YOUR HOST
Chetna Srivastava
Your hostess, Chetna Srivastava, is a lawyer, MBA, English coach, and therapist by profession, but it is her passion for cooking that truly defines her. Drawing from generations of family recipes, Chetna creates thoughtful meals that celebrate heritage, flavour, and storytelling. Every menu is carefully curated with the guests in mind, balancing delicate starters, comforting main courses, and memorable desserts.
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1 - DETAILS
2 - CONTACT
This experience is currently not accepting reservation requests. Contact us at hello@deepdiveindia.com to enquire.
About the Venue
Chetna's home in Aliganj is comfortable and welcoming. The dining area and hall allow for engrossing conversations while savouring the pre-meal snacks and drinks. Walk into the kitchen to see the meal take its final shape and also lend a hand to your host while picking some useful culinary tips.
About the Cuisine
No other cuisine in India, in the post-medieval world, can claim to have absorbed influences from an entirely different culinary tradition to such an extent that it transformed itself completely—and yet remained quintessentially the same.
Awadhi Kayastha cuisine reflects the cultural inclusiveness of Lucknow itself.
Known for seamlessly blending Mughal techniques with local traditions, the cuisine is celebrated for both its distinctive meat dishes and its refined vegetarian preparations, making the Kayastha table welcoming to everyone.
From the seventeenth to the mid-nineteenth century, members of the Kayastha community, being literate in Persian and accomplished accountants, found ready employment with the Nawabs of Awadh as writers, bookkeepers, and treasurers.
Their close association with the ruling elite profoundly influenced the cuisine of the Kayastha community. What began with the men experimenting with non-vegetarian dishes gradually evolved as the women adopted the cooking techniques of the Nawabi *khansamas* and applied them to vegetarian ingredients.
Over time, this gave rise to dishes such as *Kele ki Machli* and the celebrated Kayastha Mutton—slow-cooked using the *dum pukht* technique, bringing together the best of both culinary worlds.
Typical Spread
Kayastha Awadhi cuisine is a rich blend of royal Mughlai cooking techniques and traditional vegetarian ingenuity. A typical spread emphasizes slow-cooking (dum) and highly aromatic, spice-heavy gravies, featuring a mix of meat-heavy dishes for festivals and intricate, tomato-free vegetarian delicacies for everyday meals.
