LITTLE ROCK, Ark.

THE aroma of sautéed onion and pepper wafted from a converted two-story office space next to a shopping center here. The ingredients were to be combined with red lentils, scallions and parsley, then molded into balls and wrapped in lettuce leaves, an appetizer from Oktay Usta, a famous Turkish chef.

Hilal Cansizoglu, a 28-year-old Ph.D. candidate at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, was teaching this recipe in a class with two friends to introduce Americans to Turkish cuisine.

Ms. Cansizoglu, who moved here two years ago from Dallas with her husband, said it was a way to help her get used to living in the United States.

“This also makes me feel attached to people here,” she said.

Such cooking classes have sprung up across the south-central part of the country in the last several years. Meeting weekly, groups of women cook a meal, eat, and share stories and recipes for cultural dishes.