Dine in a Local Home: A Taste of South India in Gurgaon

Uma is a doting wife and mother whose husband and children inspire and motivate her to cook and innovative with food. She is a self-taught baker and tries to bring in the right balance of taste, nutrition and presentation to all her dishes. Having worked as a school teacher for more than five years, she understands child psychology and the role food plays in influencing eating habits. The proof of this is the excitement she brings to “lunchbox recipes,” which are a hit not only with her children and their friends but also those who follow her blog.

Uma lives in a simple apartment in Gurgaon with her husband, daughter, and son. She loves gardening and has a small terrace garden where she grows different herbs that she uses in her cooking. As you settle in you will enjoy a welcome drink panagam (a drink made with jaggery, raw sugar) and snack on some mini idlis (savory cakes) with chutney as Uma tells you all about South Indian food. She will show you the spices and masalas that she uses in her cooking, most which she prefers to mix at home.

Your meal will be served in the traditional way on banana leaves and might include dishes such as tamarind rice, coconut rice, mint pulao (Uma’s mother’s special dish) served with achari tomato raita (yogurt), garlic and pepper rasam (a tangy tamarind soup), appalam (a savory pancake made with fermented rice batter), urulai roast (potato), paruppu usili (bean and sweet pepper dish) and end your meal with curd rice, pickle and payasam (rice pudding).

Please note, this is not a professionally guided experience, rather this is an opportunity to visit an authentic, local home to meet a local person and share the culture and cuisine together.