Sahar Rizvi, founder of Cleveland Masala, came to the United States as a newlywed. She didn’t know how to cook Indian traditional meals. She didn’t even know how to cook. During a time when a quick video call across oceans wasn’t available, Sahar taught herself to cook.

Using cookbooks and her knowledge of what Indian food “should” taste like, she taught herself how to cook the traditional food that brought so much comfort to her and her family.

Today, Sahar understands that food is the biggest connection to our family, to our people, and to ourselves. It’s our comfort.

But in the United States, so many people were lacking this experience. Hearing people tell her about how much they love Indian food but feel intimidated to cook at home, Sahar wanted to demystify and make it accessible. She is on a mission to put Indian spices in its deserving place in our pantry, and getting people started into cooking simple nourishing Indian meals.

Cleveland Masala was born out of this desire – not only to provide cooking lessons, but also to create a storytelling, cultural experience. Many of us will never travel to India, but you can with Sahar’s unique enriching, immersive experiences.

After offering her Indian cuisine classes and in-home experiences, Sahar also realized that this was a way to bring people together from all walks of life. Connecting with strangers over food always builds a community, and what better way to do that than to immerse them in the Indian culture, scents, and tastes?

Most of all, Sahar realized that, in sharing her food values, our relationship with food and our bodies is missing in many of our lives. This led her to Ayurveda, an ancient medicine system that focuses on mind, body, and spirit. While practices like yoga focus on the body and meditation for the mind, not as many resources focus on the impact that food has on all three. Using her experience as a certified health coach, and ayurvedic wellness counsellor, Sahar helps individuals understand how food and culinary experiences can improve their health and wellness.