Our day in Agra began very early with a visit to the Taj Mahal at sunrise. As the most iconic attraction in India and one of the seven wonders of the world, it was high up on my bucket list! We entered through the great gate, decorated with Islamic verses inlaid in black stone into...Read More

Amber Fort (also known as Amer Palace) is a huge ornate Rajasthani palace overlooking Maota Lake. It’s at the top of a hill across four different courtyard levels and was built in the 16th century by Raja Man Singh. There are two main gates leading into the first courtyard; the Sun Gate which faces east...Read More

We started our day in the pink city by visiting the Hawa Mahal. Known as the ‘Palace of the Winds’ it is a large ornate facade made from pink and red sandstone. It was created in 1799 to allow royal women to watch the street festivals below but remain unseen by the public. Next we...Read More

In the afternoon we visited Qutub Minar which is one of the main tourist attractions in Delhi. Entrance fee is 600 rupees for foreigners (a little steep by Indian standards) but it is a beautiful place to visit. The 73m tall minaret was built as a symbol of victory by Qutb Ud-Din Aibak over the...Read More

I’m travelling around India this month and wanted to write a post on some of the sightseeing I’ve done in Delhi. There’s so much to see and do – it’s chaotic, crazy and a little overwhelming but I loved it! We started the day at Jama Masjid, a magnificent mosque built by the Moghul Emporer...Read More

Indian families are generally very large and complicated so I wanted to write a little post on what the different family relationships are called. Whereas in English there’s just one word for ‘uncle’, in Gujarati we have five different names to more clearly explain the relationship. There’s this bit in the movie Bride and Prejudice...Read More

Siro is a delicious semolina dessert and a real treat that we often have around diwali time. Here’s my Nanima’s recipe… Ingredients: 1cup soji (semolina flour) 1/2 cup ghee (clarified butter) 1 cup sugar 1 pint milk 1 heaped tbsp pistachios, plus some for decoration 1 heaped tbsp almonds, plus some for decoration 15 cardamom...Read More

Today is Bhai Bij – the fifth and final day of the festival of Diwali and it celebrates the special bond between brothers and sisters. Traditionally sisters invite their brothers for a jamvanu (special meal) and blessings and gifts are exchanged. For those who don’t have a brother, like myself, we do a little prayer...Read More

Happy New Year! Or as we say ‘Sal Mubarak’ or ‘Nutan Varshna Abhinandan’ meaning best wishes for the new year. Traditionally we visit family, particularly our elders to pay our respects. We have mithai (my favourites include googra, burfi, biscuits…. Mmm, my mouth is watering just thinking about it!) and nastho (delicious savoury snacks such...Read More

Today is the day of Diwali so happy Diwali everybody!! It is a day of happiness and celebration and lots and lots of food. Today celebrates the return of Rama and Sita to Ayodhya after defeating the ten-headed demon and you can read the full story of Diwali here. Traditionally, we have a big family...Read More