Rishikesh, India
Ayurvedic Cooking Classes in Rishikesh
Cook ancient healing recipes that nourish body and mind. Classes run in Nandini’s family home kitchen in Rishikesh.
About This Class
Ayurvedic cooking is the world’s oldest nutritional science - a 5,000-year-old tradition that treats food as medicine. In this hands-on class, you will learn how to cook sattvic meals designed to nourish all three doshas (Vata, Pitta and Kapha), how to use everyday spices like turmeric, cumin and fennel as healing agents, and how the Ayurvedic kitchen differs from conventional Indian cooking.
No prior knowledge of Ayurveda is needed. As you cook, Nandini explains the principles in plain language - so you leave with both recipes and a practical understanding of how to eat for your own constitution. Most guests tell us they go home and reorganise their spice shelf within a week.
- Cook kitchari - the most restorative and healing meal in Ayurvedic medicine
- Learn the six Ayurvedic tastes and how to balance them in a single meal
- Discover tridoshic spices: turmeric, coriander, cumin and fennel
- Understand sattvic cooking: no onion, no garlic, gentle heat and fresh produce
- Take home printed Ayurvedic recipe cards and a dosha identification guide
What You’ll Cook
Kitchari
Yellow mung dal and basmati rice cooked together with ghee, turmeric and healing spices - the cornerstone of Ayurvedic nutrition and the most complete single-pot meal.
Tridoshic Dal
Red lentils simmered with coriander, cumin, fennel and turmeric - a perfectly balanced dal that is calming and nourishing for all three body types.
Aloo Jeera
Potatoes with whole cumin seeds - a grounding, Vata-pacifying dry dish that is simple, warming and deeply comforting.
Sattvic Sabzi
Seasonal vegetables cooked gently without onion or garlic, with asafoetida and fresh coriander - pure, light and full of prana.
Golden Milk
Warm turmeric milk with black pepper, ginger and cardamom - the ancient Ayurvedic nightcap that has become a global wellness staple.
CCF Digestive Tea
Cumin, coriander and fennel seeds simmered into a cleansing herbal tea - the Ayurvedic digestive tonic drunk after every meal.
The Experience
Welcome & Dosha Discovery
Arrive, sit and discover your unique body constitution. Learn the difference between Vata, Pitta and Kapha and how each dosha shapes your relationship with food, digestion and seasonal eating.
Healing Spice Tour
Walk through the Ayurvedic spice pantry. Taste and smell each spice - turmeric, fennel, asafoetida, cardamom, cumin, coriander - and learn the therapeutic property and dosha effect of each one.
Cook & Balance
Prepare your Ayurvedic meal using sattvic techniques: low heat, no alliums, gentle stirring. Learn why these practices preserve prana (life energy) in food. Every step is hands-on with Nandini beside you.
Eat & Restore
Sit in stillness and mindfully eat the meal you prepared together. Nandini will share daily Ayurvedic eating rituals and guide you on how to incorporate these dishes into your life at home.
What’s Included
Included
Not Included
Class Details
What is Ayurvedic Cooking?
Ayurveda is the ancient Indian science of life, with a recorded history of over 5,000 years. It teaches that what we eat directly shapes our physical health, our digestion and our energy. Ayurvedic cooking is how that theory works in a real kitchen.
The Three Doshas
Ayurveda describes three body constitutions - Vata (air and space), Pitta (fire and water) and Kapha (earth and water). Each dosha has specific food needs. Our Ayurvedic cooking class in Rishikesh begins with a brief dosha introduction so you understand which ingredients and cooking methods support your own constitution.
Sattvic Food
The foundation of all Ayurvedic cooking classes we teach is sattvic food - pure, light and life-sustaining. Sattvic cooking avoids onion, garlic and excessive heat in favour of fresh vegetables, whole grains, ghee, lentils and healing herbs. This is the food traditionally eaten by yogis, monks and healers throughout the Himalayan region for centuries.
Healing Spices
Unlike conventional cooking, Ayurvedic cooking treats spices as medicine. Turmeric reduces inflammation; cumin aids digestion; fennel cools Pitta; cardamom calms the nervous system. In our Ayurvedic cooking course in Rishikesh, you will learn the therapeutic property of each spice before it goes into the pot - so you cook with intention, not just flavour.
Rishikesh is one of the few places in the world where Ayurvedic wisdom is still daily practice. The vendors in the bazaar know which herbs to brew for a cold. The temple kitchens have cooked sattvic food for pilgrims for centuries. Learning Ayurvedic cooking in this town, surrounded by people who actually live this way, is a different experience from reading about it online.
Meet Your Instructor
Nandini
Chef & Founder, Rishikesh Cooking
Nandini grew up cooking beside her grandmother in the Kumaon foothills - measuring spices by instinct, not by spoon. What began as a personal passion became a calling when travellers kept asking: “Can you teach me how you do that?”
Today she leads every class herself. Her teaching style is unhurried, patient and full of the kind of kitchen wisdom that only comes from decades of cooking for family. She has welcomed guests from over 40 countries and takes genuine delight in watching someone master their first perfectly-puffed chapati.
Nandini speaks fluent English and Hindi, and is happy to adapt any recipe for allergies or dietary preferences with prior notice.
What Our Guests Say
Find Us
We are located in the heart of Rishikesh, easily reachable from Laxman Jhula, Ram Jhula, and the main market. Our home kitchen is a calm, welcoming space just minutes from the Ganges.
Getting Here
- →Rishikesh, Uttarakhand, India
- →5 min drive from Laxman Jhula
- →10 min walk from Ram Jhula
- →Classes by appointment only