star hotels are hiring homemakers to give desi dishes an authentic touch several hotels in the city have begun to realise that the best way to give their dishes a mothers touch is to well get her on the job chamundeshwari amma rathnam amma savithri maami these are just some of the homemakers that star hotels across tamil nadu have hired in their south indian specialty restaurants to give their dishes an authentic homemade touch around four months ago sheraton park hotel and towers in chennai got rathnam amma on board for their south indian restaurant dakshin rathnam who until a few years ago cooked for her extended family of 15 using firewood now spends four hours a day at the hotel whipping up filter coffee and evening snacks for the guests she also makes two dishes a day for the menu her coffee has become so famous that guests ask for rathnam ammas coffee says chef harish k its tough explaining to guests that sundays are her days off and so they have to drink coffee made by one of us and rathnam doesnt even drink coffee i just know exactly how to make it i dont write down any proportions i go with the gut feel says the 58yearold diamonds sparkling in her ears rathnam changed the restaurants idli batter ingredients and measurements and chefs say that the idlis have never tasted better at hotel savera savithri maami a 68yearold brahmin homemaker has been on contract for several years to prepare her specialty evening snacks such as adai murukku and kozhukattai to the guests of malgudi restaurant my motherinlaw and i still go in to make the dishes says vijayalakshmi 36 savithris daughterinlaw who is learning the ropes from her hotels also bring in the mompaati brigade to learn the intricacies of various cuisines three months ago at sheraton executive chef praveen anand brought in homemaker fathima anwar to teach his team tamil muslim cuisine she taught them to make thikkadi dumplings made of rice flour and served with mutton curry thalicha chor ghee rice and thalcha a kind of mutton sambar all typical of the tamil muslims who live in madurai i have been making the dishes for more than 12 years for my husbands family so i was not nervous teaching the chef says fathima we try and incorporate some of these dishes when we have special banquets says chef praveen anand adding that aachis or older women from the chettiyar community have guided him and his team at the taj gateway hotel in madurai chamundeshwari amma still cant believe she is on the payroll of a fivestar hotel after spending 37 years behind a stove at home i have four grownup children says the 49yearold and they are all excited for me most of the taj gateway properties across the country have hired homemakers such as chamundeshwari to create authentic regionspecific food chamundeshwari is at the hotel every day