Spice Mission

I was so impressed by Spice Mission, they cater to any kind of diet and Tanya is such a patient, friendly teacher. The spice tin that comes with the class is really unique as she puts it all together and even makes some of it herself from scratch. Being from Bangalore, she brings a wealth of knowledge about southern Indian cuisine that can’t be matched in other parts of the Bay Area; you could honestly purchase endless lessons from her and always learn/​taste something new. I gave a gift certificate to my mom and it was easily the best Mother’s Day gift I’ve ever extended, not to mention Tanya even she came to our house! No regrets, can’t wait to do it again.

Mmmm… the sambar (spicy lentil/​vegetable soup) filled my little kitchen with the sweet and savory aromas of tamarind, curry leaves, chilies, and turmeric. Lemon rice seasoned with cashews and cilantro brightened my day. A beautiful and unusual cucumber salad with raw soaked moong dal added a fresh crunch, and I have a new go-​to vegetable recipe that starts with mustard seeds popping in hot oil, and ends with mixing in fresh shredded coconut (you’ll have to sign up for a lesson to find out what happens in between).
Tanya is an intelligent and intuitive cook, and has the cross-​cultural knowledge to translate the science and the art of South Indian cooking for those unfamiliar with that tradition.
I highly recommend this wonderful experience.

Even as a seasoned (har, har) Indian cook, I learned a ton from my evening with Tanya. She took the time to explain the uses and benefits of each spice we cooked with; the food was accessible (no fancypants ingredients! affordable!); and we shared a lovely group meal after we were done. She even insisted on doing all the dishes herself… A perfect hostess and teacher!
A note on what you’ll be learning and eating: almost all Indian restaurants serve up just North Indian food… And I am from the north myself, so hadn’t had much exposure to South Indian cooking. Tanya’s South Indian menu is influenced both by her experiences cooking with family and by her own tweaks for taste, colour, and health. A great introduction to a rich, vibrant culinary tradition. Slurp!

My husband and I love Indian food and wanted to learn how to cook some of the many delicious dishes. Tanya came to our house and was absolutely wonderful. She was knowledgeable, fun and patient while instructing us. We have recreated the recipes with success over and over again. It was a wonderful experience and I have recommended it to many close friends. Getting the gift certificate as a gift was one of the best gifts ever! Thank you Tanya! I am eating Chana Masala made with the spices you gave us as I type!

Terrific way to spend an evening, great learning experience, and totally delicious! Highly recommended to anyone interested in learning a bit about Indian cooking!

Here’s a cooking class that engages all the 5 senses, to create an awesome indian meal!
Tanya showed us how to use Indian spices and magically make delicious channa masala and more. Thanks for giving us such a wonderful experience in cooking and eating, that made for a fabulous evening.

Spice Mission is awesome. Tanya is awesome. I’d recommend this for learning to cook South and North Indian food (two equally awesome cuisines but with a very different set of spices). Also beware, after these classes you will start having strong opinions on how bad Indian restaurants are and how good you are.

Don’t get me wrong, the instructor is welcoming, sincere and sweet as candy. Unfortunately the ingredients were too cost conscious, and the setting a little, making money to get by, without any real deep understanding of the food, process or production value. I would highly recommend it for the non-​cook or just happy to be out of the house for a few hours consumer. For a true SF foodie, this will fall far short of expectation.

Indian food has always been a favorite, but intimidating cuisine to try and replicate at home. With an impending arrival of a new baby, the desire to make lighter fare compared to Indian restaurants and the hope to have my spouse learn some more dishes, we were fortuitous to find Tanya.
She graciously came to our home for a private lesson, preceded by a list of ingredients for us to get from a wonderful resource that we would never have found otherwise. Her explanations of techniques and spices, as well as shortcuts to save time were thorough and insightful. We have probably saved years of fumbling around with trial and error and just gone to straight to the heart of what we need to know to prepare an authentic tasting and healthy group of Indian recipes.
We had a wonderful lesson in preparing not only our favorite dish (saag paneer), but she helped to instill confidence in basic techniques to recreate many other vegetarian dishes. We were inspired to prepare Indian food each week for several weeks following our lesson. We were able to control the fat and salt content to our taste.
We definitely crossed a line and will likely never go back to store bought paneer or ordering saag from a restaurant again. In fact, it is rather disappointing to know that the simplicity and beauty of the food we prepared from Tanya’s guidance has far surpassed much of the restaurant fare we have had in the past. We needed to take a lesson a long time ago.
I would highly recommend any of her classes to open a new vista of taste and adventure to your kitchen.

I just had the pleasure of taking a class with Tanya, along with four other friends. The class was awesome, Tanya taught us all about Indian spices and helped us make three yummy dishes. I can’t wait to make these dishes at home!

I thought I’d surprise my wife and nine year-​old daughter, who is just learning to cook, with a Mother’s Day gift of an evening of Indian Food cooking instruction. The Unilocal ratings were so positive, and Tanya’s reviews so glowing, that I felt this would be a wonderful mother/​daughter bonding moment. Honestly, though, we were all blown away by how warm, engaging, knowledgeable and fun Tanya was. We can’t recommend her or the experience enough; she’s one of those rare individuals who exudes enthusiasm and genuine love for what she does. Highly, highly recommended!

Spice Mission was great! Tanya came to my apartment and showed me that Indian food can be cooked well even in a VERY tiny kitchen with limited tools. We had a great time hanging out (she is super sweet) and I felt like a learned a ton. I’ve done quite a few cooking classes before and this is definitely the best — the one on one aspect is awesome. She is very knowledgable and teaches not just how to make the dishes that you choose but also how to adapt spices and ingredients for other indian dishes. The food is all vegetarian, but for the most part can be adapted to use meat afterwards too.
Not only was the lesson good — the saag paneer we made was one of the best I’ve had, and you get a spice tin with most of the common Indian spices (which can be hard to find on their own).
I’d definitely recommend Spice Mission to anyone.

My wife and I hired Tanya for an introductory session into Indian vegetarian cooking. I recently became vegetarian and suddenly found myself unable to cook anything that I wanted to eat. Now all is well. Tanya was great. I have added three new recipes to my repertoire, and picked up a whole lot of tips on spices, breads, where to shop, and general Indian and vegetarian cooking technique. We are seriously considering another session with Tanya for more recipes.

The lesson was great, Tanya was patient, cheerful, and very informative. The lesson left us feeling that we could easily make the recipes on our own, and gave us the basis for trying other Indian recipes on our own.
My wife and I have birthdays a day apart, as a gift my mother gave us cooking lessons from Tanya. Tanya was wonderful, she gave us a shopping list in advance, and told us about a great Indian grocery that is near us. When the lesson began she taught us about the spices we would use and how they are generally used in Indian cuisine. She taught us about other spices, and specific regional cuisines. The food was great, and we shared a lovely meal with her exchanging stories. She also had great recommendations for restaurants that were good examples of various regional specialties.
We can’t wait to have dinner guests, so we can impress them with our new skills.

Tanya’s homemade-​cooking class is amazing. She makes it fun and interesting. She shares with you tips and tricks to make it quicker and easier but shows you how to make the food without taking shortcuts. She enjoys what she does, she’s patient, and she’s very friendly. She makes it very stress-​free and enjoyable by making everyone feel welcomed, gets everyone sharing stories, and promotes conversation. Overall, it was a great experience learning how to cook and spending time with Tanya.

I took a class from Tanya last night and could not wait to write a review!
All the positive feedback from other reviewers is completely justified! Tanya is a kind, lovely lady who gently eases you into the world of Indian cooking. Since I was vegan, Tanya made sure I was comfortable with all the dishes and explained all the substitutions I could make. She even substituted cashew cream instead of yogurt in one of the dishes. :) I had an amazing time and I highly recommend this class to everyone.
Today I am off to my local Indian store to pick up some veg and dipping sauces for a whole Indian feast I am creating. Two dishes from last night, and two I have been eyeing is my goal. After my class at Spice Mission I am completely confident in my ability to rock this!!!

What an experience! A night at Spice Mission was the coolest way I could ever have kicked off a long weekend trip to San Francisco!
With Tanya’s instruction, we were able to whip up the most amazing Indian fare. So authentic and so delicious!
Such warm and gracious hosts!
I can’t wait to make some dal as soon as I get back home!

I can’t say enough wonderful things about Tanya and Spice Mission!
I’m by no means a master chef, but recently I’ve wanted to eat healthier. Plus, I’m a picky eater, so cooking means I get to pick what goes in the dish.
Tanya was very accommodating and helped me put together a menu (Chana Masala, Vegetable Biriyani and Raitha) that was exactly what I wanted.
She was very patient during the instruction and took the time to answer all of my questions about why things are done a certain way. Also, she has a knack for gently encouraging you so that by the end, you realize you’re doing a lot of the work and yes, you could do this on your own!
It’s not enough to be just a good cook, you need to be a good teacher too — and she definitely is.
I also appreciated that she sent me a follow up e-​mail the very next day with a list of Indian grocery stores that carry the ingredients I’ll be using more frequently in the future.
Also, that spice tin that you get isn’t just some cheap knick knack, it’s really cool looking. I’m proudly displaying mine in my kitchen along with her business card. Highly, highly recommended.

After 3 classes at Spice Mission, I finally got the courage to cook my first Indian meal. Aloo Gobi w/​green beans & fried onions instead of Cauliflower and a simple dal with caramelized onions and peppers to add some heat. (sub split green peas for dal) Super Yummy and quite filling… thanks Tanya!

Stop eating the colored crap that passes for indian food in restaurants.
Cook some wholesome food jus like mama used to make !!!
Mouth-​watering menu: