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Steer serious gourmets towards


the former – they won’t regret it (except perhaps when they step on the scales afterwards). Western & Oriental’s 14-day private tour, A Taste of India, starts with vegetarian dishes in Tamil Nadu and the aromatic spices of Chettinad and Rajasthan, via kebabs and biryanis, which are the signature dishes of Lucknow and Hyderabad, to the fruit and seafood-dominated cuisine of Kerala. It’s not all about eating though – there’s a cooking demonstration at historic fort- turned-hotel Devi Garh by Lebua, a stroll through Lucknow’s roadside food stalls, plus a lunchtime cruise on a Keralan houseboat. On a shorter but equally


food-focused itinerary, Premier Holidays’ Flavours of India focuses on Kerala, Goa and Mangalore to explore south India’s unique flavours. The small-group tour offers the inside track on the Lalbaug Spice Market in Mumbai, dinner at home with an Indian family, a traditional Marathi breakfast then a Goan dish at a high-end restaurant in Bandra (from £1,969 with Jet Airways flights, private transfers, five-star accommodation and English-speaking guide, in September). Feeling full at the very thought of a tour totally dedicated to food? Don’t panic – Insight Vacations’ Mystical South India incorporates a spice plantation tour in Thekkady, French-influenced food in Pondicherry and meeting local fishermen and farmers in Kumbulangi, near Kochi (11 days, from £2,525 with flights). Explore’s Backroads of Kerala, meanwhile, gives guests a chance to work off those curry calories by cycling through this rural region and staying with local families for four nights to experience true home cooking (13 days, from £1,834 with flights). There are also shorter bolt-on options, such as Intrepid Travel’s Bite-size Break Delhi, which includes home-cooked meals, sizzling street food, market visits and a cycle rickshaw tour over three days in the capital (from £185 land-only).


Love the locals: learn to cook with a farmer and his family in Sri Lanka


Catch of the day: Chinese fishing nets in Kochi


Pit stop: Western & Oriental visits Sikh house of worship Gurudwara Bangla Sahib


l INDIA: TASTING MENU Like a buffet packed full of their favourite foods, excursions mean clients can pick and choose a bit of what they fancy as part of a wider itinerary. Delhi offers an array of day trips, including the Delhi Food Walk where visitors will see fresh shawarma (kebabs) being made, sample fruit beer and momos (dumplings), and local specialities such as paneertikka, finishing with ice cream-like kulfi-falooda (£31 for the three-hour tour with Attraction World). Similar street food-focused options are also available in


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Mumbai and Kochi, where Urban Adventures has added a Kochi Food and Culture Tour exploring the links between the area’s Muslim, Hindu and Christian populations and its signature dishes of biryani, dosa and thengapal (three hours, £47). Of course, nothing beats a spot of home cooking, which is why homestays and cooking lessons are increasingly popular. Do Something Different’s portfolio includes a full-day Culinary Adventure in Goa, visiting fish, fruit and vegetable markets to learn about the region’s most popular ingredients, followed by a cooking demonstration and lunch at home with a Goan family (from £84). For those who prefer to get a bit


more hands-on, Cox & Kings has a homestay and family cooking lesson at Philipkutty’s Farm in the Keralan backwaters, or a full-day cookery class with local celebrity chef Nimmi Paul in Kochi, available on its tailor-made programme or as a tour extension. The Oberoi Rajvilas in Jaipur, meanwhile, offers a chance to learn from the experts in its Cooking with Masters experience in the hotel’s Indian


restaurant, teaching would-be cooks about the area’s herbs and spices with a souvenir recipe book and apron (£45).


l SRI LANKA: FEEL THE HEAT Bearing many similarities with near neighbour south India, Sri Lankan cuisine is packed chock-full of chillis and spices thanks to its history as a colonial trading hub with access to ingredients from around the world.


Learning about that signature style is at the heart of Travel 2’s new tour, Flavours of Sri Lanka, which stays in small farm-style accommodation and incorporates a number of cookery classes into its 10-day trip (from £1,829 including flights, transfers, some meals and sightseeing). Likewise, Intrepid’s Real Food


Adventure focuses on getting under the skin of the local culture. Visitors spend a night at a tea plantation to have a go at picking fresh leaves, tour a herb and spice garden, learn how to make a traditional Sinhalese dinner complete with string hoppers (a type of pancake) and roti, and


Spice as nice: Kerala is known as the Spice Coast


FAST FACT ITC Hotels has


introduced Culinary Welcome Break


packages with a tasting menu, chef meet-and- greet and spa treatments


PICTURE: PREMIER HOLIDAYS


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