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Host: Kamala

Chennai (Madras), India

USD
$21-$57 per person

Traditional Chettinad cuisine at the Chennai seashore

Host offerings
  • House
  • Home cook
  • Pets
  • Vegetarian
  • Alcohol
  • Transportation
  • Cooking class
  • Market visit
  • Food tour

Meet Kamala

Kamala, a member of the trading community of the Chettinad region, lives within walking distance to the beach and a short drive to Dakshinchitra, a cultural heritage center that showcases the homes of South India. She enjoys introducing travelers to the flavors of Chettinad cuisine. Please NOTE that Kamala lives about 40-50 min outside of Chennai.

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: (1-6 guests) After your long drive, relax in Kamala's traditionally decorated home before enjoying a traditional Chettinad meal. The Chettinad region of Tamil Nadu is famous for its focus on aromatic flavors and use of freshly ground spices in predominately non-vegetarian dishes. Your menu may include dishes such as Chettinad chicken, minced mutton nuggets, egg dosa, fish curry, jackfruit masala, and one of our favorites, piping hot dosas (roasted, rice pancakes) fresh off the griddle, all served on a fresh banana leaf.

Cooking experience: (1-6 guests) Kamala will teach you to prepare two or three traditional Chettinad dishes, including how to pour dosas, a savory roasted crepe prepared from fermented rice and lentil batter, a Chennai food specialty. Your hands-on cooking lesson will last about 1-2 hours before you sit down at her dining table and enjoy the meal you helped prepare. Kamala is excited to share her culture through food and offer an authentic/traditional cooking class in Chennai. She can also accommodate vegetarian diet on request in her Indian cooking class.

Market visit: (1-6 guests) Meet Kamala at home before embarking on a visit of the local vegetable market, a 15 minute drive from Kamala's house which is open between 7am-12pm and 5pm-7pm. Please note that the market is closed on the last Friday of every month. If you're interested in visiting the local fish market instead or in addition, it is 5 minutes away and is only open in the morning from 10am-12pm.

Notes: Kamala's home is about 1 hour outside of central Chennai by car, so please leave enough time for the drive. Her home is en route to Mahabalipuram, Chennai's popular tourist sight of the coastal temples of the Pallava Kings. Her home is 5 minutes away from the beach and 20 minutes away from Dakshinachitra, a beautiful open-air museum of South Indian heritage and culture.

Languages spoken: English, Tamil

Traveler reviews

5.0 (4)
Kamala was an amazing cook and a teacher. I went with my daughter and we both learned so much. I highly recommend this course to experience the culture.
- HirokoC January 09, 2024
It's one-on-one cooking, so you can ask what you want to ask, and it's good that you can do it at your own pace. (translated by Google)
- スパイス January 14, 2023
A fantastic insight in to south Indian life, culture and food with the wonderful Kamala. Our experience with Kamala started with her collecting us from our hotel in Chennai which was a lovely touch of hospitality. She then spoke with us openly and in such a friendly, familiar manner as her driver took us out of the city and dropped us off at a local fruits and vegetables market where we collected items for our meal at lunchtime. We asked Kamala lots of questions and she introduced us to many new items. It was an excellent opportunity to wander through a local market that we would never have stumbled across without a local and a driver! We stopped off at a fishmongers and a convenience store to collect some bottled water before heading back to Kamala's beautiful home next to the seashore. It is here where she explained her way through many delicious dishes - always going the extra mile to accommodate us (I had shown interest in cooking a jackfruit masala curry in our emails beforehand and as it was out of season, she managed to fetch us one from her local village outside of the city!) We helped Kamala cook some delicious and previously unknown dishes, exploring new ingredients and cooking methods and utensils along the way. We enjoyed a lunchtime feast of jackfruit masala, red snapper curry in the tangiest tamarind-infused sauce, dosa (plain, masala and egg), coriander chutney and a ‘drumstick’ veg dhal – all on banana leaves. We enjoyed all of these delicious foods with Kamala, chatting about life in south India. My partner, sister and I can't rate this experience more highly – if in Chennai, this is a must and Kamala is simply wonderful.
- jsht89 December 10, 2019
Kamala (= lotus flower) a great cooking teacher. Great explanation about products and about typical Chennai dishes. His house is fantastic, many of us would like to have such a house. Very but very happy with this experience and I will surely repeat next year. My English is not very good, I am Spanish, and I had a great time, I learned a lot.
- Marta F October 31, 2019
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Kamala

$21-$57 USD

per person
100% VETTED
Learn more
  • No waiting! Booking confirmed instantly
  • 100% satisfaction guarantee or your money back
  • Private experience
Pricing (per person)*
1 person 2-4 ppl 5+ ppl
In-Home Meal
$27 $23 $21
Cooking Experience + Meal
$42 $38 $32
Market Tour+ Cooking Experience + Meal
$57 $48 $38
Transportation
$27 per car
*Does not include 3% payment processing fee applied at checkout.
1 person 2-4 people 5+ people
In-Home Meal
$27 $23 $21
Cooking Experience + Meal
$42 $38 $32
Market Tour+ Cooking Experience + Meal
$57 $48 $38
Transportation
$27 per car
*Does not include 3% payment processing fee applied at checkout.
Experience Timings
Lunch Dinner
In-Home Meal
11:00am-1:00pm 5:00pm-7:00pm
Cooking Experience+ Meal
9:30am-12:30pm 5:00pm-8:00pm
Market Tour+ Cooking Experience + Meal
9:00am-2:00pm 4:00pm-9:00pm

Meet Kamala

Kamala, a member of the trading community of the Chettinad region, lives within walking distance to the beach and a short drive to Dakshinchitra, a cultural heritage center that showcases the homes of South India. She enjoys introducing travelers to the flavors of Chettinad cuisine. Please NOTE that Kamala lives about 40-50 min outside of Chennai.

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: (1-6 guests) After your long drive, relax in Kamala's traditionally decorated home before enjoying a traditional Chettinad meal. The Chettinad region of Tamil Nadu is famous for its focus on aromatic flavors and use of freshly ground spices in predominately non-vegetarian dishes. Your menu may include dishes such as Chettinad chicken, minced mutton nuggets, egg dosa, fish curry, jackfruit masala, and one of our favorites, piping hot dosas (roasted, rice pancakes) fresh off the griddle, all served on a fresh banana leaf.

Cooking experience: (1-6 guests) Kamala will teach you to prepare two or three traditional Chettinad dishes, including how to pour dosas, a savory roasted crepe prepared from fermented rice and lentil batter, a Chennai food specialty. Your hands-on cooking lesson will last about 1-2 hours before you sit down at her dining table and enjoy the meal you helped prepare. Kamala is excited to share her culture through food and offer an authentic/traditional cooking class in Chennai. She can also accommodate vegetarian diet on request in her Indian cooking class.

Market visit: (1-6 guests) Meet Kamala at home before embarking on a visit of the local vegetable market, a 15 minute drive from Kamala's house which is open between 7am-12pm and 5pm-7pm. Please note that the market is closed on the last Friday of every month. If you're interested in visiting the local fish market instead or in addition, it is 5 minutes away and is only open in the morning from 10am-12pm.

Notes: Kamala's home is about 1 hour outside of central Chennai by car, so please leave enough time for the drive. Her home is en route to Mahabalipuram, Chennai's popular tourist sight of the coastal temples of the Pallava Kings. Her home is 5 minutes away from the beach and 20 minutes away from Dakshinachitra, a beautiful open-air museum of South Indian heritage and culture.

Languages spoken: English, Tamil

Traveler reviews

5.0 (4)
Kamala was an amazing cook and a teacher. I went with my daughter and we both learned so much. I highly recommend this course to experience the culture.
- HirokoC January 09, 2024
It's one-on-one cooking, so you can ask what you want to ask, and it's good that you can do it at your own pace. (translated by Google)
- スパイス January 14, 2023
A fantastic insight in to south Indian life, culture and food with the wonderful Kamala. Our experience with Kamala started with her collecting us from our hotel in Chennai which was a lovely touch of hospitality. She then spoke with us openly and in such a friendly, familiar manner as her driver took us out of the city and dropped us off at a local fruits and vegetables market where we collected items for our meal at lunchtime. We asked Kamala lots of questions and she introduced us to many new items. It was an excellent opportunity to wander through a local market that we would never have stumbled across without a local and a driver! We stopped off at a fishmongers and a convenience store to collect some bottled water before heading back to Kamala's beautiful home next to the seashore. It is here where she explained her way through many delicious dishes - always going the extra mile to accommodate us (I had shown interest in cooking a jackfruit masala curry in our emails beforehand and as it was out of season, she managed to fetch us one from her local village outside of the city!) We helped Kamala cook some delicious and previously unknown dishes, exploring new ingredients and cooking methods and utensils along the way. We enjoyed a lunchtime feast of jackfruit masala, red snapper curry in the tangiest tamarind-infused sauce, dosa (plain, masala and egg), coriander chutney and a ‘drumstick’ veg dhal – all on banana leaves. We enjoyed all of these delicious foods with Kamala, chatting about life in south India. My partner, sister and I can't rate this experience more highly – if in Chennai, this is a must and Kamala is simply wonderful.
- jsht89 December 10, 2019
Kamala (= lotus flower) a great cooking teacher. Great explanation about products and about typical Chennai dishes. His house is fantastic, many of us would like to have such a house. Very but very happy with this experience and I will surely repeat next year. My English is not very good, I am Spanish, and I had a great time, I learned a lot.
- Marta F October 31, 2019
Pricing (per person)*
1 person 2-4 ppl 5+ ppl
In-Home Meal
$27 $23 $21
Cooking Experience + Meal
$42 $38 $32
Market Tour+ Cooking Experience + Meal
$57 $48 $38
Transportation
$27 per car
*Does not include 3% payment processing fee applied at checkout.
1 person 2-4 people 5+ people
In-Home Meal
$27 $23 $21
Cooking Experience + Meal
$42 $38 $32
Market Tour+ Cooking Experience + Meal
$57 $48 $38
Transportation
$27 per car
*Does not include 3% payment processing fee applied at checkout.
Experience Timings
Lunch Dinner
In-Home Meal
11:00am-1:00pm 5:00pm-7:00pm
Cooking Experience+ Meal
9:30am-12:30pm 5:00pm-8:00pm
Market Tour+ Cooking Experience + Meal
9:00am-2:00pm 4:00pm-9:00pm
ABOUT TRAVELING SPOON

Traveling Spoon connects you with meaningful culinary experiences, from private cooking lessons to homecooked meals in people's homes. Enjoy an immersive cultural experience that gives you a glimpse into the local way of life.

FAQ

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