as a declaration of our satisfied taste buds. A day to remember for sure!
In the second cooking class, we were in a covid-era, so things were more controlled, but still very much fun. This time we cooked dosa made from daal. We also made mango lassi and chay again. I raced into the kitchen when it was my turn to cook a dosa. The batter was premade. (1) I took the batter and spread it across the pan in a circular fashion. (2) I waited till the edges hardened, and the dosa browned a bit. (3) I threw some carrots and other vegetables on top of the daal dosa. (4) Waited for the dosa to finish cooking, listening to that amazing sizzle. (5) Munch on some delicious Indian dosa.
From both of these classes, I was able to practice my cooking & food Hindi vocabulary. It was super fun to do so in a real-life environment. Furthermore, the class gave me context for a lot of the topics we learn in class. Our textbook refers to things done in India, that is not necessarily done the same way in the Americas. Stepping into the shoes of another culture, and actually making the dosa myself, makes learning Hindi just that much easier.
Here are a few comments about our cooking class
Ali:"I thought the cooking class was very nice. I learned how to make dosas. I thought the food was good and I learned about cooking. I enjoyed the class and would recommend doing this again. It is a great way to be immersed into the culture."
Anisha: "I really enjoyed cooking class yesterday, because it was really nice to get to know my classmates in a more informal and fun class session. Initially, I was unsure about my ability to make dosas, because I had watched my parents make them before and it seemed like I needed a lot of technique to do it well, but I was surprised by how well my dosa came out and how good it tasted! I was also able to help make chai for everyone along with Amal, which also ended up tasting pretty good. Overall, I think cooking class was a success, and the only thing I would change is that I would like to find a venue closer to West or East Campus, but I understand that the John Hope Franklin center was closest to the AMES offices. I would definitely love to do another cooking class sometime."
Divya: " I had fun during our cooking class today. I don't usually eat dosas with the filling inside so it was nice to try something new. I also haven't made mango lassi at home before, so I was surprised at how easy it was to make the mango lassi. Overall, I thought it was fun to cook with others in the class and enjoy the food we made. "
Nirvan: " Overall cooking class was one of the most fun days I've had in Hindi Class. I really enjoyed eating and cooking the food with some of my very close friends. All of the food we had was very delicious and taught me a lot about Indian culture and the different ingredients they use when cooking. Furthermore, cooking with friends was a lot of fun since I got to see how everyone interacted outside the classroom. Thank you so much for doing this and I hope we can have another cooking class next semester!"
Pranay: " Cooking class was very fun and the food was phenomenal, especially the dosa. I never usually like dosa but this time it was different, maybe because we helped to make it. I thought it was a great bonding experience and immersion, only wish we could do it more often during the semester."
Vaibhav: " I really enjoyed the cooking class today. The class was laid back and relaxing, and the cooking itself was fun to do. Cooking the chilla felt similar to making an omelette with almost the same steps (pouring in the mixture, flipping and putting in vegetable filling). The chilla was alright – the vegetables and ketchup definitely helped 😊. The chai and mango lassi were also pretty good. I enjoyed this different class today and hope we can do it again sometime soon (definitely next semester for 203!)."
Thanks to Professor Kusum Knapcyzk for setting up this amazing activity and getting all the ingredients together. It is bittersweet that this will be my last Hindi class cooking class, but I hope to continue learning more about Indian cuisine, as I journey on past Duke.
This workshop was supported and funded by Asian and Middle Eastern Studies.
Department of Asian & Middle Eastern Studies
