I’m fairly new to Nextdoor. I only became active in January when I started posting Bobcat Gazette articles, but one poster quickly stood out to me: Sanjay Patel, a resident of the Village of Oak Creek. Sanjay began offering free weekly Indian cooking classes to anyone interested. I followed his posts for a while, intrigued, though it took me a few months to finally reach out to coordinate a cooking class time.
What pushed me was a sudden craving for Indian food that even a couple of trips to Himalayan Grill in Flagstaff couldn’t satisfy. It reminded me of the mindset many of us had during COVID—if you can’t find exactly what you want, why not learn to make it yourself? So I contacted Sanjay with a request to learn two dishes, Chana Masala and Aloo Gobi and he readily agreed.
I’m not entirely new to the cuisine. My son is Hare Krishna, and I’ve traveled to India twice and Nepal once, so I’m familiar with many of the dishes. Still, my own attempts—like a chana masala that never quite tasted right—left plenty of room for improvement. After a few emails back and forth, I gathered the necessary ingredients and spices and prepared for my lesson.
I hung on Sanjays every word as he explained why fresh spices are always best, what combniations are important, how to time putting in the ingrediants, and what I needed to stock my kitchen.He even gave me a spice starter pack.
But what I discovered through Sanjay wasn’t just about cooking—it was about something deeper.
Sanjay approaches his classes with a philosophy rooted in service and generosity. “The world has always needed love, compassion, forgiveness—even time,” he told me. “I will teach people all I know. My prayer is that they will then give.”
For him, cooking is not just a skill to pass on, but a way to connect and care for others. “The greatest joy I get is cooking and dropping off food for neighbors,” he said. “It does my heart good, and they are immensely grateful.” He even thinks about extending that kindness further, to strangers in everyday places like outside Safeway.
Despite his efforts, Sanjay remains humble, even questioning whether he could do more. “The country has given so much,” he reflected. “I always feel I haven’t done enough.”
He admits that while many people express interest in learning and he has hosted 50 to 60 people so far, few follow through. Still, his vision remains hopeful: if even a small group of people learned to cook and shared that knowledge—or simply shared a meal—with others in need, the impact could ripple outward.
His message is simple and practical. “Can you carve out some time to help? Maybe 30 minutes for someone in your neighborhood who is alone and could use your company. It’s not going to cost you a penny—it’s just 30 minutes of your life.”
Sanjay points to a well-known sentiment often attributed to Mother Teresa: "A life not lived for others is not a life fully lived."
Whether through teaching, cooking, or simply showing up for someone, he’s putting that idea into practice—one meal at a time, and it's simply delicious.