Meet
Archana
Archana is a passionate home cook from Cochin, specializing in traditional Konkani cuisine. Inspired by her grandmother and mother, she began cooking at the age of 11 and now shares her love for forgotten recipes through hands-on cooking classes. A former celebrity coordinator and radio jockey, Archana turned her passion into a mission during the pandemic - reviving age-old recipes, making masalas and pickles from scratch, and promoting sustainable, seasonal cooking. Driven by a deep fascination with the science, sustainability, and stories behind traditional Saraswat Brahmin cooking from the Konkan coast, Archana has even been invited to lead workshops for chefs at the prestigious Oberoi Group of Hotels. Her mission is simple yet powerful: to revive and share a nearly lost cuisine that’s rich in heritage, built on seasonal foraging, and rooted in healthful, backyard-grown ingredients.
What to expect
Please note menu might vary. If there are particular dishes you are interested in trying, please include your request in the booking form.
In-home meal:
(1-5 guests)
Join Archana in her warm and welcoming home near Abad Nucleus Mall, Cochin, for an authentic in-home dining experience rooted in traditional Konkani cuisine. Konkani cuisine is known for its satvik principles, meals are typically prepared without onion, garlic, tomatoes, or garam masalas and emphasizes the use of fresh, locally available vegetables. Archana also practices no-waste cooking, creatively using vegetable peels, skins, and seeds in her dishes, just as her ancestors did.
You can choose between a wholesome vegetarian Saraswat Brahmin meal or a flavorful seafood meal. Some of the dishes you may enjoy include banana blossom fritters, valval (vegetables simmered in coconut milk), ghassi (a coconut-based gravy with pulses or vegetables), and sukke (a dry preparation with fresh coconut). Meals are served with rice, dal, pickle, and papad, and are rounded off with a dessert like kheer (a traditional Konkani-style pudding). Please note that the menu varies by season, and seafood options like fish fry or fish or prawns in coconut gravy can be included upon request.
Cooking experience:
(1-5 guests)
Join Archana in her simple home kitchen in Cochin for a hands-on Konkani cooking class that brings forgotten Saraswat recipes back to life. In this 2-hour Kochi cooking class, learn to cook two dishes from scratch - a seasonal vegetable dish and a traditional coconut-based gravy, using treasured family recipes. Archana will also share her knowledge of no-waste cooking, showing you how to creatively use vegetable peels, skins, and seeds to make side dishes, chips, or preserves. As you cook together, she’ll introduce you to the unique principles of Konkani cuisine and offer valuable tips and tricks passed down through generations. After the class, sit down to enjoy the delicious meal you’ve helped prepare.
This cooking class in Cochin is perfect for curious travelers, food lovers, and anyone interested in learning traditional Indian recipes, sustainable cooking techniques, and the unique flavors of Konkani cuisine.
Notes:
Archana can accommodate lactose-free, gluten-free, vegetarian, or vegan diets if informed in advance. If you opt for transportation at an additional cost, pickup and drop-off can be arranged only from hotels within Kochi.
Languages spoken:
English, Hindi, Konkani, Malayalam and Tamil
Sample menu
Traveler reviews
We as family of spouse and I were joined by our children and grandchildren were welcomed like a family on arrival. We felt comfortable at home even meeting for the first time. Beautiful and neat middle class family home with lots of family values. Her son had just come home from college yet stayed with us to talk and make us at home. Archana, our host spoke fluent English and answered everyone’s questions including our little grandchildren. We learnt new cooking and gathered lots of new Konkani cooking ideas. Even our grand son got chance to spread Rava dosa on iron skillet. Food was very tasty and home cooked with love and passion.
It was a great experience for all ages and all levels of expertise since we do cook Indian food even living in USA.
Greatly recommended for a family cooking and getting to know host well. Thanks for the hospitality.
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rajan
February 04, 2026
Was excellent!! So interesting seeing how authentic Indian vegetarian food without onion or garlic and can be so flavourful when cooked with so much love. Was delicious and learned a lot. Definitely one of the best things we have done while travelling. We spent a long time there and really felt welcomed into their home. Would highly recommend to anyone. A great evening.
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thomas
January 09, 2026
The first thing you need to know about Archana is that she's doing this because she's passionate about it. This is no side hustle, as will become immediately clear when you talk to her. She lectures at colleges and hotels. She started taking her cooking "on the road" after her friend (neighbor? I forgot the story exactly) staged an intervention saying that her family should not be the only people to benefit from it.
The second thing to know is that, while this is definitely a cooking class, it has more a feeling of a home stay than anything else. We were comfortable the whole time. Her home is lovely (there's a mural in her dining room? but it's definitely just the family's private dining room), you're eating at her dining room table and cooking in her personal kitchen, she's very friendly. We chatted with her sons, who were around for vacation (it was late December). They were very helpful (one of them picked us up) and looked mildly amused at the whole thing. We met the pets. She's a veteran of the financial and film industries (not as a cook) and it shows: there was zero chaos in the kitchen. The whole thing was very efficiently run.
The food was delicious and fun. Multiple types of dosas (note: not fast food dosas) were fun to put on the skillet, the how-to about the chutneys was useful. It wasn't a showcase, but I think it was the best sambar I had in Kerala. Some of it I'm going to immediately use at home - fried fresh figs are going to be a showstopper the next time I have guests. Notes on prepping mustard seed and curry leaves are also things I'll take away. Freshness is no joke: "oh I picked these in the backyard this morning" style. Apparently Konkani cuisine just cannot be stored overnight.
Highly recommended.
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Jesse
January 08, 2026
Archana is a warm and welcoming host. The food was delicious and we make dosas and coconut chutney, plus we learned about the many other dishes she had prepared for us. She made us feel like we were part of her family for an evening. We had a wonderful time.
If you book this, I recommend you discuss which dishes you would like to cook and ask her lots of questions - Archana is so sweet and will tell you everything.
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Joshua
December 03, 2025
I had a really nice evening with Archana, sampling several dishes served on a banana leaf
and eaten in traditional style with right hand. Had fun making the dosa. Everything was
delicious, but particularly the prawn curry. I would definitely recommend this cooking class.
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Cherie
October 11, 2025
Spent a fantastic afternoon with Arcana Pai learning Konkani cooking. It was a great experience and Archana went out of her way to tell us all about the ingredients she used in her recipes. She also gave us valuable tips on how to bring out the flavors and taste of the dishes she treated us to,
Overall a worthwhile chance to learn traditional Konkani cooking
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Girija
August 14, 2025
Flavors of Konkan! Spent a fantastic afternoon with Arcana learning Konkani cooking. It was a great experience and Archana went out of her way to tell us all about the ingredients she used in her recipes. She also gave us valuable tips on how to bring out the flavors and taste of the dishes she treated us to, Overall a worthwhile chance to learn traditional Konkani cooking.
-
Girija and Shyama
August 14, 2025
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