Meet Meena at her apartment before you leave for the Mylapore vegetable and fruit market, by rickshaw or taxi. The market in Mylapore is 2kms away, where they sell vegetables, fruits, flowers, traditional items for pooja (religious ceremony) and decorative items for the house. Walk around this busy, bustling, local market and visit Meena’s favorite shops. You might buy a few ingredients for your cooking class, before returning home to cook and eat.
Meena lives in Alwarpet, just walking distance from hotels like Crowne Plaza and Raintree. You can expect to taste an authentic vegetarian South Indian meal cooked using family recipes, local spices and seasonal vegetables. Your meal will be served the traditional way on banana leaves. A few dishes that you might try are kuzhambu (lentil curry), lemon or ginger or garlic rasam (spiced soup), kootu or avial or olan (vegetables cooked in a coconut gravy) and rice. End your meal with an Indian dessert such as payasam (milk pudding) or sakkara pongal (sweet made with jaggery and lentils) or kesari (South Indian dessert made with semolina) and filter coffee. After your meal if you're interested in learning to make a rangoli (art in which patterns are created on the floor using colored powder), please let Meena know she will be happy to teach you.
In your 2-hour hands-on South Indian cooking class in Chennai learn to make a curry, seasonal vegetable and desert. Start your experience with an introduction to spices used in South Indian cooking and then proceed to roast and grind fresh powders you will need to make the curry like sambar or rasam. Meena will share with you dishes and recipes she learned to cook from her grandmother, which has been passed down through generations. While you cook, she will also share stories, culinary traditions and tips and tricks to cook an authentic South Indian vegetarian meal. After cooking sit down to share the meal you helped prepare.
Meena offers a vegetarian meal. In case you would like to eat South Indian breakfast dishes like dosa, idli, upma or pongal, please let Meena in advance while booking your Chennai cooking class online.
This is just a sample menu to give you an idea of the types of dishes the host cooks. Your menu will vary according to seasonal availability.
Payasam (milk pudding) or sakkara pongal (sweet made with jaggery and lentils) or kesari (South Indian dessert made with semolina)RiceKootu or avial or olan (vegetables cooked in a coconut gravy)Lemon or ginger or garlic rasam (spiced soup)Sambar ( vegetables & lentil curry)Filter coffeeMeena hails from Tirunelveli, a city in South India famous for its delectable food. She learned to cook from her grandmother, mother and mother-in-law, who are all experts in cooking traditional South Indian dishes! Meena has enjoyed hosting friends and family at home and now is excited to welcome travelers and introduce them to authentic South Indian cuisine. She has been conducting cooking classes at home for locals, where she enjoys sharing her knowledge, recipes and culinary skills.
"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!"
"Meena is a lovely lady. We had an amazing experience together. We went together to the
local market, she cooked some delicious food for us at her homr and explained well every
step. I definitely recommend this experience :)"
"A thoroughly enjoyable late afternoon/ early evening enjoyed by us both. We were welcomed by Meena with a refreshing rose and basil seed drink and under her expert teaching created 6 southern Indians dishes with her. We both learnt extensively about techniques, ingredients and presentation. She delivered in such a style which we will seek to emulate in making these fishes at home. The dishes we made were absolutely delicious ! Thank you Meena for an unforgettable experience. Linda & Paul UK"
"It was a great experience learning from her. She contacted me immediately after I applied for the cooking class on TripAdvisor, asked me in detail what I wanted to learn, and made me feel comfortable on the day of the class. She kindly taught us how to prepare traditional South Indian dishes and the different benefits of spices. I am truly grateful to her for giving me this opportunity. I would highly recommend her cooking class not only to those who are interested in cooking but also to those who want to enjoy their stay in South India."
