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Maids Hands For You lets you find a cook yourself. Take a subscription, read through cook profiles in your district, and call her. Ask what she cooks and how she cooks it, because that's the thing that decides whether the arrangement works. No commission on the hire.
A cook is not a maid
They're paid differently and the skill is different, so it's worth separating them.
A cook is hired for the food. She plans around what the family eats, does the prep, cooks the meals, and cleans up the kitchen after. Some do the grocery shopping as well.
A house maid is hired for the household work, and many will cook as part of it. That's fine for straightforward daily food. It's not the same as a cook, and expecting one to produce a full sadya or handle a specific regional cuisine isn't fair.
If what you need is mostly cleaning and washing with simple cooking included, you want a house maid and it'll cost less. If the food is the point, you want a cook.
Cook cum maid, and how to make it work
Most families want both and hire one person to do them, which is reasonable if the arrangement is defined and unreasonable if it isn't.
What usually works: cooking two meals a day plus general cleaning, washing and vessels, in a household of three or four people. That's a full day's work and it's what most cook cum maid placements actually are.
What usually doesn't: a large household, elaborate cooking, guests frequently, and a full house to clean. That's two people's work and giving it to one is how you lose a good cook in a month.
Agree the specifics before she starts. How many meals. How many people. Whether the cleaning includes the whole house or just the kitchen. Whether she shops. Whether she's expected to cook extra when guests come, and what happens then. The arrangements that fall apart are the ones where nobody said any of this out loud.
Cooking style is the decision
This is what families underestimate, so ask about it properly on the first call.
Kerala cooking varies more than people outside the state assume. A cook from Malabar cooks differently to one from Travancore. Whether your household eats fish daily, whether you want coconut oil, how spicy the food should be, whether beef is cooked in the kitchen. Ask.
Vegetarian households need to be explicit. Some cooks are comfortable in a fully vegetarian kitchen, some aren't used to it, and some families require a cook who is herself vegetarian. Say what you need at the start rather than discovering the mismatch later.
North Indian and other cuisines. Families who have moved to Kochi or Trivandrum from elsewhere often want food they grew up with, and the pool of cooks who make it well is smaller. Filter for it and expect to call more people.
Guests and occasions. If you entertain often or want festival cooking, sadya included, ask whether she's done it and how many people she's cooked for at a time.
The best question to ask on the call is simply: what do you cook every day in the houses you work in now? The answer tells you more than any list of cuisines.
Diet cooking for patients and elderly parents
A real need that nobody writes about.
If someone at home is diabetic, recovering from surgery, elderly and on soft food, or on a diet the doctor has set, the cooking changes. Less oil, less salt, specific timings, food that can be eaten easily, and consistency day after day.
Some cooks have done this before and are good at it. Ask directly. A cook who has looked after a diabetic household will tell you exactly how she handles it.
What she won't do is decide the diet. That comes from the doctor or dietitian, and the cook follows it. If the person at home also needs care rather than just food, see elderly care or home nursing.
What it costs
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Her salary goes directly to her. In 2026 a full-time cook in Kerala generally earns ₹12,000 to ₹18,000 a month, a part-time cook doing one or two meals ₹5,000 to ₹9,000, and a live-in cook more. Specific cuisines, large households and frequent entertaining push it up. Kochi and Trivandrum run above the northern districts.
Cooks across Kerala
- Kochi
- Trivandrum
- Calicut
- Thrissur
- Kottayam
- Kollam
- Alappuzha
- Palakkad
- Malappuram
- Kannur
- Wayanad
- Kasaragod
- Idukki
- Pathanamthitta
- Bangalore
Malayali families in Bangalore who want Kerala food cooked properly at home can search the Bangalore profiles. It's one of the most common reasons families there hire from Kerala.
Questions about cook? Message us on WhatsApp, or call.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a home cook cost in Kerala?
Around ₹12,000 to ₹18,000 a month full-time in 2026 and ₹5,000 to ₹9,000 part-time for one or two meals, paid directly to her. Specific cuisines and large households cost more.
What's the difference between a cook and a maid?
A cook is hired for the food and the kitchen. A maid does the household work and often cooks simple daily food as part of it. If the food matters, hire a cook.
Can I hire a cook only for lunch?
Yes. Part-time cooking for one or two meals is common, and it's the cheapest arrangement on the platform.
Will she do the grocery shopping?
Some cooks do, some don't. Ask on the call and agree how the money is handled before she starts.
Can I get a cook for a specific cuisine?
Yes, though the pool is smaller for cuisines other than Kerala food. Filter for it, call more people, and ask what she cooks daily in her current houses.
Can a cook prepare diet food for a patient?
Many can and it's worth asking directly about her experience. The diet itself is set by the doctor or dietitian, and she follows it.
