When enterprising women from hills decide to carve their own path, extraordinary stories emerge. This is the story of Pavithra and her friend, two determined women from Mudigere, Chikmagalur, who brought the essence of Malnad cuisine to life. Their journey toward financial independence and preserving the region’s flavors through their restaurants is inspiring.
Our lunch at Hale Mane was a celebration of authentic, homestyle Malnad food:
Akki Roti: A traditional rice flour flatbread, perfectly crisp on the outside and soft inside, paired with Malnad Mutton curry Akki Unde: Steamed rice dumplings, dense yet delicious, served a hint of ghee for a rich, earthy taste. Mutton Curry: A spicy, slow-cooked dish infused with traditional Malnad spices, offering tender, juicy pieces of mutton in a flavourful gravy. Fish Curry: Fresh fish cooked in a tangy, mildly spicy coconut-based gravy, highlighting the coastal influence in Malnad cuisine. Fish Fry: Tawa fried fish fry with some flavourful tangy Malnad masala.
The next day, our breakfast at Malnad Mane Atithya was just as exceptional, featuring an array of traditional dishes:
Mangalore Buns: Soft, slightly sweet, deep-fried banana puris that were warm and comforting, perfect with coconut chutney. Shevige: Delicate, hand-pressed rice noodles served with a mild green kurma, offering a wholesome and light start to the meal. Thatte Idly: Thick, fluffy idlis that melted in the mouth, served with sambar and spicy chutney. Akki Unde: A repeat from the previous day, but this time paired with a green kurma for a fresh twist. What made the breakfast truly special were Pavithra’s personal touches:
Red Ant Chutney: A rare delicacy made famous by her appearance on the Gordon Ramsay show, this chutney combined the tangy zest of red ants with traditional Malnad spices. Horse Gram Chutney: A labour-intensive dish taking two days to prepare, packed with robust flavors and a nutty undertone. Bamboo Shoot Stir Fry: Tender bamboo shoots sautéed with spices, offering a unique crunch and a taste reminiscent of the forest. We ended the meal with piping hot tea and coffee, brewed with fresh milk from Pavithra’s own farm, adding an unparalleled freshness to the experience.
This journey into Malnad cuisine was not just about food but also about the love, dedication, and authenticity that Pavithra and her friend poured into every dish. Their passion for preserving the region’s culinary heritage was truly heartwarming.
The Lotus Palace in Karaikudi is where history and luxury seamlessly blend to create an unforgettable experience. Built in the 17th century, this 233-year-old architectural marvel, located 72 km from Trichy airport and 14 km from Karaikudi junction, was our home for two enchanting nights. Thanks to The Park Hotel’s efforts, this heritage mansion has been beautifully restored while maintaining its original charm.
The Lotus Palace in Karaikudi is where history and luxury seamlessly blend to create an unforgettable experience. Built in the 17th century, this 233-year-old architectural marvel, located 72 km from Trichy airport and 14 km from Karaikudi junction, was our home for two enchanting nights. Thanks to The Park Hotel’s efforts, this heritage mansion has been beautifully restored while maintaining its original charm.
Lunch at “86 Pillars” was another highlight. Named after the property’s 86 pillars, this dining experience was like being a guest at someone’s home. Karpagam and Ramachandran meticulously arranged our banana leaf and the feast that followed was a culinary journey through Chettinad’s traditional flavors. We were treated to fish, prawn, mutton, chicken, variety rice, parotta, vegetables, chutney, fish curry, chicken curry, sambar, rasam, curd, papadam, and payasam. Each dish was prepared with authenticity and we savoured every bite.
The evenings at The Lotus Palace are simply magical, especially in the Red Room. Bathed in the deep, rich tones of Burmese red lacquer, this room celebrates the opulent Chettiar heritage and provides a cosy, intimate space. Exclusively for in-house guests, we indulged in a sophisticated high tea with a platter of traditional snacks, including fried idly, paniyaram, raw banana fritters, rose cookies and egg puffs, followed by a tumbler of piping hot tea. It was a delightful way to wind down the day.
Our last morning at The Lotus Palace was tinged with emotion as we prepared to head home. The staff, however, ensured that we left on a high note with another memorable breakfast: Mutta dosa (egg dosa) with Chettinad fish curry, a fitting send-off meal that left us completely satisfied.
What truly stood out to us was how The Lotus Palace preserved its heritage while incorporating modern luxuries. Despite the mansion’s age, every detail was carefully managed to respect its historical integrity. The seamless integration of old and new is what makes this place extraordinary.
My heartiest gratitude to Darshini Ashok Director PR, The Park Hotels Chennai for helping us book the stay at The Lotus Palace, Karaikudi
Our time at The Lotus Palace was nothing short of magical and I can’t wait to return for another glimpse into its timeless charm.
The world’s longest and happiest table at Hanu Reddy Mango farm, also called as Hanu’s table creates history in the culinary world! This 156ft table that is made using the mango trees that were uprooted during the varda cyclone in 2017 is now the talk of the town. The beautiful table can seat 150 happy people making joyful conversations.
10 best chefs of India showcase their regional cuisine on the world’s longest and happiest table in Chennai, India.
20th January 2024 was a very special day and my happiness knew no bounds! I still remember on a sunny day around the last week of June 2023 Nirupama and I drove to the Hanu Reddy mango farm to just sit under the mango trees and discuss what we could possibly do here. My eyes twinkled with excitement as my mind envisioned something very special.
For the last few years my mind body and soul only feels regional food and I said how about chefs from all around India come and showcase their regional food and I remember I told Nirupama for all you know this might go to the Guinness Book of World records!!! To me the only person who could pull this off with all his might was Chef Regi, our next farm visit was with Chef Regi and we walked around the farm to imagine what it would be like to put Chennai on the world culinary map.
And the rest is history, Chef Regi gathered his army of chefs and Team Hanu Reddy gathered their team to get a kitchen constructed and do some massive work in the farm in such a short time.
Walking through the farm after 6 months was like a fairytale with an ” India’s Culinary Odyssey” logo all around, it was a proud moment for me who has made Chennai my home for 25yrs now. The place was beautifully lit up and the reception was warm.
As we entered the farm the huge mango trees were lit up, the music was Indian and it complimented the Indian cocktails that were curated with classic Indian ingredients like tamarind, pepper chillies and more.
Indian ingredients infused cocktails Indian ingredients infused cocktails
As we moved on to the dining area, the table that would seat 106 guests was brimming with colors from the beautiful flowers and Indian elements like the tiffin carriers and dabbas. Nithya along with her friend did a fabulous job with the decor ( well she is a professional)
The 156ft happy table
We got seated and we had our own Ashwin Rajagopal who was the emcee for the evening. The warm welcome speech by Mr. Hanu Reddy and Chef Regi Mathew were building up the excitement.
Amuse Bouche
The amuse bouche was synonymous to the mango farm and that mild sour flavour of the raw mango set the mood for the rest of the evening.
Being a Sindhi Chef Vicky Ratnani decided to showcase the lotus stem which is a Sindhi delicacy. The lotus stem project: tikki chat was a great starter to this magnificent evening.
Lotus stem tikki chat
My goan brother Avinash Martins had his own style to present the goan sea bass with style and vibrance. Sunset kissed recheado delight made using fermented sun-dried tomato recheado, sea bass, kalchi Kodi, kokum, chempde torr and delicate edible flowers was like going back to my childhood days. Especially the chempde torr ( salted raw mango) that we brought from hand carts outside our school in Goa.
Goan seabass recheado
The flavours of Bannuwali cuisine inspired by north west frontier are supposed to be very subtle yet comforting. Chef Vanshika Bhatia presented the Burke waale chole made using tender chickpeas coated in aged mango pickle adored with a delicate layer of moongdal and a tadka of amchur with kapali wheat Paratha. This is an heirloom recipe from her grandmother to her mother and now she is wooing us with this food from her home.
Burke waale chole
There is something about the Koli community and the Koli food in Mumbai the Koli community are the fisherman community and their food is actually the native food of Mumbai. My love for Koli food started when our driver who belonged to the Koli community got his lunch and that invariably became my lunch. I love the flavours of their food and this one was very nostalgic for me. The goda masala is mostly used for vegetarian curries. Chef Varun Tolani from masque Mumbai has blended the masalas seamlessly and presented The Koli masala mud crab, goda masala and onion amti, karandi loncha with those cute little pillowy pav.
Koli mud crab
Blue pea pidi, well I have nothing to say about this dish, like they say silence speaks a thousand words. When you have a golden heart everything you make turns to Amrit. These rice dumplings, cooked in coconut milk and served with ramapuram style chicken curry was definitely Nirvana.
Blue pea pidi
The humble ragi mudde stuffed with karamani with dhantin chutney, uchellu chutney, fried drumstick and served with bottle gourd lentil soup opened my eyes and soul to how something so simple can be simply delicious Chef Mythrayie Iyer namma Chennai ponnu is creating waves in Bangalore at the farmlore.
Ragi mudde
Chef Auroni Mookerjee’s confit patha in a niramish jhol using Bengal goat, notun aloo, radhatilak rice and bonolokki ghee was a dish blessed by Ma. This dish prepared without onion or garlic laced with ghee and hing enhanced the flavour of the meat. Loved the presentation of this dish and I actually had this dish through my eyes even before tasting it. Kudos to this accidental chef who has made his mark in the industry without formal training.
Niramish jhol
Reliving a culinary heritage of what it was to sit around the table and have a family lunch on a Sunday is what Chef Harish Rao recreated for us. From Pushpa’s kitchen to our table Pushpa’s Sunday Shrimp fry and Nei Annam made with tiger prawns, coconut milk rice and gongura crisp from the state of Andhra Pradesh was a delight.
Pushpa’s kitchen special Shrimp fry with Nei Annam Ambur duck biriyani
Ambur Duck Biriyani was Chef Hussain Shahzad’s take on recreating the most loved biriyani in Chennai. The succulent pieces of those marinated duck was for me the highlight of the dish.
Inspired by the flavours of India Chef Vinesh Jhony decided to give us a sweet finale with his two outstanding desserts. Passion fruit and coconut ais kachang with passion fruit and mango sorbet, frozen coconut dots, caramelised salted peanuts and Jasmine tender coconut veil.
Carrot ginger and brunost
Carrot ginger and brunost, carrot halwa veloute, whipped brunost cheese, pineapple ginger ale, brown butter pineapple, salted cashew streusel, carrot paper, ginger icecream and ginger tuile.
Passion fruit & coconut ais kachang
And just when we thought this was fabulous, we had a beautiful return gift that was presented to us. A long bag with Pallanguli or Pallankuli this is a traditional ancient mancala game played in South India, especially Tamil Nadu and Kerala. The Pallanguli holes were beautifully filled with desserts by Vinesh Jhony.
Pallanguli
This event has definitely created history in the culinary world. For how beautiful the venue was and how seamlessly the entire event was conducted there was so much hard work that went behind the scenes.
Gratitude and kudos to my dear friend Nirupama who is an epitome of strength and husband Suresh who is that quiet pillar for support. Chef Regi Mathew for leading the army of chefs with his able leadership. Mr. Hanu Reddy for being a visionary and the entire family for the support. Nithya and Ram for being a huge part of the event from construction to decoration. The service staff for their impeccable service under the guidance of Mirelle. Chef Ram, chef Siddiqui, chef Babu, chef Vignesh, chef Rajesh apologies if i have missed anyone.
The motto of our group is community living and no competition within the group,we only compliment each other.
This year our group Eat Pray and Love that has 300+ people predominantly from the food industry met on a Sunday evening for High tea and early dinner.
My heart felt gratitude to Nirupama from Hanu Reddy residences who always gave us the venue to host our events, she has been doing it for 3yrs now and promised to do so forever!
The evening started with organising the pot luck. Home style food was extra delicious with that main ingredient that goes in abundance “love” everyone who got food for the pot luck was breaming with happiness when they got to know that their food was super special.
We had our round of photo session, networking and a quick few minutes introduction talk by me. I tried my best to talk a little about everyone present at the event and also talked about the food on the table so everyone knew what they were eating.
We had decided zero wastage of food and so organised takeaway containers. Now this was a big hit and everyone decided on their menu for Monday ( the next day) breakfast lunch and dinner, I personally was very happy because wastage is something that makes me very sad.
We also had return gifts by Gud fud box that make sweets and savouries using millets, honey from Ambrosia and biryani by Al safa biriyani.
The food was lavish spread by our group members. Cheese platter with condiments, 3 varieties of biryani of which one was vegan jackfruit biryani, Punjabi samosa, Patti samosa, paneer roll, lemon tart, vegan curd rice ( peanut curd) malida ( Bohri sweet) vegan mysurpa, sabudana khichdi, caramel custard, srilankan sambol and Korean watermelon drink.
The list of food purely talks about the diversity in our group, yet we are all bonded over food.
This post is my heartfelt gratitude to my community without whom Eat Pray and Love does not exist!
I am sure we all have beautiful memories of our summer vacations, be it grandparents or any vacation spot. Besides the location and people, every place on this planet has food that is specific to summer. Growing up, I spent most of my summer vacations in Mumbai and the rest in Goa and Mangalore. We would wait the whole year to relish that summer special food.
India being the most diverse country in terms of food and culture, some of the foods have become a lost treasure and forgotten in the name of fast and fusion food. This summer, the food festival at Novotel Chennai Chamiers Road is bringing out those lost treasures and forgotten food. I am super happy to bring some of those specials from multiple regions of India. This season, five (5) inspiring women, who are passionate about their regional food, besides their career, have curated a menu for us to enjoy this summer cool special.
Special mention to Chef Nitu and team at Novotel chamiers road, without whose incredible support this summer food festival was impossible. How fast the entire team adapted to new recipes, techniques and ingredients was such a pleasure to watch.
Kavitha Bothra, hails from Rajasthan, settled in Chennai, a jewellery designer by profession whose love for food made her a home chef and recipient of many awards such as Super Chef Chennai, Creative Chef award, Jito MasterChef, Home Icon etc. Kavitha runs a cloud kitchen in the name of Blend Town. All her dishes are self-curated, unique and out-of-the box recipes. She makes healthy and creative fusion dishes which are not only appealing to the eye but scrumptious also.
Nithya Franklyn, a doctor by profession with an MBBS, DNB (Paediatrics) and Fellowship (Sleep Medicine) is a MasterChef Tamil Season1 Runner-up. Coming from Southern Tamilnadu she grew up on Pandya Nadu and Nanjil Nadu cuisines which have influences from Sri Lanka and Kerala and this uniqueness was showcased in her dishes.
Smita Premkumar, a German Translator and Teacher, a Goan from Mumbai settled in Chennai has brought in some authentic Goan and Maharashtrian food. Her venture Kokum, blends traditional methods, regional local ingredients and heirloom recipes in every meal.
Hyma Sakhamuri is an Entrepreneur, Educationist turned Chef, her passion for preserving heirloom recipes motivated her to start Andhra Deli, a Cloud Kitchen specialising in Andhra Cuisine. Andhra Deli over the past 3 years has been serving homemade Andhra speciality dishes. Creating fusion recipes with traditional methods are also her speciality.
Harshini Diya, belongs to a family in which food was at the core of everything. She credits her vast culinary knowledge of Kongu food to her upbringing and grandmother, and her grandfather a renowned hotelier from Kovai. Despite majoring in International Business, she joined Le Cordon bleu London, to learn the techniques used in modern day restaurant cooking. With a combination of inherent kongu living and modern-day technique, entered into culinary ventures in Coimbatore, like Corner Kitchen, 10 biryani mandi and Sree Vidya meals room and the legendary Kovai Alankar Vilas.
The menu changes every day but what we had on day 1 From Hyma’s Andhra Deli Kitchen – Perugu Vada (Dahi Vada) and Mamidikaya Royyalu (Prawn mango curry) Special mention about the perugu vada that was so refreshing and had the flavour of mango ginger hit the right note.
From Harshini’s Kongunadu kitchen – Ragi Kali (soft finger millet ball), Keerai Kadasil and Vazhaipoo Vada (banana flower vada). Ragi cools the body and gives the body nutrition required in summer, special mention to the texture and flavour of the kali.
From Nithya’s Tamilnadu Kitchen – Kayalpattinam Kalari Kari, Nungu Sarbath and Palapalam Payasam. Loved loved the Sarbath because it was so cooling with the temperatures so high outside.
From Kavitha’s Rajasthani Kitchen – Rajasthani kadi and Badi ki Sabji the kadi was just how it has to be for a summer afternoon.
From Smita’s Konkan and Maharashtrian Kitchen – Sol kadhi and Raw Jackfruit Dangar. The jackfruit was crisp from outside and soft from inside with the perfect blend of masalas and Sol kadhi is not only a Summer drink but also the most amazing digestive drink.
If you are looking at homestyle food made using heirloom recipes by the home chefs you just need to head to Novotel Chamiers Road, Chennai. The menu changes everyday but you will find at least 10 dishes from the home chefs till 28th May.
Food from the northern hills of India by the beautiful Miss Shimla runner up Chef Sherry Mehta.
I am a big advocate of the fact the new exotic food is the homestyle regional food.
This time it was from the northern hills of India, by chef Sherry Mehta
What I liked about the food was the richness and simplicity of flavours, each dish had an unique flavours and a story to tell.
This marriage of Punjabi and kashmiri food for me was purely made in heaven. The Dham ( festive food of Himachal Pradesh) curated by chef Sherry had very minimal spices I tasted the real flavour of every ingredient/ produce used and that for me is real good food.
Adraki panje(Lamb ribs with fat, milk, whole spices, and ginger)
Chamba Chukh Chicken Tikka (Tangy spicy Himachali chilli marinated chicken tikkas grilled to perfection in Tandoor)
The soft Matara Kulcha with stuffed tikki gave a run for a sour dough bread, I am sure we discovered sour dough much before anyone did!
Siddu, the traditional fermented stuffed steamed bread was another favourite of mine. This is available with lamb stuffing, vegetable stuffing and sweet ( coconut jaggery) stuffing.
A special mention for the most famous Himalayan trout that was absolutely fresh and cooked to perfection. This sure was a treat for us in Chennai!
Some of my favourite main course dishes were the Chaa Gosht (One of the most popular dishes from Himachal cooked in buttermilk and roasted gram flour based gravy)
Channa Paneer Madra (Chickpeas slow cooked in a yoghurt based gravy along with cottage cheese and nuts, a star of any Himachali dhaam)
Gobi Ka Palda(Cauliflower cooked in yoghurt-based gravy thickened with rice flour)
Seb Aur Bhein Ki Sabji(Local vegetable dish made with apples and lotus stem)
Kale Chane Ki Maahni (Dried raw mangoes from the hills are cooked with black grams to create this unique Himachali dish)
Sepu Wadi(Urad daal fritters cooked in a luscious spinach gravy was once a humble rural dish and now am ambassador of mandiyali dhaam)
The finale is always sweet with the most simple yet rich food and lovely people around! Budane Ka Meetha With Rabri it was! (Any dhaam is incomplete without this sweet dish which kick starts any dhaam experience)
It was a very unplanned trip, we were in Coimbatore thinking if we should or shouldn’t go for the tharavad festival, keeping my mother in law’s health condition in mind. It was the once in a year tharavad ( family temple) Pooja and we are just 3hrs away by train, the night before we decided with loads of prayers in our hearts to make the decision to go.
4.30am out alarm rings and we started getting ready to hop into the cab to take the intercity train at 6am from Coimbatore station. We decided not to carry breakfast with us since we have had breakfast at shoranur station before and it was always so good. 7am and we were at palakkad and we couldn’t resist the call from the station outside ” vada, parapu Vada, pazham pori” our eyes widened and we ran outside to get one pack of it. Disappointed, the parapu vada was rock solid, the pazham pori was full of thick soda mixed batter with a thin slice of nendra pazham ( Banana) that barely had any taste or flavour and the medu vada was just like there! We took some pictures cause well they looked good and it went straight to the bin after one bite. Now we were waiting for Shoranur for the most awaited breakfast that we have always had few years ago. 8am Shoranur and we are ready to get off the train to get a pack of the breakfast with chaya. I excitedly open the pack and see 3 beautiful looking idlys with one vada. Hungry and happy next I open the sambar pack that smelt good, poured it next to the idly, next opened the chutney pack and ohh it was just plain sour green water with some salt and there started our disappointment, the whole packet of 3 idlis, Vada, sambar and chutney after one bite goes to the bin, I really feel bad to waste food, but this tasted off and couldn’t help but trashing it the tea was equally bad. Our memories of Shoranur station breakfast just shattered. Our plan was to get off at Calicut station and try out some nice breakfast near the station, but our cousin had other plans for us, he surprised us at the station and droves us straight to his house for the soulful appam and payar curry, our search for good breakfast ended at 10am at beypore, Calicut.
It was the tharavad festival and we headed to the temple soon after the breakfast. The Pooja had started a day before and it was a typical small town fare that I really love and miss most of the time. I was visiting the temple after a long time, the last time I was here, there was nothing only a few deities and stones. Must say my mother in law and husband have been instrumental in getting the temple into shape by supporting them with whatever they really needed each time, like few years back they wanted a well to be dug and they happily did it and ofcourse monetarily supported every initiative. We were glad we could atleast be there for a day to witness this splendid Pooja, wait as it unfolds.
The afternoon started with women chanting Amma narayana, Lakshmi Narayana and ended with various gods and goddesses showcasing their presence and blessings till wee hours of the morning, 6am to be precise. The community lunch was vegetarian Kerala food made using wood fire need not mention anything further it was divine.
The next morning after few hours of sleep and a sumptuous breakfast at home we decided to visit pappan ( our uncle, father in-laws younger brother) who due to his health couldn’t attend the temple festivities. We stopped buy a local bakery to pick up some goodies for pappan and I really wanted to eat it all, but resisted since I had a Big break of ottappam and chicken stew at home.
On our way back from visiting uncle/ pappan we stopped by a very small place that makes pappadam, this is so different from appalam made in tamilnadu and papad made in rest of India, this one puffs up like poori and is so delicious when fried using coconut oil. Spent sometime with the person making these and to my surprise they don’t individually roll them they take a big pile and pat it till thin like paper, ingredients used urad dal, salt, papad soda also know as papad khar and tapioca flour to pat it. Watching the process of making the papadam and packing it was soul touching. Special mention to the packing part the papadam were put into a plastic cover and sealed using candle flame and packed again in a newspaper. Life is so simple yet we make it complicated.
On our way back we also stopped by to buy some special kaima rice from a store I assume it’s the same as jeera samba but this one I hear is grown in the Malabar region. Hence wanted to try kaima rice from its birth place.
Came home to the flavours of Malabar briyani in the back yard. Our cousins had decided to surprise us with wood fire Malabar biryani. We surely were running out of time and did not know if we had the time to relish this one and hence decided to pack it for our train journey. We felt so bad that they took so much efforts to make the biryani with so much love for us and we were like why all this trouble after a sleepless night, they said “this is our way of showering love to the people we love the most” and that for me was definitely the highlight of this beautiful one day trip to Calicut/ Kozhikode!
Grateful that we could make the best of these 24hrs that was gifted to us! We are thankful to every person we encountered during the best 24hrs is Calicut/ Kozhikode! Looking forward to spend a few more days to really enjoy so much more that “God’s own country” has to offer us!
When I look back on this 24hrs round trip Chennai to Dharamsala and back that I did on 1st December of 2014, loads of memories flash in front of my eyes!
First, how the hell did I even do it! But they say “where there is a will there is a way” so when my mother was going through her treatment a friend of mine recommended that I meet a Tibetan doctor in Dharamshala. I didn’t even blink an eyelid and packed my bags to take the next flight to Dharamsala. 6am flight to Delhi, 11am flight from delhi to Kangra, 2pm we were in the cab towards Dharamsala. My sister who stays in mumbai was a little worried about me going to an unknown place alone and insisted she would join me.
They say when your intentions are right and your heart is pure and above all if you are going to do something good for your parents, you will be guided on every step you take. That’s exactly what happened to us, we found a very good car and driver who is an ex-armyman who was our guide and driver for the next 24hrs. As we started chatting we told him our purpose of visit and also that we are going to be around only for 24hrs. The moment he understood that it was our first trip and that too a very short one, he insisted that we do a small tour of this beautiful hill station.
First he took us to a very small dabba after checking our food preferences to enjoy the best ever mutton curry, steamed rice and Radish salad. I must admit I have never ever in my entire life tasted a mutton dish like that, it had very basic masala and that is what enhanced the flavour and taste of the mutton. The mutton pieces were huge but tender and juicy. Secret of the meat, they graze on the Himalayan mountains and have fresh Himalayan grass and herbs. This lunch was such a perfect welcome Dharamsala.
Next the driver stopped the car on every beautiful view point on our ride uphill, he let us take pictures and kept explaining about the significance of each place.
We reached our hotel around 5pm. Since it was December the driver told us if we wanted to see a few more places we just had to drop our bags and continue our sight seeing else it would get dark and we might not be able to see much and so we just went with the experts suggetion. He showed us a few more places before sunset and we also got to witness the beautiful sunset.
It was dinner time and knowing me I wanted to try every local food there and so we headed to McLeod Ganj, boy oh boy the place was brimming with people, food, light and music. We walked through the streets looking around and finally settled at Tibetan kitchen to have a hot Bowl of tukpa and momos. Walked through the streets just enjoying the vibe before we called it a day.
We had an early morning appointment with the doctor and the driver picked us up from the hotel and we were in time for our appointment. Again we experienced something very special at the doctor’s place, although we had spoken to someone about the appointment we were not sure if we could go in on time, since there was a very long queue that went in circles and we found people from all around the world who had come to meet the doctor, when I saw the queue my heart sank, since we had a flight to take at 2pm. I walked in with lots of gratitude and prayers in my heart NMRK! The moment I met the person at the counter and handed him my moms urine sample, they just let me in without any questions asked. The doctor came out checked the urine sample ( thats how they do their diagnosis) and immediately called me inside for a discussion, I couldn’t believe that all this was really happening. Another 20mins of discussion, medicines and we were out in 30mins. Our driver couldn’t believe what happened because he has never ever seen someone come out in 30 Mins, he said we were blessed and lucky.
But guess what, I think everything has a purpose in life and we had a bigger purpose and hence all that 30mins appointment happened for us. Since we were done with our purpose of visit the driver told us, that he can show us a few more places as it was 9am and our flight was at 2pm. So we hopped into the car and started wondering around, as a matter of fact he asked us if we wanted to visit the Dalai Lama temple/ office in McLeod Ganj, but he told us that Dalai Lama might not be there since he does not do too much public appearances. We agreed and we started our journey towards the temple( well I have no pictures of that place since photography is not allowed) we went in, it was quite and did not find too much movement of people, but there too much security checks. We left our hand bags and started walking towards the temple and we could hear faint voices and saw a few people around, we climbed up the stairs and oh my god whom do I see in front of my eyes, tears started rolling from my eyes for a minute I thought I was dreaming ” Dalai Lama” looked at us showed his hand in blessing gesture and smiled. That day I understood the purpose of this trip and why this 24hrs of my trip worked out the way it did! We took our flight back to Delhi and than to Chennai and was back home the next day!
My heart was full of gratitude to everyone who made me do this trip first my mother, the doctor, our driver, Dalai Lama and the entire universe came together to conspire this trip! Name’s of the actors who conspired this trip: My mother – Hemalata Uchil Dr. Yeshi Dhonen ( he was the personal physician of Dalai Lama from 1960 to 1980) Driver – Rajkumar My sister – Neeta Uchil. Above all faith in my prayers ( NMRK) and the intention of finding the best medication for my mother. They say if you take care of your parents with all your heart that is the biggest gratitude one can pay to them. My mother, the universe and my karma gave me an opportunity to pay my debt of gratitude to my mother! I could ask for nothing more!
This vacation has been in the planning for the longest time and finally after 3yrs of short drives, vacations and staycations we had to make this trip to the ever charming Leh Ladakh!
Khardungla pass
We landed on 30th June afternoon with bad weather in Delhi ( transit) risking the terrain of leh airport, It is not an easy terrain to fly. With lots of gratitude to all our pilots who landed us safe.
Our itinerary was made in such a away that we had enough time for acclimatization since this height could give altitude sickness. Soon after we landed the sickness hit me and I was wondering why ever did I choose this location for a vacation. I have seen beautiful pictures and videos of Leh Ladakh but not heard anyone warn about the altitude sickness. I had mild irritating head ache nausea and just too lethargic. I was advised to take rest and drink lot of warm water. When I Still was not feeling good I popped a paracetamol and slept for a while now that made me feel better towards evening.
Our first day pretty much was all about taking care of ourselves. Next day 1st July we had decided again to go slow with minimal activity. So we had breakfast and just strolling around when a good soul suggested we visit the Hall of fame leh. It was a few metres of walk from our place and do we agreed without knowing much what the place had in store for us. And I cannot be more thankful to the person who suggested this place, since this one gave me goose bumps and made me love my country and my jawans even more. This is a war memorial with so many stories.
In the evening we set out to enjoy the city of leh. We did the Shanti stupa, the Leh palace and my most favourite leh market. Loved the colours in the market, the old met the new be is fruits, vegetables, grocery, restaurant, clothes of accessories you could find everything in this market traditional and modern. I picked up some fresh apricots since it is the season for apricots.
The next day was the beautiful Sangam were the indus met zanskar river. Sometimes you wonder how nature is so beautiful by itself the mixing of the 2 colors of the river was serene and peaceful! Did you know that during summer people do rafting here and during winter when the water turns to ice, they ice trek on this same river. So what would you like to do? Our next destination for the day was the cool magnetic hill, so our car was totally switched off and no we were not on a slop, but yet we moved, kinda exciting. The gurudwara pathar sahib is another monument to just find peace. Don’t miss the tea and prashad there it’s yummy!
The most significant day of our trip was doing the worlds highest motorable road the one and only Khardungla pass. We had our own altitude sickness challenges to handle but boy when we reached the peak it was like magic. It was such a proud moment for us to know that our country has the highest motorable road in the damn whole world yay!
After the movie 3 idiots the pangong Lake gained more popularity and why not it is so surreal. Surrounded by mountains it’s hard to say we could find a huge mass of water with shades of color that changes from blue, green, grey, brown to red, it is one of the highest altitude lake in the world with salty water that freezes during winter. Mind blowing right!!!
On our way back from pangong Lake we had to stop by the changa la pass another one of the highest! We stopped by for lunch and had a hot bowl of authentic ladakhi thukpa! We also stopped by a few more random places for some good photo shoots.
Whenever we visit a new place or country the first thing that I look for is Local home cooked food. Before we left to leh I started my search for good home cooked leh traditional food. Since we are non vegetarians I was surprised to know that traditionally people of leh Ladakh eat according to the weather and season. So in winter it’s meat and non vegetarian and in summer it’s mostly vegetarian, from June to September they get to grow vegetables and fruits and get to eat it too. Other time of the year it is cold and snow. So after doing some search on google found gyapthago heritage home. Got speaking to Jimmy and visited his House for a soulful all vegeterian dinner cooked by his mother. We were greeted by butter tea that is made using Fresh cows milk butter from their own farm. This place is more of a farm to table concept since everything that was cooked for dinner came from their farm including wheat and barley. The barley soup with fresh vegetables and leh local peas was warm and had a creamy consistency. The veg momos were made using wheat flour and we had the steamed and fried momos that was served with cold salad. The khamir the local wheat bread with Home made curd sure was a delicacy. The local pasta is made fresh, pasta is made with fresh grounded wheat and turnip sauce. We finished this most amazing meal with the local sweet of apricot soaked in water. Must say that ended my search for Local Leh Ladakh food.
Discovered Namza that serves authentic/ traditional leh Ladakh food and what excited me even more is the farm to table concept. The place has beautiful ambience, outdoor seating will be lovely in the evening. We started our lunch with mutton Za-thuk this is a soup that is made using nettle leaves, dried cheese and local herbs, available in veg, chicken and mutton option, we loved the flavour of nettle leaves and dried cheese with little chunks of mutton. I personally love the flavour of mountain mutton. The chicken momo also known as mok mok was average nothing to write home about. The yarkhadi pulao is a chefs special and I am glad we tried it. The meal come with pulao made of paneer, green peas, Carrots and fried onions loaded with ghee. We were warned it would be heavy, it was but we just loved the flavour, this meal comes with a clear soup and 3 momos or mok mok. Available in veg, chicken and mutton. We opted for the veg option. The most famous home grown fruit of Leh Ladakh is apricot and the season has just started. We enjoyed a tall glass of homemade apricot juice. Like us if you are keen on trying local food, this place is a must visit.
Had a very happy lunch after we descended down the khardungla pass at Dontang. This place has beautiful seating and the most comfort food. The ladhaki thukpa was my favourite. We had fresh lime soda, potato in honey chilli, chicken clear soup and chicken momos / mok mok. The service was polite and every thing we had was made fresh to order. Few vegetables are used from their garden. Definately a try when in leh.
We had hired a private chauffeur driven ertiga for 5days that cost us 25k which I thought was pretty reasonable and we could go around according to our own convenience.
Leh Ladakh is a very beautiful Indian union territory that is a must visit, but with all precautions and understanding the terrain. It could get very warm and dry in summer on few days that’s what we experienced and it is not easy to handle that weather. If you are a person who likes to see greenery around you please don’t expect anything like that around. Winters could be very harsh so please check before you go. You can fly or drive.
yogitauchil 