Private Sri Lankan Cooking Class in Colombo with a Grandmother

Cook traditional Sri Lankan curries in a grandmother's kitchen and eat what you made

A private cooking class in a local Colombo home where you learn to make 3-5 traditional Sri Lankan dishes from host Mohara, a grandmother who teaches family recipes in her own kitchen. You'll work hands-on for about two hours (rolling curry leaves, grinding spices, scraping coconut), then sit down to eat the meal together at her dining table. The class runs three hours total and includes the lunch or dinner you help prepare.

The experience

You arrive at Mohara's home in Colombo and step into her kitchen, where she teaches you how to make dishes like chicken curry, mallung (greens seasoned with coconut), sambol, and seasonal vegetable gravies. This is not a demonstration you watch from the side. You pick curry leaves from her tree, use a grinding stone to make sambol, scrape fresh coconut by hand, and work alongside her staff to build each dish. The cooking takes about two hours, and Mohara guides you through the logic of Sri Lankan spicing: how the color of a curry shifts with the ingredients at hand, which vegetables pair with which seasonings, what makes the flavors work.

After you finish cooking, you sit at Mohara's dining table and eat the meal you prepared together. The menu shifts with what is in season and what Mohara decides to teach that day. You might make lentils and rice, a vegetable gravy built around lotus root or beetroot, and finish with kiri pani, a traditional dessert of yoghurt and treacle. If you book the market option, you visit Colpetty market first, an indoor market packed with fresh fruit, vegetables and seafood, where Mohara introduces you to regional produce and vegetables you may not have seen before. The whole experience (market, cooking and eating) fits inside three hours.

You choose at checkout whether you want lunch or dinner, and whether to add the market tour. Vegetarian options are available. The class is entirely private, just you and Mohara in her home kitchen, with instruction in English.

What’s included

• Private cooking class with host Mohara in her home kitchen.
• hands-on instruction in how to make 3-5 traditional Sri Lankan dishes from family recipes.
• the lunch or dinner you prepare together.
• gratuities.
• market tour if you choose the market option at checkout.

Options for this experience

3 options

Cooking + dinnerGuide in English · 16:00

Cooking + lunchGuide in English · 10:00

Market visit, cooking, and lunchGuide in English · 09:00Private market tour: Discover the bustling Colpetty market, where Mohara introduces you to regional produce you may never have encountered before. Duration: 4 hours. The market portion lasts roughly an hour. Afterward, you drive to Mohara's home to start the cooking class.

You'll see the exact price of each option when you check availability.See dates and prices

Before you book

Days and timesEvery dayDepartures at 09:00, 10:00 and 16:00

Book up to1d before

AgesAdult (12 and older) · Child (5 to 11 years) · Infant (under 5): free

GroupPrivate

Live guideEnglish

Meeting point and pickupNo hotel pickup: you go to the meeting point. Ends back at the starting point.

Cancellation and refundsFree cancellation up to 24 h before the start. After that, no refund.

ConfirmationConfirmation within 48 h

Prices and times updated 8 days ago

Good to know

Stroller-friendlyPets welcome

Operated by Traveling Spoon

Is this one for you?Book this if you want to spend a free afternoon learning to cook rather than eating out. You'll leave with recipes you can make at home and a sense of how Sri Lankan spicing actually works. The private format means Mohara teaches at your pace and can adjust dishes to suit your tastes or dietary needs.

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Top questions

Can children come?

Yes. Ticket types: Child (5 to 11 years); Infant (under 5): free.

What dishes do you actually make in Mohara's kitchen?

The menu changes based on the season and what Mohara teaches that day, but typically includes chicken curry with rice, mallung (greens seasoned with coconut), sambol made with a grinding stone, seasonal vegetables in gravy, lentils, and kiri pani, a traditional dessert of yoghurt and treacle. You work hands-on to prepare each one.

Do you need cooking experience to join this class?

No. Mohara teaches from the ground up: how to pick and use curry leaves, how to scrape fresh coconut, how to judge the color and flavor of a curry as it cooks. The class is designed for anyone who wants to learn, regardless of skill.

What is Colpetty market like if you add the market tour option?

Colpetty market is an indoor market in Colombo filled with fresh fruit, vegetables and seafood. On the market tour, Mohara walks you through it and points out regional Sri Lankan produce, including vegetables you may not have encountered before, so you understand the ingredients you'll use in the cooking class.

How long does the whole experience take?

The cooking class itself runs three hours. If you add the market tour, that time includes both the market visit and the cooking and meal, so the total is still three hours.

Do you eat what you cook, or is it just a demonstration?

You eat together. After the two-hour cooking session, you sit at Mohara's dining table and share the meal you prepared with her and her staff.