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.
Preethi, now a food consultant and popular as a chef for Tamil food is in Hyderabad for Virundhu, a Tamil food festival at Mazzo, Marriott Executive Apartments Hyderabad, which runs until August 9.
Originally from Chennai, Preethi’s childhood was spread across South India. She was born in Andhra Pradesh, moved to Coimbatore, spent a brief period in Kerala, and eventually settled in Chennai. Those experiences shaped her understanding of regional food, and reinforced why she avoids calling any dish “authentic.”
“Indian food changes from one home to another,” she says. “I still can’t recreate the flavours of my grandmother’s cooking, even though that’s what inspired me to cook in the first place.”
Fish fry
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Special Arrangement
Preethi recalls growing up without sweets. Her diabetic grandmother kept both sugar and polished rice out of the kitchen, so meals revolved around millets and simple, wholesome food.
Her culinary philosophy is firmly rooted in the traditions of Tamil Nadu. With over 15 years of experience creating memorable dining experiences, she also briefly ran the cloud kitchen Villa 51 during the pandemic. That deep affection for regional recipes and family traditions is evident throughout the Virundhu pop-up.
Even the ritual of serving a meal is treated with reverence. The banana leaf, she explains, must be placed with its tapered end pointing to the left and the glossy side facing up. “And no meal is complete without something sweet and something salty on the leaf,” she says.
Dining with Preethi feels like eating at the home of an affectionate relative who refuses to let you leave hungry. The meal begins with mutton meatball fry, raw jackfruit meal balls and prawns fry before moving to a comforting serving of arisi paruppu sadam. For me, the meal could well have ended there. The meatballs and vegetable fritters were a little too oily, making the opening courses heavier than necessary.
The flavourful mutton preparation at Virundhu
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Special Arrangement
The Kongunadu biryani was fragrant and flavourful, though slightly sticky, having come straight off the stove. The mutton curry, however, was the standout. Unlike the fiery, salt and oil-laden gravies Hyderabad diners are accustomed to, this one was gentler and more nuanced. Rather than heat or salt, layers of roasted spices, fresh aromatics and slow-cooked meat took centre stage, allowing the flavours to build gradually.
Dessert was a moong dal halwa that did not quite work for me. Ironically, I found myself returning instead to the buffet’s custard— not one of Preethi’s creations. Lightly sweetened and topped with a tangy plum compote, it was restrained enough to warrant a second helping, something I rarely do with dessert.
Virundhu, a Tamil food festival, is available as a buffet priced at ₹2,300 plus taxes until August 9 at Mazzo, Marriott Executive Apartments, Gachibowli.
Published – August 06, 2026 06:53 am IST
