CHENNAI: What happens when fresh ingredients, delectable spices and a seasoned hand come together? It creates a mouth-watering dish. That’s what all those who attend the ‘The Grandmoms Go Gourmet’ sit-down dinner will experience first-hand as My Grandmom’s Kitchen and Chef Payal from The Gourmet Gig come together to bring you a traditional 5-course meal with a twist.
Chef Payal started The Gourmet Gig to create a unique customised dining experience for the people of Chennai. She said this dinner was one that is very special for more reasons than one. “This is my first public pop-up and I’m very excited but equally nervous,” she said. “It is going to be a special one also because it marks The Gourmet Gig’s one-year anniversary. When I started out, I was very unsure about whether it would work but it has been a year already! We have planned for a long community table for about 25-30 people at a beautiful venue and it is going to be a nice, cosy experience where diners can meet new people and enjoy good food.”
What is the twist then? It is that the menu uses products from My Grandmom’s Kitchen, an entrepreneurial venture by Arushi Gupta and Padma Kumar which aims to passionately spread homemade, healthy food from the hearts of grandmothers. They sell products made by Padma’s mother and mother-in-law Lakshmi K and Aswini B. Their prime focus is to ensure that people around the world get to taste these podis and chutneys that are not only tasty but also filled with multiple health benefits.
The products are made with Himalayan pink salt, cold-pressed oil and other ingredients filled with high nutrient value. Their products are ginger chutney, gongura chutney, curry leaves chutney, garlic podi, curry masala podi and idli podi.
“I have used their products like podis and chutneys before and it is very good,” Payal said. “We wanted to show that these podis and chutneys have a lot more character than just mixing it in rice and ghee. You can make meals out of it as well... I’ve been researching on my ancestral cuisine which is primarily Sindhi and Maharashtrian cuisine and while this menu consists of things like gongura and podis and is not my ancestral cuisine, I thought it would be a good place to start with with this theme to show that ancient recipes can be presented in a modern style.”
The menu took about four days to curate. Payal said her personal favourites are the appetisers like gongura lamb tart and vegetarian corn tempura. “The vegetarian corn tempura is something that I’ve been making for a long time now,” she explained. “It is delicious on its own but when you dust it with the garlic podi, it is phenomenal. I normally don’t like to repeat my dishes but I am repeating this one because I’d like people to taste it.”
Book your seats for a night of nostalgia as you experience a meal that presents old world charm for the modern palate!The dinner is scheduled on August 10 from 7.30 pm to 10.30 pm at Bungalow 12 (New no. 12, Old no. 15, 8th Cross St, Shastri Nagar, Adyar). The cost is `1,800 per head for vegetarians and `2,100 per head for non-vegetarians. To register, visit, mygrandmomskitchen.com