Chennai Market Tour & Cooking Class in a Local Home with Meena

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Host Bio: Meena 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. Meal Description: 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. Cooking Description: In your 2-hour hands-on South Indian cooking class in Chennai learn to make a curry, seasonal vegetable, and dessert. 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 have 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. Market Tour Description: Meet Meena at her apartment before you leave for the Mylapore vegetable and fruit market, by rickshaw or taxi. The market in Mylapore is 2 km 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.