Durga cooks authentic South Indian vegetarian food that includes lentil, vegetable, and rice dishes rich with flavors and aromas of mustard, coconut, and black pepper. Using vegetables from her own organic garden, dishes may include poriyals (tempered, sautéed local vegetables) and kootu (vegetables with lentils and coconut). A classic Tamilian meal, the dishes are served in traditional earthen pots made from a south-Indian village potter and you will eat with your hands on a banana leaf when seasonally available or stainless steel thalis. Meals end with a traditional South Indian coffee that is filtered and brewed at home.

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If you have even the slightest curiosity about Ayurvedic cuisine, you will want to book a meal with Pratibha. You will taste a variety of dishes prepared consciously using Ayurvedic principles to be delicious, balanced and full of nourishment and vitality. I felt very welcome and at home. We discussed and shared many things about living fully. I also had the privilege of meeting 4 generations of Pratibha’s family. I was well fed on many levels!

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Run, don't walk to make a reservation to cook with Sundari. She is not only an excellent cook, but also a terrific and gracious woman. Everything was laid out and ready for our cooking lesson and she explained exactly what she was doing and how/why she was doing it. I can't think of a better way to spend an evening in Chennai. I was with her from 5 PM until 9 PM and had to be dragged away by my hotel driver. A great experience!!!

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Market Tour

An excellent event with nice food. Uma and her friend Mali (spelling?) were excellent hosts and their English was excellent - so we were able to have interesting and detailed discussions on a variety of subjects. The house can be difficult to find, so you or your driver will need a mobile phone to navigate the last 100 metres or so. Read more about Private South Indian Vegetarian Dining with a Local Near the Chennai Airport 2020 - https://www.viator.com/tours/Chennai/South-Indian-Vegetarian-home-cooked-meal-with-a-local-near-the-Chennai-airport/d4624-7626P493?mcid=56757

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Tara was a great host. It was really interesting talking with her. We communicated beforehand regarding the recipes and prepped our ingredients to the same point before we went on line. The food was delicious!

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Market Tour

Cheery Vijaya cooks a variety of predominately meat-based South Indian and western dishes in her home on the outskirts of Chennai such as peas pulao with rich chicken korma along with a vendakka (okra) fry and paper-thin dosas. If you prefer a more western theme, try her amazing roasted chicken or roast beef. Be sure to end your meal with her expertly prepared hot gulab jamun.

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Cooking Experience

Mary's dishes are a wonderful fusion of authentic Kerala and Tamil Nadu cuisine with modern influences. Cooking with virgin coconut oil to give her dishes a wonderfully unique and nutty flavor and alluring aroma, she uses recipes passed down by her grandmother. You may enjoy her delicious appams with a mouth-watering fish or hearty chicken stew or her delightful, fluffy yellow lemon rice with vegetable thoran, pachadi (a yoghurt and vegetable relish), papad, and pickle.

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Interested in South Indian cuisine and wanting to experience it authentically on site, Traveling Spoon took the children to experience Chettinad cuisine at Kamala's home on the outskirts of Chennai. In the cooking class, we cooked dishes using homemade recipes such as mixed vegetable soup, Chettinad chicken curry, shrimp curry (changed from the planned fried fish), rice and dosa, and the South Indian dessert "payasam." I was particularly impressed by the chicken curry, which was simple yet brought out the flavor of the ingredients and had a perfect balance with the spices. We also had the chance to try baking dosas, which was surprisingly difficult! I did it with a bang, but Kamala was very skilled. In the kitchen, we got to see cooking utensils and spice boxes unique to South India. It was fun learning about cultural differences and the ingenuity of everyday life that is rarely seen in Japan, such as how to drain rice and how to use a stone mill. At this cooking class, I didn't just learn how to cook, but I also got to experience the real background to Indian cuisine, such as the local lifestyle and way of thinking, the ingredients used, and the cooking environment, making it a truly valuable experience. I would wholeheartedly recommend this class to anyone who wants to learn how to cook in India or experience the excitement of a South Indian home!

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Market Tour

I loved everything I ate, but I was particularly fond of the tamarind rice, the vegetable curry, and her homemade mango chutney/pickle and curd. Everything was extremely fresh and flavorful, and everything had an interesting story behind it.

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We were greeted by Jyashree’s husband and were taken upstairs to their living area. The house was very well maintained and was full of Hindu tradition. Jyashree started with explaining the making of every dish she had prepared. We were served almost 15 different varieties of freshly prepared South Indian vegetarian food. Every single item tasted unbelievably delicious. My most favorite was the manga pachidi (a sweet and sour dish made of mangoes). Everything that she prepared was at the right consistency, spice level and quantity. We thoroughly enjoyed spending time with Jyashree and her husband and we think she’d be a wonderful host to all travelers!

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Market Tour

This class was a wonderful dive into traditional South Indian home cooking. The step-by-step guidance for preparing kootu, sambar, and poriyal was incredibly helpful, and the emphasis on using simple ingredients to build deep, comforting flavors was truly appreciated. It felt just like learning from an elder at home—thank you for such an authentic experience!

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My first cooking class. Our host family welcomed us warmly. The house was very nice and clean. During the lesson, we learned the requested sambar, rasam, vada, and carrot pickle. The recipe she gave me was simple but delicious. After the lesson, we ate the food we had cooked together with our host families. He was a kind teacher who talked to us a lot even though we were not good at English and taught us until we understood it. The teacher is a very reliable person. Thank you for a good time.

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Market Tour

Meena's cooking class was one of the best experiences we had in India. She was so welcoming, from sorting out a menu in advance (and handling our requests to do breakfast food) to answering all of our questions and making sure we got stuck in to the cooking. The food all tasted incredible (her sambar was particularly good, and unmatched in our time there), and we've been able to reproduce it after we got home thanks to her foolproof instructions!

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Market Tour