Luxury Culinary Tour Of India With Chef Rajeev. Jan 2018

This luxury culinary tours is an eclectic mixture of food walks, cooking demos, sightseeing, various fun activities, adventure and introduction to culture and history of India in one compact package. The group size is kept small to ensure maximum attention to detail. All the culinary activities will be led by Rajeev and his crew. Last date for booking a slot in this tour is 25th December 2017.

• Places covered: India’s Golden Triangle which includes New Delhi, Agra, Jaipur in addition to Udaipur, the city of lakes
• Activities: Food tours, cooking classes, playtime with elephants, desert safaris, introduction to spices.
• Mode of transport: By road
• Accommodation: A mix of best heritage and boutique hotels in Delhi, Agra, Jaipur and Udaipur
• Meals: All meals included from food tours, top specialty restaurants and hotels. Includes one welcome dinner on 15th with chef and one dinner in Jaipur with royal family.
• Transport: In comfortable air-conditioned vehicles.
• Sightseeing: Major landmarks of New Delhi, Agra, Jaipur, Udaipur in addition to some hidden gems on the way like Sambhar lake and Chittorgarh.
• Maximum group size : 16
• Duration: 8 days, 7 nights.
• Dates: Begins from Mid- January 2018 from Delhi.
• Last date for booking: 25th December 2017
• Contact: Email – info@cookingwithrajeev.com , Phone +919810645418 +917042278866

Travel Itinerary:

On 15th December, guests arriving in New Delhi will provided transport from New Delhi airport, railway station or nearby areas to their hotel in New Delhi for rest and freshening up. Rajeev will meet up with them in the evening to take them for an orientation dinner in one of best gourmet restaurants in the city and explain the schedules, activities  and various other points about the culinary tour which will begin next day.

DAY 1, Delhi: Delightful Delhi

First day of the tour in Delhi will begin with a visit to  iconic Delhi landmarks, Lotus Temple, a beautiful Baha’i house
of worship built in 1986 and Qutub Minar, a 72 m tall tower built in 1193 and still standing tall. After visiting these monuments,  we will begin the food tour of Delhi from Old Delhi. This highly acclaimed food tour will serve as a great introduction to Indian cuisine and culture and will help set the pace for rest of your journey in India. During the food tour, we will include approximately 16-18 different Indian food dishes from different Indian cuisines from 8-10 different food joints in Old Delhi, Central and South Delhi. All of the food joints that we’ll visit have been in business for generations and are famous for their quality of food. The oldest place in the list is in business for 110 years and youngest for 40. We’ll taste some famous and some not so famous Indian delicacies like samosa, lassi, butter chicken, kulfi (Indian ice creams), , butter chicken, melt in m0uth kebabs and many others. The Old Delhi part of food tour will take us through the old, narrow streets of medieval Delhi marked by old havelis (mansions), markets which are doing business for centuries and tens of thousands of people milling about in their daily routine. Each lane in Old Delhi is a market for different commodity like invitation cards, spices, bicycles, cameras, utensils, vegetables, clothes , shoes, books and much more. The food tour will also include a visit to Spice Market of Delhi in which the we will learn about various kinds of spices used in Indian cooking and spend a few minutes inside a temple with a charitable which feeds more than 10000 people every day.

ACTIVITIES: Food tour of Delhi, sightseeing
MEALS: Breakfast in hotel. Lunch and dinner during food tour

DAY 2, Delhi: Delhi Sights

This day in Delhi will be dedicated to exploring it’s famous and a few lesser known attractions. To start the tour, we’ll first visit Humayun’s Tomb, a majestic monument built in remembrance of Humayun, the first Mughal king in India. The tomb’s design was used in Taj Mahal and the similarities between the two monuments is quite obvious. Next stop will be the awe inspiring Swaminarayan Akshardham Temple, a beautiful complex full of beautiful art, gardens and fountains. It’s also the world record holder for World’s Largest Comprehensive Hindu Temple. After lunch, we’ll visit the National Museum, which is among the largest museums in India and also the one with widest range of attractions.. A large number of articles ranging from pre-historic era to modern works of art are on display. Later, we will go to Raj Path and see President’s House, India Gate and gardens around it. India Gate is a war memorial constructed in memory of Indian soldiers who died during World War 1 and Anglo Afghan wars. After a short walk on Raj Path, it’ll be time to head back to the hotel for a night of rest.

ACTIVITIES: Delhi sightseeing
MEALS: Breakfast Lunch and Dinner.

DAY 3, Delhi-Agra: Taj Mahal

We will wake up early and board the vehicles for a 3 hours drive to Agra. After leaving our luggage at the hotel and a bit of rest, we will  reach Taj Mahal, one of the 7 wonders of the world and arguably the most beautiful too. Most people claim that it looks much better in real life than in photos. We will have enough time there to soak in all the sights and thousands of small but mind blowing details that most people miss without someone to tell them. We will take a relaxing walk in the gardens and enjoy the play of water in fountains which increase it’s beauty many times over. One major attraction is to sit on the marble bench and get photos clicked in the same place where countless celebrities like Diana have posed for pictures. After Taj Mahal, it’s time to visit Agra Fort made of red sandstone for an interesting history lesson. As we walk through various parts of the fort, we will notice the breathtaking views of Taj Mahal as well as the Agra town which will come up. After this, we’ll take a walk through the centuries old  and famous Agra market and take a look at the wide variety of colourful art and various other things on display. The evening will be time for a n interactive north Indian cooking demonstration in the hotel where Rajeev will teach the fine points of general Indian cooking with emphasis on north-Indian cuisine. The cooking demo will include some staple Indian dishes like lentils, various Indian breads, vegetables, snacks, desserts and drinks like masala chai, lassi etc.

ACTIVITIES: Agra sightseeing. Cooking demonstration
MEALS: Breakfast, lunch and dinner.

DAY4, Agra-Jaipur: Food walk in Jaipur

After an early wake up, we will drive towards Jaipur and checkin the hotel for a couple of hours of rest. After freshening up, it’s time to explore the Pink City of India by way of a delightful food walk through it’s old markets and lanes. We’ll  walk through the lively streets and colourful markets enjoying the sights of this friendly city and sample all the delicious Rajasthani food it has to offer. During the food walk we’ll taste delicious kachouris, chai prepared over charcoal fire, some justly famous Rajasthani sweets, around half  a dozen different snacks and a big traditional Rajasthani dinner at the end. During the food walk of Jaipur, we’ll also cover sights such as Galta jee Temple (with it’s resident population of monkeys and langoors),  Nahargarh Fort and a few more. Local markets of Jaipur with their mind boggling varieties of colours, fragrances and people selling and buying almost everything under the sun like clothes, jewelery, bangles, shoes, utensils, spices will also be covered.  These traditional markets of Jaipur are a big attraction by themselves. The visitors will be introduced to some of the ingredients used in traditional Rajasthani cooking.

ACTIVITIES: Food walk in Jaipur, Sightseeing
MEALS: Breakfast, lunch and dinner. ( Lunch and dinner during food tour)

DAY 5, Jaipur: Playtime with elephants

After an early breakfast, it’s time to have some fun with friendly and intelligent elephants of Elefantastic. We’ll have the chance to ride them, play, feed and do a tons of fun things with the gentle giants in Elefantastic. The trainers take very good care of the animals and they are treated as loving family members instead of an owned animal. This is a much better way of interacting with these majestic beings, instead of just riding them which more often than not isn’t operated taking welfare of the animals in to account. You will have the chance to ride the elephants here, but in a humane, kindly and more involved way.  After a big platter full of traditional Rajasthani delicacies for lunch,  it’s time for a visit to the famous Hawa Mahal (Palace of wind). It’s 5 stories tall and built of red and pink sandstone. Front of Hawa Mahal consists of 953 small windows (jharokhas) which are decorated with intricate lattice work. We’ll then visit Jantar Mantar, an incredible astronomical observatory built in early 18th century by Maharaja Jai Singh. After observatory, we visit Jaipur City Palace which is still partly a royal residence in addition to housing a museum. Then it’s time to visit the famous Jal Mahal, a palace constructed on an island in Man Sagar Lake. The dinner will be another star attraction of this day as we’ll enjoy a traditional Rajasthani dinner with an old royal family of the city.

ACTIVITIES: Elefantastic, Sightseeing
MEALS: Breakfast, lunch and dinner ( Lunch during Elefantastic, dinner with royal family).

DAY 6, Jaipur-Udaipur. The City Of Lakes

Another early morning wake up call and we drive towards Udaipur . Just outside Jaipur, we’ll stop at Sambhar lake, India’s largest inland salt water lake. It’s area varies between 190 to 230 sq km and is the source of nearly 9% of India’s salt production. A large number of migratory  birds call make this lake their winter home every year. We will visit some salt making workshops and observe their working from up close. We’ll hit the road to Udaipur with a lunch break in Chittorgarh, It’s an ancient city which was first established in 271 BC. Throughout it’s history, it was one of the most prized seats of power in India and witness to a number of glorious battles and heroic sacrifices. It’s home to numerous important characters in Indian history such as Maharana Pratap, Meera Bai, Rana Sanga, Rana Kumbha and many more. In here, you can learn about some of the history by visiting attractions like Vijay Stambh, Kalika Mata Temple, Rani Padmini’s Temple and many more. After visiting some of the sights, we’ll drive towards Udaipur and check in at the hotel in evening.

ACTIVITIES:  Sightseeing, Camping in desert, Cultural night.
MEALS: Breakfast, lunch and dinner.

DAY 7, Udaipur: Mewari Cuisine

Day 7 will be dedicated to Mewari cuisine of Udaipur as we travel across the city exploring it’s sights as well as the local food from some of best food joints. The breakfast will be served during food walk as we move from one place to another sampling the finger licking food. During this day, we will also visit the famous City Palace museum and admire it’s vast collection of medieval and ancient artifacts housed in a beautiful building. The palace was built over a period of 400 years and is a mix of various architectural styles. Next, we’ll visit Jagdish Temple and observe the superb craftsmanship that makes this temple one of a kind. This white temple was built in 1651 and attracts a large number of devotees and tourists from distant places. Then we’ll visit Fateh Sagar lake, an artificial lake built in 1678. it’s situated in a picturesque setting with Aravali hills at 3 sides. Evening time will be dedicated to a cooking session which will include some of the dishes that we have sampled earlier in addition to some choice dishes from local Mewari cuisine. What we cook in this cooking class will be served for dinner.

ACTIVITIES: Food walk, cooking demo, Sightseeing
MEALS: Breakfast, lunch and dinner. ( Dinner with cooking class)

DAY 8, Udaipur-Delhi: Journey ends.

This will be the last day of the culinary tour as we’ll get in to our vehicles and drive back towards Delhi. If any of the guests need transport to airport or railway station for their journey elsewhere, it will be arranged according to their requirements.