Food · Lamahatta
Supper in a Lamahatta homestay kitchen
The best meal in Lamahatta is the one your host cooks. Expect rice, dal, seasonal greens, squash, a fiery pickle and often a chicken curry, eaten near the kitchen stove, with gundruk or nettle soup in season and tea at any hour.
Homestays in the Darjeeling hills include dinner and breakfast in the price, and in Lamahatta that is no small thing. The food is what the family eats, scaled up: rice, a thin dal, a vegetable such as squash (iskus) or potatoes with greens, a pickle of radish or tomato with local chilli, and often a chicken curry or eggs. In season the table may carry ningro (fiddlehead fern), sisnu (nettle) soup or gundruk, the fermented leafy greens that are one of the hills' signature foods.
Ask if you can eat in the kitchen rather than the dining room. In many houses the warmest place on a winter night is beside the stove, and watching the cooking is the best way to learn what goes into a dish. Breakfast is usually puri and potato curry, bread and eggs, or noodles, with milky tea; around Dashain and Tihar you may be offered sel roti, the ring-shaped rice bread fried for the festivals. Vegetarians are easily fed; tell your host when you book.
Meals are simple and generous, and seconds are always offered. If you have dietary needs, ask in advance, because there are only small roadside stalls nearby to fill gaps. A small tip for the cook at the end of the stay is appreciated but never expected. And try hard chhurpi, the dried cheese of the hills, if your host has some; chew it slowly, because one piece can last an hour.
Cost: Included in the homestay rate (₹1,500–2,500 pp)
Questions people ask
Good to know
Is food included in Lamahatta homestays?
Usually, yes. Most homestays quote ₹1,500–2,500 a person with dinner and breakfast included, and many will cook lunch for a little extra if told in the morning. Confirm what is included when you book, along with tea, hot water and heating, because terms vary from house to house.
Can vegetarians eat well at a homestay?
Yes. Hill home cooking is built on rice, dal, vegetables, greens and pickles, so a vegetarian meal is normal rather than a special request. Tell your host when you book, and say clearly if you avoid eggs, onion or garlic. Jain or vegan diets are possible with notice, though the choice will be simpler.
What local dishes should I try?
Ask for gundruk (fermented greens) soup, sisnu (nettle) soup or ningro (fiddlehead fern) in their season, iskus (squash) curry, a radish or tomato achar with local chilli, and sel roti if a festival is near. Try hard chhurpi, a dried cheese, as a snack. Momos and thukpa are easy to find at the roadside stalls.
Also in Lamahatta
More things to do
Treks and walks · 1.5–2 hours returnThe forest trail to Lamahatta's holy lakeLamahatta · Small park entry fee
Viewpoints · 1–2 hoursMorning in Lamahatta's terraced eco-parkLamahatta · Small entry fee
Culture and history · 5–6 hoursA day circuit to Takdah and TinchuleyLamahatta · ₹2,500–4,000 a car for the day