Make your favorite Indian dishes at this locally owned cooking studio just outside Charlotte
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Before this class, I'd never even heard of pav bhaji — a popular Indian street food consisting of spicy mashed veggies tucked into a dinner roll— and now I know how to make it at home. Photo: McKenzie Rankin/Axios
You can learn to cook popular Indian dishes, like samosas and chicken tikka masala, at Santhoshi's Kitchen in Tega Cay, South Carolina.
Why it matters: With Charlotte's dining scene becoming more global, it's no surprise our cooking classes are evolving to match.
Context: Santhoshi's Kitchen is an Indian cooking studio in Tega Cay, owned by Santhoshi Radhakrishnan, who teaches group and private Indian cooking classes for all skill levels.
- We recently attended the Indian Street Food Class — one of the studio's most popular offerings.
What to expect: Group classes, which range from $70 to $85 per person, are capped at eight people, allowing everyone to participate, from folding naan to creating a spice blend.
- Classes last around three hours and they take place at 1182 Stonecrest Blvd, about a 30-minute drive from Uptown.
How it works: We shared the cooking space with six other participants, working in pairs to make three popular Indian street foods.
- Everything needed is provided — ingredients, utensils, aprons.
- You can enjoy your meal in the studio or take it home. Either way, you'll have leftovers, so bring containers.
- If you choose to eat in the studio, you can bring wine to pair with your meal.
- Afterward, you're given the recipes to recreate at home.
We made three popular Indian street foods:
- Pav bhaji: Spicy mashed veggies sandwiched between a soft dinner roll.
- Samosas: A deep-fried pastry with a savory filling. In our case, a spicy potato mixture.
- Paani puri: A deep-fried puri shell stuffed with a potato filling, dipped in mint chutney.
- All dishes were vegetarian.
Background: Radhakrishnan grew up in Tamil Nadu, a state in Southern India. She moved to Charlotte in 2007 and began teaching classes out of her home in 2015 after having her two kids.
- Most of the dishes in Radhakrishnan's classes reflect North Indian cuisine.
The intrigue: Radhakrishnan originally studied chemical engineering but never felt drawn to the field. Cooking, she says, has always been where her heart lies.
- The idea to start teaching came from watching an episode of "Phineas and Ferb" with her kids, in which the mom takes a cooking class, she tells me, laughing.
What they're saying: "I felt like there was something missing in me. I thought, hmmm, maybe I should be teaching classes."
- Her first class was held in her home in Fort Mill in 2015, with just two participants who responded to a post she made on Nextdoor.
- From there, she gradually built her business before opening her current cooking studio in 2023.
My thought bubble: Taking a cooking class, especially one with cuisine you may be unfamiliar with, is such a fun way to learn about another culture. Plus, it's practical. My takeout budget is going to love this.
If you go: Several upcoming classes include Indian Street Food on July 9, Butter Chicken and Indian Bread on July 12 and Chicken Tikka Masala and Samosas on July 26.
