Jaffna Style Traditional Cooking Class
Overview
Available languages
3 hours
Mobile ticket
Experience the true taste of Jaffna in a 150-year-old Tamil home, cooking with traditional clay pots, fresh local ingredients, and family recipes passed down through generations. Prepare authentic Jaffna-style seafood curries, vegetable dishes, and traditional Tamil desserts while learning spices, techniques, and flavors in a hands-on, village-style culinary adventure
All with a lovely family
Additional Info
Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
Service animals allowed
Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap
What To Expect
Immerse yourself in the rich flavors of Sri Lanka with an authentic cooking class in Jaffna. The class takes place in a beautiful traditional Tamil home that is over 150 years old and Surrounded by a small vegetable garden, country chickens, and friendly goats, you will experience true village life. You will cook in a traditional home kitchen using clay pots and fresh local ingredients. The experience begins with a warm welcome and a refreshing homemade masala herbal tea. After a short introduction, you will start your hands-on cooking journey. Prepare rice or pittu (depending on time), Jaffna-style seafood curry, seafood fry, a selection of vegetable curries, fresh homemade sambal, and a traditional Tamil dessert. Along the way, you will learn about Sri Lankan spices and how they are used in everyday Tamil cooking. Then sit and enjoy the meal you prepared, traditionally served on banana leaves, in a warm and homely atmosphere. At the end of the class, you will receive a PDF recipe guide so you can recreate these delicious dishes at home for your family and friends. Please view sample photos taken by our guests to see the experience from a real traveler’s perspective.
Sample Menu
starter
Handmade Masala tea
main
Rice or pittu
main
Jaffna style crab curry
main
Jaffna style prawns fry
main
Mix vegetables curry
main
Coconut sambal
main
Papadam
crispy Sri Lankan side dish
dessert
Tamil traditional dessert
Options
Jaffna style traditional cooking class
What‘s Included
Hotel pick-up and drop-off available upon request
Bottled water
Lunch or dinner will be served after the cooking session, depending on the time selected by the guest
Dinner or Lunch will be served after the cooking session, depending on the time selected by the guest.
Welcome Drink - handmade masala tea
Jaffna’s unique Palmyra toddy (palm wine)
Pickup points
Select a pickup point
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Reviews
5 reviews
Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor
MUST DO EXPERIENCE IN JAFFNA!!
caitlinmY8105GP,Apr 20, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00My partner and I did the cooking class with Arun and his beautiful mother and it was truly one of the highlights of our trip to Sri Lanka! What makes this experience so special is we were warmly welcomed in Arun's family home and we got the chance to meet his beautiful family. Arun's mother taught us how to make Jaffna crab curry, pittu, fried prawns, coconut sambol, vegetable dhal and a delicious dessert. It was a night filled with lots of laughter, smiles and joy as we learnt how each dish was made and cooked alongside Arun's mother. We learnt about Jaffna culture, cuisine and traditions in such a fun and interactive way! This was in our top 3 meals that we had in Sri lanka during our 5 week trip, incredibly fresh, vibrant, full of flavour.. but most importantly made with love. We couldn't recommend this experience enough if you really want to learn about jaffna culture, traditions and cuisine. By the time you leave, you feel like you're apart of the family! Truly such a special and heart warming experience. Arun's mother is so kind, warm, generous and the most incredible chef!! You truly get to learn from the best when you cook alongside her ❤️
Strongly recommend cooking class at Jaffna at a family’s house
Traveler47641052629,Apr 12, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00We had such a nice evening with Aaron and his family cooking traditional meals from Jaffna. We were picked up by Arun and brought to their house. We cooked several meals including a dessert, small crabs and shrimps and got lots of additional information about the culture of the people living here. We can really recommend this activity. Warm greetings to mother, sister-in-law and to Arun, who is as well a great tour guide! Thank you ☺️
Food experience
D9654DKstephenp,Apr 1, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
4.00Very pleasant experience. Got some great cooking tips. Lots of laughter and fun Steve and Jen Queensland Australia
Jaffna Crab Curry 🤩
nilss878,Mar 15, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00If you're heading to Jaffna, and are interested in a cooking glass, look no further —Arun and his mother were the best hosts and teachers ! We spent a lovely evening learning how to prepare Jaffna Currys and got to try the notorious Jaffna Crab Curry. Arun and his mom form a very cute duo and perfectly adapted to our pace and answered all our questions with great detail. A wonderful human connection that made our experience unique. Thanks again!
Best day in srilanka .
Maps32120663041,Mar 12, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00(I know it’s a lot to read, but it all comes from our hearts❤️) Unforgettable experience in Sri Lanka with exploreyarl and arun’s family We came from Canada for a 15-day trip around Sri Lanka and joined a few cooking classes in different parts of the country. They were all good, but when we reached Jaffna, everything changed. We found ExploreYarl Tours and decided to book both the Delft Island night stay tour and next day the cooking class through GetYourGuide. Honestly, it was the best decision we made during our whole trip. We cooked everything ourselves, We made pittu, crab curry, prawns, vegetable curries, sambal and even a traditional Tamil dessert. Jaffna won the award from heart that Best cuisine in Srilanka❤️ It was honestly the best food we had in our entire 15 days in Sri Lanka. What made it even more special were the conversations didn’t just learn recipes we learned about people, life, and resilience after war (culture, Tamil traditions, History of Sri Lanka, even civil war etc ..) We will never forget this day. Highly, highly recommended
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Operated by Explore YARL Tours