India could easily be referred to as a concoction of colour, cows, cricket, cars, horns, religion and controlled chaos, but as much as this all helps create the amazing culture that vibrates through southern Asia there’s one thing that fuels, not just the local people, but also the tourists lucky enough to experience this diverse country… its cuisine.
I had the privilege, as a Trip Manager in India, to prompt my travellers to put their tastebuds to the test as they enjoy what is, in my opinion, the best food in the world. I stand by it, “Indian food in India is the best food in the world”. It can often be daunting to jump straight into the local cuisine when coming from the western world, but I never allow my traveller’s fears of spice, flavour or the unfamiliar to cost them the opportunity to lift their head and widen their eyes while a broad smile forms on their face. This is often followed by a mouth full of food trying to say the words “this is amazing”. Their biggest challenge then, is not allowing any of their new found love to escape as they enter a nirvana only Indian food can create. Some would say speaking with your mouth full is rude or poor dining etiquette, not me, I know it’s the only response to tasting the abundance of food here for the first time. The most justifiable question on any new traveller’s lips is then “where to start?”. With so many flavours, so many curries, so many spices and a completely different language it’s hard to know what you will and won’t like as your stomach begins to groan like the Indian supporters at a cricket match after a dropped catch.
When my travellers arrive to the greeting of New Delhi I find it best to introduce them to a restaurant that at least looks somewhat familiar. It’s in a little Diner style restaurant that I recommend what could be referred to as an Indian tasting plate known as a “Thali”. Don’t worry about knives and forks, we are digging straight into the naan bread with our hands, tearing it apart and dipping it into different sauces and curries. Think chips and dip, meets cob loaf, meets India. The cob or chips replaced with naan, the dips being an assortment of different curries and flavours. Most will be new combinations they havn’t tasted before generally some with daal (lentils), some with aloo (potato), some sweet, some spicy. We’re dipping our toe into the palette pool.
Having eased the group into India on night 1, Day 2 gets more adventurous. It’s time to throw them into the deep end and venture into the controlled chaos of Old Delhi, and what better way to get around than by local transport. Rickshaw drivers pedal us around town for real authenticity. By the time we are finished taking photos at Jama Masjid (The biggest Mosque in India) the spice market has our senses tingling once again. It’s time to feed my favourite sense. Taste! The restaurants of Old Delhi are much smaller, much simpler but in my opinion the food is better. Its less familiar here so we start to adventure into the unknown. We are still learning so we stick to different curry options but now it’s not just our faces that are stuffed, the bread is stuffed too. Anything from potato, cheese and cauliflower to almond, mint or lemon can be stuffed into the freshly made breads of Parantha Valley. My best advice here: as excited as you are, let it cool down, it has just been cooked fresh for us.
On the ladder of food familiarity, we stepped down a rung to unfamiliar restaurant style but that evening we jump off the ladder into my favourite style – street style. Street food in Asia will always provide you with the best food and best experience with locals and India is no exception. Tonight is about suppressing the fearmongers that told us not to eat street food, as it is quite often some of the safest food to eat due to its freshly cooked ingredients. If the locals eat there you know its safe and you know its good value. I have a momo man I visit every afternoon on day 2. Momos are Indian style dumplings filled with a choice of chicken, paneer or vegetarian. My man does a special curry you can smother them in too. For 80R (just over 1 USD) I have 10 fresh Indian dumplings in my had that are absolutely to die for. How’s that for value?
With an entrée as good as the momos the main meal needs to back it up. Thankfully we have the perfect place down a little alley in Hauz Khas. It’s time for my favourite food on the trip. Chicken. Tikka. Wraps! Not just any chicken tikka wraps. These are the best chicken tikka wraps you will eat. We’ve also completely ditched the restaurant scene as we dine on plastic stools on the side of the street. It’s so inconspicuous that the most common question I get asked is “how did you find this place?”. My answer: “Trip Managers are like magicians and magicians never reveal their secrets” which is fitting because this is magical. This is real Indian street food. The kind you have to pull your legs in when cars come by while you eat. The kind you have to look both ways before getting up for seconds. Grab a napkin, eat like nobody is watching and don’t forget to lick your fingers afterwards. Don’t worry about not losing weight at this restaurant because your wallet isn’t losing weight either.
Out of the Alley and into the nightlife. Although expensive you can still find some creative cocktails in Hauz Khas Village. Taxes are added after the menu prices so it can often be a hit to the hip pocket however I find it’s a great way to relax and get to know the new family over a drink served in a coconut sitting on a stand spewing dry ice. Not a fan of the theatrics? How about drinking out of a viking horn? Planning on a big night? The “trip on a drip” has you literally drinking cocktails from an imitation saline bag and straw. Final offer: Keep it simple with a 1 litre tube of Long Island Iced Tea. The fun stuff is available but so is a casual local Kingfisher beer. Either way, we go to bed that night with a brand new appreciation for street food and each other.
After hitting the sauce it’s time to delve into the sweet. My favourite place when it comes to quality and proximity to our hotel for sweets is Jaipur. It’s in the heart of the Pink City itself that we stumble across a typical Lassiwala. Some people may have heard or even drank a Lassi back home however there is something that the western world has manipulated about this drink that not everyone knows about. Traditionally a lassi is not infused with fruits. Your mango lassi that is ever so popular in the Indian restaurants or hipster cafes at home are actually a western hybrid of this traditional yoghurt-esque beverage. Here you will only be asked for one of two varieties, sweet or salted. After watching my Pa pour enough salt on his chips to turn them white back home I’ve developed a habit of staying away from that so I elect for the sweet. Served in a takeaway “disposable” cup of terracotta, the thick curdy goodness is a great treat to tie off your apatite for a few hours until we jump into our traditional cooking demonstration. Why is “disposable” in quotation marks you ask? Because its almost a shame to throw away such a practical, sometimes artistic, reusable cup.
I couldn’t mention our time in Jaipur and the food without delving into the real local experience that is our optional cooking demonstration. It’s not everyday locals will welcome travellers into their home to share their lives, upbringings and family recipes but we get this unique opportunity. Sometimes when people travel they miss the simple things like a comfortable couch, a home cooked meal, friendly pets and relaxation. Fortunately, it is near the halfway mark of our trip when we cover all of these. Home cooked buffets of both vegetarian and non-vegetarian home recipe dishes have us ready for a food coma. The questions come thick and fast for our hosts as they explain the details of their lives to our curious and inquisitive travellers. The opportunity to live local and learn from the locals is always greatly appreciated by our travellers as we enjoy a drink in the lounge or under the stars. All this accompanied by a hug from tipsy the sausage dog or giggle the pug guarantees a warm heart and a bright smile for the next week.
The sweet doesn’t stop in Jaipur with the Lassi and our new Indian family and pets. The sweet shop is just around the corner from our hotel. It would be a crime not to drop in and sample the goods. I could talk for days about the different sweets of India due to the large array served however ill limit myself to two. Rarely will you find gummies or candy in India, here the sweet monopoly belongs to varieties of cakes and pastries. Gulab Juman is a personal favourite of not just mine but travellers as well. Think donut hole meets maple syrup and your in the right ball park. An easy one to start with and guaranteed to satisfy. Trying to find things that are familiar can often be hard in a sweet shop but there is one sweet that at least one person in each group has heard of. For those who have seen the movie “Lion” I always point out jalebis. This demon of the health world is basically fried sugar re fried forming sugary orange squiggles. It appears in the film when the lead character pesters his brother for jalebis although he can’t afford them, however at 10R per 100g that’s well in our price range so surely one can’t hurt.
The following morning’s rising sun has us leaving the Pink City in our rear view mirror as we motor on to the Lake City of Udaipur. My favourite city on the tour and a favourite of many locals for weddings due to its beautiful views and relaxed vibe. The best vibe is on the lake so of course that is where you’ll find us. Khamma Ghani (“hello” in Rajasthani) is a candlelit, open air restaurant located on Pichola Lake, famous for their Tandoori. Not only can you eat it, but they also show you how it is prepared for those who are interested. The sizzle makes your mouth salivate and the taste caps off an experience like no other we have had yet on this tour, upper class, “treat yourself” dining. To cap off the night for cricket lovers you will generally find locals playing cricket under the lighting of their rickshaw headlights on the walk home between 8-10pm. The more players the better and they love to show foreigners the game they call a religion.
Cricket may be a religion to the people of India but we need to touch on what really shapes this culture. Our second day in Udaipur shows us how Hindu Indians honour their gods at the Jagdeesh Temple with a guided tour that will then lead us up to the Udaipur City Palace. It’s a big day of knowledge bombs and Instagram goldmines but there is always time for a snack. Samosas aren’t new to many people who come to India but a man in a booth between the temple and the palace provides the best vegetable samosas in town. Accompanied by a homemade sauce with a bit of a kick, he’s always happy to give you a little extra on the side. It’s the little things in life that make you smile sometimes.
With a population of 20 million our next destination is far from small. Mumbai is home to the biggest film industry in the world – Bollywood. After our optional Bollywood dance class has us burning off the curry calories from exercise, laughter and eventually pride I like to think its time for a taste of home. At this stage its been over a week of trying new foods that have blown our minds so the idea of a pizza is a winner among most. Pizza by the Bay is exactly what its name suggests. A pizza restaurant on the Bay. But don’t be fooled and think I’m going to suggest something that isn’t at all Indian while we are here. Pizza by the Bay does an amazing fusion of Indian pizzas. From Chicken tikka to Afghani chicken, these are flavours you wont find at home but have the comfort of almost feeling like home. They have standard toppings that we are used to but no one is ever disappointed by taking the leap into something new here. Big pizzas make for good value and tomorrow we are off to our final destination.
There is no better way to finish a fast-paced cultural tour of India than on the beach. A bee line to Goa by air has everyone moving a step slower. I can’t blame them when there are palm trees overhead and sand between their toes. It only makes sense to have our last supper as a family at a place where open toe shoes is the footwear of choice, the sun sets over the Indian Ocean, and the restaurant specialises in seafood and cocktails. The lobster is a standout for those that want to indulge one last time before their holiday ends or the seafood salad that is 60/40 seafood to salad. My little surprise packet at this restaurant however is the cheese stuffed mushroom entree. Share it, its almost big enough to be a meal of its own. We soak it all up one last time because this is more often than not the last time we will all be together enjoying each others company and the food of Eternal India.
My love for Indian food runs deep to the point that one traveller once stated that I can be described in 3 words “Butter Chicken & Purple(my favourite colour)”. Butter chicken has been a deliberate omission from this article purely because there is not one butter chicken better than the rest. The beauty of my position is that I get to blow a new group of traveller’s minds with hidden gems of flavour sensations like butter chicken, chicken tikka wraps and restaurants like Khamma Ghani each year allowing them to walk away knowing that along with the controlled chaos of colour, cricket and cows comes the most amazing cuisine in the world.
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