Vegetarian South Indian meal in Chennai with a passionate home baker

Meet Vidhya

Vidhya hails from a traditional brahmin iyer family and has been an eggless home baker for many years. She has been conducting baking classes and now would also like to teach travelers to cook a traditional South Indian meal. Vidhya was born in Thirunalveli, raised in New Delhi and then moved to Chennai after marriage. Her cooking is influenced by all the beautiful cities she has lived in. She is a culinary enthusiast whose heart resides in the tantalizing world of flavors and spices – she loves to experiment with tastes, textures, and techniques. The sizzle of spices, the aroma of freshly cooked food, and the joy of creating something delicious from scratch - these are the things that fuel Vidhya’s culinary creativity. She learned to cook as a child and has been a professional home baker since 2012. She is multifaceted – from conducting workshops, to offering baking classes, from executing party orders to hosting a show on YouTube, she does it all!

When asked why she would like to be a Traveling Spoon host, this is what Vidhya had to say, “Cooking isn't just a hobby for me; it's an art form, a creative expression that allows me to weave magic in the kitchen. I want to teach people who are interested in learning.”

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) For a meal at Vidhya’s home, you can except to try a traditional vegetarian South Indian meal, where you will eat with your hands from banana leaves. You will be served a simple everyday meal, something you will find in most brahmin iyer homes in Chennai. Share a local, seasonal, home cooked meal that may include dishes such as rice, seasonal vegetables, lentils, homemade curd, pickle and papad. End your meal with a delicious Indian dessert such as paysam (milk pudding) and South Indian filter coffee.

Cooking experience: (1-5 guests) Whether you're a novice in the kitchen or an experienced home cook, there's something for everyone to learn and enjoy. In Vidhya’s South Indian cooking class, she will share her culinary experiments, innovative recipes, and cooking tips with food enthusiasts. In your 1 hour hands-on cooking class learn to cook a lentil curry like sambar or rasam or kootu (lentil and vegetable stew) and an Indian dessert. One very unique thing about cooking with Vidhya is that she uses earthen pots (kal chatti) to cook, which is an age-old cooking mechanism – it retains heat, uses less gas and leaves a rich flavorful taste. While you learn to cook a few popular vegetarian dishes from South India, Vidhya will share tips and tricks which were passed on to her by her mother and grandmother. After you cook, sit down together to share the dishes you helped prepare.

Market visit: (1-5 guests) Meet Vidhya and her daughter at their home and then walk for 10 minutes to the Adyar departmental store. Please note that this isn’t a traditional market tour but a visit to a grocery store from where Vidhya buys her grains, lentils and spices. Walk through the store while Vidhya introduces you to the ingredients used in South Indian cooking. You might even buy a few ingredients that you need for your cooking class. While you walk back to Vidhya’s home you will pass by roadside shops selling earthen pots, vegetables, and flowers. You will also stop by a shop and see how they freshly ground coffee powder, wheat flour and make wood pressed oils.

Notes: Vidhya can accommodate lactose free, gluten free, vegetarian and vegan diets, on request. So please let her know if you have any dietary restrictions in advance, while booking your Chennai cooking class online. If you would like to be served breakfast items instead of a typical South Indian lunch, Vidhya can also make idli, dosa, adai, uthappam or paniyarams, so please let her know your preference in advance.

Languages spoken: Tamil, Hindi and English

Sample menu

• Sambar or Rasam (spiced lentil curry)
• Seasonal vegetable (Beans/Cabbage/Brinjal/Snake Gourd)
• Rice (Coconut/Lemon/Brinjal/Tamarind/Capsicum)
• Home made curd or buttermilk, papad and pickle
• Kesari (semolina sweet pudding) or Payasam (milk pudding)
• South Indian filter coffee

Traveler reviews

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.

- Sherpa09683668086 February 29, 2024