Traditional vegetarian cooking in Chennai with locals

Meet Gayathri

Gayathri was raised by her grandma, who was an expert cook - she hailed from Thanjavur, which boasts of a rich and unique food culture that Thanjavureans are very proud of! It is from her grandmother that Gayathri learned to cook - she happily recounts, “as a child, with not much entertainment to distract myself, I would regularly join her in the kitchen and watch her throw in various ingredients with great ease, and how magically it turned into the most aromatic dish.” Apart from her family recipes, Gayathri also has a large collection of recipes that she cut out from weekly magazines as young as a 15-year-old – who was often seen in the kitchen experimenting with ingredients and recipes she collected. Now with two teen boys, a husband who loves experimenting with food, and parents who gleam with joy and pride, Gayathri has a large audience to cook, who thoroughly enjoy her experiments in the kitchen. Apart from cooking, she is also very curious to learn about different cultures and is deeply interested in history. Gayathri and her family are travel enthusiasts and have enjoyed hosting friends from different parts of the world. And now she is excited to meet travelers and introduce them to South Indian cuisine and culture.

What to expect

Please note menu might vary. If there are particular dishes you are interested in trying, please include your request in the booking form.

In-home meal (1 - 5 guests) Gayathri says that in her home food is the very first thing they discuss in the morning! She takes pride in cooking all the meals for her family and making her own snacks and homemade spice powders. She hails from a Tamil brahmin family and they only cook vegetarian food at home. For a meal at Gayathri’s home, you can except to try a traditional, vegetarian meal while seated on the floor, eating with your hands from banana leaves. You will be served a simple meal that Gayathri and her family eat at home, it will include rice, vegetables, a curry, homemade curd, pickle and papad. A few dishes that you might try are sambhar (a tangy lentil soup with vegetables to eaten with hot rice and ghee (clarified butter)), poriyal (stir fried vegetables cooked with mild spices and coconut) and kuzhi paniyaram (rice dumplings) served with kaara chutney (tomato onion chutney simmered with mild spices). End your meal with some delicious filter coffee.

Cooking experience (1 - 5 guests) In your South Indian cooking class in Chennai, learn to cook one main dish and one side dish. In your 1.5-hour, hands-on cooking class Gayathri will also teach you about the various medicinal herbs used in a traditional Tamil brahmin kitchen. You will also cook in traditional vessels, such as kal chatti (soap stone vessel), eeya chombu (tin alloy vessel) or mann chatti (terracotta vessel) – depending on the dish you will be cooking. To make the tomato-onion chutney you will also use a traditional stone grinder. Chop, stir, fry, learn about local ingredients, spices and some tip and tricks, before you sit down to share the meal you helped prepare.

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