Most first time visitors to India visit either Goa, Kerala or ‘The Golden Circle’ of Delhi, Jaipur and Agra. This report covers the Golden Circle route where many package tourists, for fear of going down with the ‘Delhi Two Step’ at the first mouthful of local food, often restrict their eating to the five star hotels to which the package tours take them. Such caution is a shame as Indian food is as diverse as it’s population and should be sampled and enjoyed. Hopefully this report will help people do just that.

I first visited India in 1964 and have been numerous times since. Over the years I’ve noticed little change except for the increasing number of high class hotels and air conditioned restaurants in the growing tourist areas. In more rural areas formal restaurants are not common (the average Indian tends not to eat out, preferring home cooking) but small eating houses and stalls selling a variety of snacks exist everywhere. Snacks and meals in these places are freshly cooked, delicious and prices negligible by our standards. However, although well worth sampling these roadside delights it is advisable to acclimatise to Indian foods and standards first (even if accustomed to high street curry house fare back home). For short term visitors particularly, over eagerness may later be regretted as many a holiday has been ruined by an enthusiastic rush to the nearest stall before becoming acclimatised to the food.!

Larger cities, and particularly Delhi, have a god variety of places to eat - from snacks offered by the ubiquitous roadside stalls to good class restaurants and hotels. Over the years there has also been a depressing proliferation of Western fast food restaurants, such as KFC and McDonalds (although you won’t get a standard Big Mac in India as no beef, or pork for that matter, is used. All burgers are lamb/mutton or veggie). Even the upmarket Connaught Place in Delhi now sports a Pizza Hut!

Eating in the major hotels should be safe even for the most delicate constitution as these hotels are increasingly aware of the common reaction of the European stomach to Indian food and, with the increase in tourism, they take particular care in areas of hygiene. All major hotels will offer European dishes (some even break the beef taboo, offering steak on the menu but it will almost certainly be buffalo meat) as well as Indian dishes, although they tend not to overdo the hotter spices.

Most restaurants also offer a ‘Chinese’ selection. For those wanting a change from Indian food I would recommend going Chinese as this is surprisingly good. However, the ‘Continental’ menu is usually a selection of uninteresting and mediocre Western dishes and best avoided unless in a good hotel. With Indian dishes most restaurants will provide complimentary pickles - usually a mint raita, lime pickle and a dish of delicious little lightly pickled red onions that Indians (and me) love.

Personally I usually eschew hotels where possible, and particularly in New Delhi, although on my most recent visit and being accompanied by my wife we ate in the upmarket Connaught Place rather than more basic restaurants where women are less common and tend to be an object of curiosity.

Connaught Place and it’s vicinity has many restaurants, invariably air conditioned, smart by Indian standards and which are patronised by the better off Indians and tourists. For old India hands, Connaught Place might be too fashionable, but for readers who might be visiting Delhi for the first time or taking a package tour and so have little time for exploration, eating in Connaught Place is a good and safe place to start. It gets away from the Europeanised hotels yet provides clean and reasonable restaurants where the food is unlikely to have any adverse effects and spoil a holiday.

For just a beer and/or snack the Volga bar in Connaught Place is a reasonable bet. Although it is a male dominated bar, women raise no eyebrows and it is comfortable and air conditioned. Each time we visited the customers were all Indian which provided a good local ambience. Locally brewed ‘Black Label’ beer is very good and cost about Rs 60 (85p) a litre bottle. Light meals/snacks are also available but it’s probably worth eating elsewhere.

Although there are a number of restaurants to choose from in the vicinity, one I can recommend is the unlikely named United Coffee House. Despite it’s name it is a proper restaurant (not a coffee and cake place) and is smart and air conditioned with it’s ornate ceiling, mirrored walls and chandelier type lights giving it a good ambience. It has European style toilets (with paper!), which is always a plus point, and even has flock wall paper so beloved by the early Indian restaurants back home. Seating about 100 in the main dining area plus a small balcony room, it is used by the wealthier Indians and often tourists. However, on our recent visits there were fortunately few Europeans, and on one occasion (a Saturday night) only one other European couple - the remaining tables being full of smartly dressed Indian families with the women creating a kaleidoscope of colour with their saris. The food is excellent and reasonably priced. It is licensed and a pitcher of local beer (contains 4 glasses despite the menu saying only 3 glasses) costs Rs 160 (about £2) and which, if ordered prior to ordering the food, is served with a plate of crispy nibbles.

The mouthwatering menu contains a wide selection of Indian dishes. My favourites are Tandoori Aloo (potatoes stuffed with cottage cheese and cashew nuts and roasted in the Tandoor), Tandoori Dharwa Simla Mirch (capsicums stuffed with potatoes and roasted in the Tandoor) - both at Rs 75 - and Chicken Chop (chicken stuffed with garlic, ginger and coriander) at Rs 125. All of which are absolutely delicious. A sample of other items on the extensive menu are Vegetable Jal Freezy (sic) at Rs 75, Aloo Gobi (Rs 70), Subzi Pullau (Rs 70), Murgh (chicken) Tikka (Rs 125 half or 190 whole), Fish Curry (Rs 130), Ghost Biryani (Rs 105), Vegetables of the Day (Rs 70), Navratha Korma (mixed vegetables, cream, spices and dried fruit) at Rs 90, Tandoori Mixed Grill (chicken, liver, kidneys, mutton and shish kebabs) at Rs 170. Pullau Rice is Rs 50. Portions are ample and three dishes plus a rice or pullau and nan is quite sufficient for two average eaters. Our meals were always less than Rs 600 for two (about £8), including a pitcher of beer and taxes. Expensive by Indian standards but very reasonable by ours, particularly for the type of restaurant.

Another area of Delhi where there are reasonable restaurants - slightly less up market but still air conditioned and perfectly stomach friendly - is the Pandara Road Market. This is a smallish row of shops laying back from the road and which contains six restaurants of different types. We ate here in the Pindi restaurant and it was fine - air conditioned and comfortable. Portions were large and our vegetarian meal of Vegetable Pullau, Mixed Vegetable Curry, Aloo Gobi, Stuffed Nan and a couple of bottles of water was Rs 280 (£3.50) was excellent and enough for two of us.

For those who have more time and are more adventurous (and have an acclimatised stomach) a trip to Old Delhi is an interesting eating experience. On my first visit in 1964 I ate there in a restaurant called Moti Mahal - a very basic restaurant in a narrow street packed with humanity and cows. However, the food was always good and they were very friendly (in those days Europeans eating in Old Delhi were uncommon to say the least), and happy to show you the tandoor in the back yard in where a skinny man in a loin cloth skilfully used a long pole to insert bits of chicken and breads. It was exactly the same when I visited in the 1970’s and was still going strong ten years ago. I was therefore very pleased to hear that it is still going and, according to my Indian informant, has expanded and even opened another branch. Sadly I was unable to visit on my most recent visit but I am delighted it still exists. Perhaps next time.

In Jaipur - another city likely to be visited by the ‘Golden Triangle’ tourist - many small, local restaurants exist. However, for those who wish to eat out of the hotel yet don’t want to put their stomachs at risk in small eating houses or roadside stalls, Niros restaurant in Mirza Ismail Road is probably the safest bet. The outside looks very swish with a uniformed doorman to greet diners. The interior, however, is fairly ordinary (not as comfortable or atmospheric as the United Coffee House in Delhi) but comfortable enough, particularly by Indian standards. It is also air conditioned, but is unlicensed.

Unfortunately it must be on the list of certain tour operators as it always seems to have a high number of Europeans - often in tour groups - which for me spoils the atmosphere. Nevertheless, the food is good enough and quite reasonable. Once again portions are ample and our Murgh Jalfrezi, Aloo Gobi, Peshwari Dall (delicious!), Vegetable Pullau, Nan and two chapattis cost Rs390 (about £5.50) and was quite enough for two. But be warned - if you are with a package tour and are invited to go on an organised tour group for a set price (and set meal), it is much cheaper to make your own arrangements and order your own meal from the menu and pay separately. You may have to get your own taxi (at negligible cost) rather than use the tour coach but it is well worth doing it individually as not only is it far cheaper but you get what you want and not what the group meal provides.

Another safe bet, if one doesn’t mind eating in a hotel, is the bar/coffee shop restaurant at the Holiday Inn in Jaipur (some ½ mile from the centre). The curries are good and reasonably priced in the coffee shop, which is patronised by Indians and the atmosphere is a lot less formal than the proper restaurant in the hotel. Even more upmarket is the Trident Hotel (situated on the outskirts of town) which looks very posh. Although visiting for a drink I haven’t eaten there - it’s a bit too elegant for my simple tastes but it’s reputed to be a good place for the less adventurous to want a good European meal in plush surroundings.

Malcolm Wilkins