Cooking up a treat in magical Udaipur

Early morning at the Sunrise

The lassies were fine, the chapattis were great but it was the pakora that really convinced us. A scrumptious blend of sweet onions, red chillies, courgettes and potatoes, delicately fried in a batter of gram flour.  During our stay in Udaipur, breakfast at the Sunshine rooftop restaurant was a regular treat, setting us up to explore the narrow, winding streets of this enchanting lakeside town, deep in the heart of the blindingly colourful Indian state of Rajasthan.

The restaurant was no five star affair – plastic chairs, with fake marble table tops, propped up on concrete slabs, hastily whitewashed walls, all topped off with a potentially leaky, corrugated iron roof. They couldn’t even offer a view of the lake with its dazzling centrepiece, the beautiful Lake Palace hotel, perched on the Jagat Niwas Island but appearing to float in the midst of the lake’s shimmering waters. No, here it was clearly all about the food.

Yet how did they create such delights in such a rudimentary setting? My wife and I were determined to find out by enrolling on a cooking class with Shashi, the Sunshine’s charming and resourceful cook, who lives directly below the restaurant.  One sunny October afternoon we entered through faded yellow curtains into her living room, following her to an incredibly tiny kitchen where all the restaurants meals were prepared.

The class begins

“Welcome to the engine room!” she exclaimed with a bright smile that illuminated her worn but strikingly expressive face. Then she set off on a real master class in the arts of Indian cooking. A whirl of activity, she was soon producing ingredients from all corners of the cramped space around us. We tried to follow as she instructed us in the tasks of rolling the chapattis, mixing the spices and blending the sauces. As the sweat began to roll down our faces the kitchen slowly filled with unforgettably aromatic smells. Shashi watched and guided our every move, expertly demonstrating the use of a dizzying variety of steel utensils, laughing and joking as she encouraged us to meet her exacting standards.

A couple of hours of toil later and all was complete. We were amazed to have created a meal fit for a Raj. Vegetable pakoras with mint sauce, chapattis filled with tomato and cottage cheese, and all manner of spicy curries were eagerly transported to the dining room and set up on a low wooden table, ready for the feast.

With Shashi, mid-way through the feast

Shashi joined us as did her two sons, and we all tucked into an authentic North Indian  meal as good as any we had ever had, and incredibly, it was all created by Susanna and I, with a little help of course!  Over dinner Shashi told us many stories of her life in Udaipur, explaining how she had managed to establish the regular cooking classes that had become such a big hit with the streams of tourists that pass through town.

The meal over, we exchanged gifts. Shashi was delighted with her colourful Spanish bag while we received a spice tray and a sturdy pestle and mortar. Reluctantly departing, we stepped out into the chaotic streets of Udaipur, reflecting on the warmth of Indian hospitality and looking forward to another unbeatable Sunshine breakfast in the morning!