India has always been a feast for the senses.
Tender grilled lamb in cumin from Dehli, rich curries from Rajasthan, mighty tiger prawns sizzling in their juices from Goa, Bombay duck - in fact a fish dish - from what is now known as Mumbai (Mumbai mallard, anyone?) and the ubiquitous daal and rice, the filling fuel of the masses.
My India holidays have always been food focussed.
Whether I'm on a rice boat tour through the sleepy backwaters of Kerala, at an ashram in the high Himalaya or on a tiger safari in Ranthambore, my next meal is never far from my mind.
That's why this time I'd booked onto a cookery course as part of a company's solo holidays across India.
I decided to return to South India, partly because the food is so distinct from western conceptions of chicken tikka masala and onion bhajis.
And partly because I'm vegetarian.
And so is South India.
I was staying at Anna's house in Fort Cochin, a lovely old colonial building with that typical Portuguese influence that shines through the prosperous neighbourhood.
The house, now owned and tended to by a well to do Indian family, was almost empty, apart from me and one or two others who were also on the solo holidays cookery course.
No surprises there, it was English summer, which in Indian translates as ow season or more accurately, 'monsoon season'.
But the rains only came in short heavy bursts, weighting the sky in an instant and offloading onto the warm sodden earth.
I actually quite liked it.
There are fewer tourists around, and if you want to pick up a bargain, India holidays go on sale at this time of year.
But back to the food.
Our first lesson was to take place on the banks of Fort Cochin's quaint harbour, where Chinese fishermen fan out their nets like umbrellas to make their catch.
It's here that you can buy fish fresh from the fishermen and have them cooked for you right by the sea, there and then - a delicious treat.
Today it was our turn to try.
This, it turned out was more skillful than we expected.
The raw flame easily burnt the flesh if we weren't careful and overcooking left the normally juicy fish tough not tender.
But we soon got the hang of it.
Our trial class over, our second lesson was at the Brunton Boatyard - a beautiful colonial hotel with walls of rich dark wood, where the restaurant's menu reads like a novel.
Here we picked up top tips from the chef, cooked (non-burnt) fish in coconut leaf and made the 'perfect' rice.
How would I rate the holiday? Quite simply delicious!
Tender grilled lamb in cumin from Dehli, rich curries from Rajasthan, mighty tiger prawns sizzling in their juices from Goa, Bombay duck - in fact a fish dish - from what is now known as Mumbai (Mumbai mallard, anyone?) and the ubiquitous daal and rice, the filling fuel of the masses.
My India holidays have always been food focussed.
Whether I'm on a rice boat tour through the sleepy backwaters of Kerala, at an ashram in the high Himalaya or on a tiger safari in Ranthambore, my next meal is never far from my mind.
That's why this time I'd booked onto a cookery course as part of a company's solo holidays across India.
I decided to return to South India, partly because the food is so distinct from western conceptions of chicken tikka masala and onion bhajis.
And partly because I'm vegetarian.
And so is South India.
I was staying at Anna's house in Fort Cochin, a lovely old colonial building with that typical Portuguese influence that shines through the prosperous neighbourhood.
The house, now owned and tended to by a well to do Indian family, was almost empty, apart from me and one or two others who were also on the solo holidays cookery course.
No surprises there, it was English summer, which in Indian translates as ow season or more accurately, 'monsoon season'.
But the rains only came in short heavy bursts, weighting the sky in an instant and offloading onto the warm sodden earth.
I actually quite liked it.
There are fewer tourists around, and if you want to pick up a bargain, India holidays go on sale at this time of year.
But back to the food.
Our first lesson was to take place on the banks of Fort Cochin's quaint harbour, where Chinese fishermen fan out their nets like umbrellas to make their catch.
It's here that you can buy fish fresh from the fishermen and have them cooked for you right by the sea, there and then - a delicious treat.
Today it was our turn to try.
This, it turned out was more skillful than we expected.
The raw flame easily burnt the flesh if we weren't careful and overcooking left the normally juicy fish tough not tender.
But we soon got the hang of it.
Our trial class over, our second lesson was at the Brunton Boatyard - a beautiful colonial hotel with walls of rich dark wood, where the restaurant's menu reads like a novel.
Here we picked up top tips from the chef, cooked (non-burnt) fish in coconut leaf and made the 'perfect' rice.
How would I rate the holiday? Quite simply delicious!
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