Highlights of India Cooking Tour

Day One

Depending on season, itinerary subject to change. Please inquire with specific dates.

• Arrival in Delhi, where you will be met and accompanied to your hotel. Check in and time to rest.
• Overnight in Delhi.

Day Two

• After breakfast, enjoy a tour of New Delhi, in which you will see such famed sites as Humayun’s Tomb and the Sikh Temple (where you can see the community kitchens where they prepare lunch for 15,000 people each day).
• Lunch during the tour at a local restaurant.
• In the afternoon, a cooking class in an Indian home with a friendly Indian family. Learn how to prepare some local dishes.
• Dinner to follow and overnight.

Day Three

• After breakfast, visit Old Delhi and walk the streets of Shahjanabad, including the Chadni Chowk market district. Experience the bustling city in this amazing quarter as you walk the bazaars, and try such street fare as Chat Papri, Laccha Tokri, Guliya, Desi Ghee Tikki, Moong Pakori, Kulche Chole, Dahi Bhalla, Bedwee Aloo and Kachori Alu, not to mention Samudra Kee Chat, Brown and White fresh milk cake, Kulfi, Ice cream, Hot Kadai Milk, Halwa Nangori, and more—there is no shortage of amazing food in the markets of India!
• Later, travel to a Haveli (a private mansion in the old city where the same family has lived for many generations) for a traditional lunch.
• Rest of day at leisure. Dinner on your own and overnight.

Day Four

• Breakfast, then begin the approximately 6-hour driver to Jaipur. (You will stop for lunch on your own during the drive.)
• When you arrive, check in to your hotel.
• In the afternoon, enjoy an amazing food walk. This walk gives you a fantastic experience of the street food, colorful shops, and plenty of photo opportunities. You will be taken to the LMB sweet shop (one of the oldest restaurants, established in 1949). Some popular sweets are Paneer Ghewar, Doodh Feeni, Sweet Lassi, and Rasmalai.
• Overnight.

Day Five

• After breakfast, depart for the Hawa Mahal (wind palace), followed by the famed Amber Fort, the beautiful hilltop palace known for its ramparts and cobblestone paths, and visit with a Jeep ride.
• Next, take part in a hands-on cooking class in the Sujan Palace. Lunch to follow based on your efforts.
• Rest of the day and dinner on your own.
• Overnight in Jaipur.

Day Six

• Breakfast and then depart for the approximately 6-hour drive to Agra. En route, visit the ancient city of Fathepur Sikri, in the state of Uttar Pradesh. The city was built by Akbar, the Mughal emperor in the year 1571, and was built as a tribute to the great Sufi saint, Shaikh Salim Christi, who legend said had blessed Akbar with a son. Today it is one of the best preserved examples of Mughal architecture in India.
• Stop for lunch on your own during the drive to Agra.
• Arrival in Agra, check in, and rest of day on your own.
• Overnight.

Day Seven

• Today starts with a 6:30 am sunrise visit of one of the “Modern Wonders of the World,” the Taj Mahal (please note that Fridays it is closed).
• Back to the hotel, followed by free time to rest or explore. Lunch on your own.
• This evening, it is time for a food walk of Agra. You will be indulging in some of Agra’s best local foods and sweets including Petha, Kababs and Kulfi (Indian Ice cream) while exploring the busy streets.
• Return to hotel and overnight in Agra.

Day Eight

• Breakfast at the hotel and drive the approximately 40 minutes to the train station in Tundla to catch your 8:51 am train to Lucknow.
  • Arrival in Lucknow around 12:40 pm. Transfer to your hotel and check in.
  • Lunch on your own and time to rest.
  • In the evening proceed to dinner at Oudhyana. This is cooking elevated to a fine art. No pretentions. No hype. Simply original and true to the rich tradition of Lucknow. Some say it is the best Awadhi restaurant in Lucknow. Decide for yourself as you taste the Mughlai dishes on offer. Awadhi cuisine uses many spices, but it isn’t pungent. It is subtle, delicate and delightfully aromatic.
  • Overnight in Lucknow.

Day Nine

• Breakfast at the hotel. Around 9:00 am depart on a tour of Lucknow.
• Start with the Sadat Ali Tomb, driving past the “Chatar Manzil” (part of which was built by the French architect Claude Martin). Enter the Asifi Imambara, a monument built as a relief measure during a devastating famine by providing employment to the workers. It is the world’s largest upsupported hall – lacking any pillar support. The Nawab (Prince) who built it likes inside.
• Next visit the Rumi Darwaza (Turkish Gate) and the Asfi Mosque.
• Stop at the Husainabad Complex, whose clock tower is the highest in Asia and often compared to Big Ben. Then head to the Husainabad Imambara, known for its beauty.
• Break for lunch at the Royal Cafe, which features fusion cuisine and which once served the American and British soldiers.
• After lunch, head to Kotwara House, home of the legendary film maker, fashion designer, painter, and poet Muzaffar and his wife Meera. The house is part of the Kaiserbagh complex and is a sort of living museum. Experience the workshop of Chikan, Zari, and Mukaesh artisans. You might even get to meet the famous couple!
• After tea, take a culinary walk down the lane adjacent to the Akbari Gate, where you can taste the best street food from the most authentic places, which have held their own in the age of MacDonald’s and KFC. Taste the original Tundey kebabs, Raheem’s Nihari, and Mobeen’s Pasanda kebabs, some of the best meat dishes from Awadhi cuisine. See the chefs at work in their small, rustic stalls, dishing out food as they have for generations. Your guide will explain the history and recipes of the various dishes, and will encourage your adventurous spirit by tempting you to try them.
• Back to the hotel and overnight.

Day Ten

• After breakfast, enjoy a tour of the rest of the city. Visit the architectural marvel La Martiniere School, which was designed by the Frenchman Claude Martin as a palatial home. Martin is still a revered figure in Lucknow history. Visit also the Lucknow Residency, where a bloody mutiny took place in 1857.
• Break for lunch on your own..
• After lunch, visit SEWA, the Self Employed Women’s Association. This is an association of Chikan artisans/embroiderers who had been highly exploited in the garment industry. The association provides a better life for this formerly poor and illiterate population.
• This evening enjoy a special demonstration cooking class featuring Awadhi cuisine. Dinner to follow.
• Overnight in Lucknow.

Day Eleven

• After breakfast, depart for your fight to Delhi.
• Upon arrival, transfer to the hotel and check in.
• The rest of the day on your own to relax.
• This evening, dinner at the famed Indian Accent restaurant. Chef Manish Mehrontra is one of the most respected in all of India, and his restaurant showcases modern India food that marries global ingredients and techniques with Indian traditions. Your tasting menu might include such dishes as meetha achaar, chilean spare ribs, tandoori bacon prawns, rice-crusted John Dory moilee, and warm doda burfi treacle tart (beverages not included).
• Overnight.

Day Twelve

• Breakfast, then group transfer to the airport for your flight home.