Meet Srividya at Rasi Silks (popular saree store) in Mylapore and Srividya will give you a tour of the local Mylapore market, a lively and bustling street market. The market houses the Kapaleeshwara temple and dozens of shops that sell everything from flowers, fruits, vegetables, spices, utensils to jewelry, garments and toys. Shopping at Mylapore is a quintessential Chennai shopping experience! Walk around this market with your host Srividya and soak in all the sights, smells and tastes. Sip on South Indian coffee from a local vendor. If you also booked a cooking class, you might purchase ghee or vegetables for your cooking class before Srividya drives you back to her home.
A meal in Srividya’s home presents a taste of Tamil Nadu served on a vibrant banana leaf (when seasonably available). You can expect to taste seasonal dishes such as vegetable curries, fish curry, dosas (South Indian-style crispy crepes), pillowy idlis (fluffy, savory cakes), kozhukattai (South Indian dumplings) made from a variety of flour, tamarind rice or curd rice, and her homemade mango pickle.
South India has an immense culinary heritage and the range of dishes you taste at Srividya's table reflect this bounty. Your meal will showcase the diversity and unique dishes from a range of cuisines, like Mudaliar and Tamilian Brahmin cooking.
Join Srividya in the kitchen to learn to make two to three South Indian Tamilian dishes from scratch. You will learn to use spices such as mustard seeds, coconut and black pepper in Srividya's kitchen as you cook traditional curries and rice. After cooking, enjoy the dishes you helped prepare with Srividya at her dining table along with a few other dishes that Srividya will have prepared in advance.
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.
Tamarind riceMango pickle Seasonal vegetable poriyal (stir fried vegetables tempered with coconut and mustard)Dosas with sambarVada (fried lentil dumplings served with homemade chutney)Srividya worked for many years in the luxury hotel industry and relishes the opportunity to introduce her guests to South India's cultural and culinary traditions. She lives in a cozy, immaculately clean apartment with her husband, mother and two children, all of whom are self-described foodies who love to cook together as a family. She delights in preparing fresh, healthy meals using locally grown vegetables and ingredients. She enjoys the balance of a complete meal that has variety in terms of flavors, nutrition, pace, texture, and digestion. You will sense her pride as she shares interesting anecdotes and stories that highlight the traditions and science behind the foods you will enjoy at her table. Srividya is a vegetarian but she occasionally prepares meat for her family members.
“Food is my way of connecting with people and hosting with Traveling Spoon makes my world happier.”
"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."
"Her cooking class was awesome.
I had a lot of requests, and they accommodated all of them, and I was very satisfied with the lesson.
The food was served on a large banana leaf, and all of the dishes were delicious.
Pickle taught me how to make two different types.
I would definitely like to take her lessons again.
I highly recommend taking her lessons when she comes to Chennai."
"We had a fantastic experience with Srividya. She contacted us to understand what we want. As my wife is deeply into Southern Indian Cusine, we made some requests and she covered them very well.
It was great to learn authentic home style southern Indian cusine. My wife asked many questions and she answered all on them in details. Sirividya is very nice and plesant person to communicate. We wish to come back again in the future."
"Srividya was a great host. We enjoyed the conversation around recipes, traditions and cooking hacks. She has a lovely house and very knowledgeable about the different styles of cooking across India. Finally she is also a great cook, and made really delicious items for us."
