Special Recipe Tours|Food Festival tours

Food Festival tours

South India food tour, cooking (Keralan Islamic, Syrian Christian, Hindu and Coorg), feasting, fruit and spice markets, forest gardens, train journey, organic farming, temples, homestays, the sea, rice-barge houseboat, cycling, ayurvedic massage, river islands; coffee plantation and more…

India Food Festival Tours  - Sample South India Food Tour: 15 days/14 nights. Kerala, with optional stay in Coorg (near Bangalore)

Day one and two
Your arrival in the City of Kochi. Set on a cluster of islands and narrow peninsulas, Kochi is a city of cultural diversity - winding streets, shady trees, Kathakali dance, modern Indian art, 500-year old Portuguese houses, mosques, a tiny Jewish community with ancient roots - and ferry boats scuttling backwards and forwards. Once you are settled into your hotel, we can take you on our backstreet tour of the city by foot and three-wheelers, visiting the spice market, the fishing habour and, in the evening, the city's Kathakali dance show.

Overnight: (2 nights), The Old Courtyard Hotel, Fort Cochin - 200 year old Portuguese building, centered on a cobblestone courtyard, fine food, and live classical Indian music in the evenings.

Day three to five
We'll make our journey by train to Ayesha Manzil homestay, arriving by afternoon. The journey gives a truly 'insider's' view of the country as we travel past the backyards of homes - a mother feeding her children, clothes hung out on lines, goats grazing, boys playing cricket.

Ayesha Manzil homestay was bought by the Moosas in 1900. The colonial bungalow combines elegance with luxury. The rooms are vast and filled with antique furniture, including large wooden beds, hand carved writing desks and reclining divans. You can take breakfast on the garden terrace overlooking the ocean and there's a cool, emerald-tiled pool for bathing.

Faiza Mooza is internationally renowned for her Mopla cuisine - Keralan Islamic cooking. The food can be very hot and spicy and is completely different to other types of Indian food. You can begin your day here with an early morning trip to the fish market and spice merchant and end it with a wonderful feast. The surrounding area is beautiful with a long, almost deserted beach nearby where you can walk off the meals.

In addition to eating and swimming, we can visit the huge cinnamon plantation (Asia's largest) founded nearly 150 years ago by the original owner of the house, Murdoch Brown; hire a bike and cycle along the coast; and watch the evening Theyyam dance rituals at Parasinikkadavu Muthappan Temple. (cooking demonstrations are available for an additional price).

Overnight: (3 nights), Ayesha Manzil homestay.

Day six to eight
We will be met by the 100 year-old wooden canoe owned by Vinod and taken to his family homestay on Emerald Isle, an island of 400 homes on the Kerala backwaters. The life of the people who live here is centered on the backwaters - women pound their washing, families brush teeth, men linger at the local 'chai' shop, and canoes and ferry boats scurry by. Vinod's family is Syrian Christian. A quarter of the Christians in India come from Kerala - the majority (5 million) of whom are Syrian Christians. Their conversions took place around AD 46, and their church is Syrian Orthodox, though they have maintained many Hindu customs. Their culture and food is distinct.

You can take it easy over the next few days - reading in the hammock, dangling your toes in the water, taking massages, trying out the local tea shop and - of course - eating. Or if you're feeling more active - you can take a motorboat to visit the fruit and vegetable market; go cycling through the necklace of villages of Kuttanad; take evening walks or go bird watching through the paddy fields and homesteads; and help with cooking in the family kitchens.

Overnight: (3 nights) Emerald Isle homestay - warm family hospitality, courtyard gardens, hammock and nearby chai shop. The rice, pepper, coconut are all from Vinod's family farm. A quick count on our fingers, and we estimate that a stay at Emerald Isle directly supports the livelihood of over 15 families.

Day nine
You'll be picked up and taken for a night on a luxury houseboat on Kerala's backwaters. The houseboat is a converted rice-barge. Reclining on cushions, you'll travel through the rivers and a labyrinth of man-made canals that flow through island paddy fields.

Overnight: (1 night) on-board the house boat. Lunch and dinner on board.

Day ten to twelve
We'll make our way to Arakkal homestay - just 300 meters from the sea. This is the home of Abi and Mini. Mini is a beautician and a wonderful cook - you can join her cooking.
You can stroll along the beach (it's a public beach used by the local fishermen), go swimming, take an elephant ride (this is usually possible), going cycling, and have your hands and feet henna-ed. If you'd like to have traditional clothes made up for you, Abi can take you to Allepey to buy the materials and then get it measured and sewn up by the local tailor.

Overnight: (3 nights) Arakkal home stay.

Day thirteen to fourteen
We'll make our way to Mundakkal Spice Plantation homestay, hidden amongst the trees on the farm of the Zacharias. The farm and forest gardens are managed using traditional organic farming methods. Plants and spices grown on the farm supply the vegetarian cuisine prepared for the homestay - coconut, pineapple, bananas, different types of yam, tapioca, spices such as pepper, ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon, turmeric, vanilla and other tropical fruit trees and medicinal herbs.

As guests, we'll stay with the family. Here, in this predominantly farming village, you can also wander into the kitchen to learn a few recipes of Syrian Christian cooking. go birding (there are 80 species of birds nearby), take long walks in the countryside or go cycling. We can also take a quick tour of the local rubber processing facility that helps provide a living to small-scale rubber producers in the area.

Overnight: (2 nights) Mundakkal Spice Plantation homestay.

Day fifteen
After a farewell meal, we'll take you to the airport for your journey home (a one and half -hour trip from the Farm).

Coorg extension (taken after visit to Ayesha Manzil)
We'll make our way north to Coorg (or Kodagu) - a forested expanse in South West Karnataka. Coorg is often called the Kashmir of Karnataka for its cool weather and natural beauty. This small district is home to 260,000 people and is known for its coffee and tea estates, and the distinct culture of the people - their language, temperament and lifestyles.

Kodavas, the natives of Coorg, are of unknown origin, and are ethnically distinct from other Indian communities. Coorg has its own language known as "Kodava Tak" - a combination of Kannada, Tamil and Malayalam. Traditional festivals are associated with either the agricultural or the military nature of its people. The Coorg wedding is perhaps the only Hindu wedding ceremony where alcohol, dancing and meat eating, especially pork, are a must.

Coffee is found throughout Coorg, literally. Major towns appear as small pockets of life between the mountainous forests and coffee estates, connected by winding roads lined with hedgerows, flowering trees, and spices.

The School Estate is the former home of Reverend Rictor, one of the early missionaries to Coorg during the Raj. The estate is now owned by the Aiyapas family, Special Recipe Tours, eminent coffee estate owners and golf aficionados. As you enter the premises you will be greeted by manicured hedges, poinsettias, coffee and pepper vines. While at School Estate you can try your hand at golf, go walking through the mountain trails, and learn the intricacies of Coorg cooking from Rani Aiyapa (the most popular Coorg dish is 'Pandi curry' made from pork, roasted spices and herb paste. A quick trip to Dubare elephant interaction camp (1 hour drive) is also possible.

Overnight: (3 nights) at the stately mansion School Estate.

When it comes to food and tasty delights India is a blend of tradition and modernism. You’ll find doughnuts and burgers side by side traditional Mughlai or south India food tour.

In any types of Special Recipe Tours the most striking similarity you’ll find is spices. You cannot escape spices in any of the various cuisines in India. Be it the North Indian Mughlai, Punjabi, Gujarati, Kashmiri cuisine or the coastal kitchen or traditional South Indian variety spices rule everywhere.
Other staples of Indian food are rice, potatoes, and varieties of flour to make rotis (Indian bread). They form the backbone of the foods eaten in India.

One of the best ways to sample authentic India food festivals  is at an Indian home, rather than at a restaurant. Indian food is not just unique to a particular state, but also to different communities within the same state. Dining at an affluent and educated Indian's home is not very different from the western way.

However, in a traditional middle-class home, one may be expected to sit in a cross-legged, yogic position on the floor and eat with the right hand from a banana leaf. It is customary to leave one's footwear outside the door to the house. Other rules of home-dining that have to be followed include:

do not eat with you left-hand, even if you are naturally left handed never help yourself, wait until you're served never offer food from your plate, even if it's a bowl and untouched

Whatever the case, india food festivals is something every foreigner will look forward to, but be cautious as too much of spice at a single time might not go well with your tummy initially.

Cuisine - South Indian Cuisines

South India Cuisines,South Indian foods,South Indian recipesStrategically located in southern parts of India, Corniche Inn speciality lies in offering exotic South Indian Cuisines. Our South Indian cuisines are unique and we serve authentic South Indian foods, having a savoring taste and aroma. Owned and operated by our resort, our restaurant provides you with all South Indian foods varieties. Each item on our menu is prepared with aromatic Indian herbs and spices, by our expert chefs from the city.

Serving with warmth, the spicy South Indian foods!
Special recipe tour prepared in our kitchen is prepared with care, to maintain the aroma and the unique flavor of South India. Though our South Indian recipes are spicy, yet it is very appetizing for all the gourmets. Serving with warmth the spicy hot dishes is where our speciality lies in. Our guests can relish the taste of our special food varieties. Apart from our South Indian food items, we also offer distinct other dishes, which are popular favourites of all.

South India Cuisines,South Indian foods,South Indian recipesAt Corniche Inn, we ensure to serve you better. The spatial location of our restaurant are embracive to accommodate large number of people. We can also offer you our special banquet menu and also cater to parties. Our experience in catering for events enables us to serve you better. A favorite of the Indian community, the India Food Festivals are made in well-maintained vegetarian restaurant. One of our speciality, crowd-pleasers include sheer stuffed crêpes (dosai), spicy lentil soup (sambar), and batura, a puffy fried bread. Our chefs ensure that our menu is neither to spicy or oily, keeping in mind the health conscious people around us. Check out some of our Famous Traditional south Indian delicacies .
Whats on our menu!
Sweets -


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