Jet lag and stomach in control, I head north from Hyderabad through Mumbai to Jaipur and Udaipur in Rajasthan for their rich history, culture and remarkably complex and enticing food! First Jaipur—aka The Pink City for its pink buildings that symbolize hospitality, the capital and largest city of Rajasthan—also known for hand-knitted rugs and kathputli (string puppet theatre). Of course, I coveted both. I mulled over my purchases while I indulged in Jaipur cuisine: millet and roti breads, hot garlic paste, dal (lentils in many variations), spicy subzi (ker berries and sangri beans), ghevar (crispy, porous delicacies soaked in sugar syrup) and gajak (dried sweets made with sesame seeds and ground nuts). Then on to Udaipur in western Rajasthan, which boasts mystical lakes, the City Palace that overlooks Lake Pichola and a seemingly “floating” hotel complex depicted in the James Bond film Octopussy. Marble is exclusively mined and exported here. Of course, it makes its way into my collectables. Udaipur cuisine embraces a wide variety of lentils, indigenous vegetables and spices including turmeric, coriander, mint and chilies in many semblances. Corn, gram flour (garbanzo bean or besan), baijra (pearl millet), yoghurt, dried mango, more sangri beans, deep fried breads and dil jani, a distinctive Udaipur sweet commonly appear on menus. Glad to have this thali platter with many tastes! I’m headed to Agra, home of the Taj. Meet you at daybreak.