The Kitchen Operas

Kathakali is the traditional dance of India, and tells the stories of the epics.  Usually Kathakali dances last all night, and take place at the temples for religious festivals.  The cultural centre has set up a show perfect for tourists: you get to see the dancers put on their makeup, they explain the traditions, give a little demo, and then do excerpts of a dance.

Our adventures through Kerala (in South India) continued to Kumarakom — land of the backwaters and the houseboats that serenely glide down the waters.

As soon as we crossed from Tamil Nadu into the state of Kerala (in South India), I knew we “weren’t in Kansas anymore”.  All of a sudden things were impossibly lush and green.  We had a gorgeous drive seeing all that goes on in Kerala — women do the farming: Women pick the tea leaves: [...]

Ah, Madurai – my favourite city in Tamil Nadu!  Madurai was also the halfway point in our tour of South India, and our last stop in Tamil Nadu before we moved into the state of Kerala. We started our day at the glorious Palace of Thirumalai Nayak, with our elegant guide, Meenakshi: The palace is [...]

After our stay with the carvings in Mahabalipuram, we ventured on through our tour of South India.  In Thanjavur (formerly Tanjore), we visited the Brihadisvara Temple.  The temple is one of the Chola Temples, which as a group make up a World Heritage Site, and tell you the history of the Chola kings who have [...]

Our next stop following Chennai on our tour of South India was Mahabalipuram (formerly Mammalipuram) in the state of Tamil Nadu. We needed to power up with a good breakfast for the drive, and so started with an incredible plate (clockwise from the top: masala uttapam, coconut chutney, roasted tomato chutney, sambar (lentil soup), idli, [...]

We interrupt this regularly scheduled tour of South India to bring you a recipe.  It’s not Indian breakfast, but it’s supremely tasty.  Also, my twitter peeps were asking for the recipe, so I had to hook you all up.  More on Indian travel, food & recipes coming soon! Happy long weekend, happy Easter, happy Sunday!  [...]

The first official stop on our sightseeing tour of South India, was Chennai (formerly Madras). Chennai is an IT hub, a big city, and the capital of Tamil Nadu.

We began our South Indian tour with a few days in Goa — India’s smallest state, known for its beaches. We thought it would be a great way to get over the jetlag, and oh it was a perfect plan! Our hotel had fantastic breakfasts — from the morning masala dosa to the buffet laid [...]

Well, I’ve just returned from my trip to India, and I’m so thrilled to be able to share it all with you. We adventured through South India (from Goa to Chennai, then along the coastline to Kochi), and then headed back up to North India to spend a few nights at our favourite spot: Fateh [...]