Home chef Preethi Raghunandan brings the flavours of Tamil homes to Hyderabad
Home chef Preethi Raghunandan is hosting a Tamil food festival in Hyderabad, drawing on her diverse regional upbringing and culinary philosophy. She emphasizes that her cooking is inspired by family traditions rather than a strict adherence to 'authentic' recipes.
Why it matters
The story highlights the cultural significance of regional home cooking and the evolving landscape of the Indian culinary scene.
Home chef Preethi Raghunandan has a simple cooking philosophy: prepare food with love and genuine interest, and it will show on the plate.
A finalist in the top five of MasterChef India Tamil (2024), Preethi does not claim authenticity for any dish she cooks. Her reason is simple: every household has its own way of preparing food. “You can follow the same recipe and use the same ingredients, yet the outcome will never be identical,” she says. “It will be good, or perhaps even better, but different.”
Her food is rooted in nostalgia and fuelled by an enduring love for cooking and learning about new cuisines. “I grew up eating food prepared by my grandmother, as I lost both my parents at a young age. That’s where my love for food began,” she says.
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