Condé Nast Traveller India February - March - April 2021

JIGNESH JHAVERI Photographer; The Ultimate Taste Test; p54 A: Puglia. The region produces half of Italy’s olive oil and is famous for its pasta and breads. @jj2910 ROSHNI BAJAJ SANGHVI Writer; P for Pumpkin; p68 A: On a very cold afternoon in December 2019, I had my first meal in Ortigia—a bowl of warm casarecce with pistachio pesto, and a glass of crisp, white house wine—for under 10 euros. Italy was the last country I visited before the pandemic and where I want to travel to first. @roshnibajaj KRUTIKA BEHRAWALA Writer; A Vegetarian’s Guide to Goa; p156 A: Uzbekistan—the heart of the Silk Road—to understand the culinary influences and enjoy a feast of plov, manti, tandoor breads and kebabs, with a side of interesting stories and cultural deep-dives at a local’s home. @krutika.b CHANDRAHAS CHOUDHURY Writer; Love on Legs in Kumaon; p120 A:…

I never imagined that Conde Nast Traveller would ever create a vegetarian Food Special, but the past year has done strange things to us all. As we sheltered in place, dreaming of faraway destinations, we gained much more appreciation for things closer home. So while Instagram was full of banana bread and Dalgona coffee, I also saw more regional Indian cooking on my feed than I’ve ever seen before. (So much so that I posted a recipe for Sindhi seyal bread myself—it was a solitary attempt, much like my Pilates class.) I was amazed by the versatility of a pumpkin, captivated by Saee Koranne-Khandekar’s authentic Maharashtrian cuisine, and wondered how many different ways I could spin Thomas Zacharias’s Kerala thoran recipes. I became addicted to Padma Lakshmi’s IG videos, but…

COLOMBO RANBATH With produce sourced from its own organic farm, Ranbath offers a hearty taste of traditional Sri Lankan vegetarian cuisine. Make your own bowl with a generous serving of organic heirloom rice, heaped onto a lotus leaf, and accompanied by five vegan curries of your choice. End your meal with a banana and kithul treacle hopper or imbul kiribath (rice cake with treacle). +94 773235555 CAFÉ FRANÇAIS With its wooden flooring and rustic black-and-white tiles, vintage photos of France adorning the walls, and soft mood lighting, Café Français exudes a très chic French bistrot vibe. A Mediterranean menu includes French onion soup, gnocchi, assorted pasta, a gourmet burger with potato cake, grilled veggies, and tomato confit, and traditional French desserts like crème brûlée and lemon tart. Pair your meal with a…

A less-than-coy bride dancing with abandon to the latest Punjabi hits. A woman who has her special day planned on colourcoded spreadsheets. Two grooms who finally cemented their long-standing love in an exuberant Goa wedding. A fairy-tale ceremony for the bride who had forgotten her childhood dreams. The Big Day, a Netflix Original docuseries produced by Condé Nast India, explores the love stories, the larger-than-life celebrations, and the behind-the-scenes magic that go into making an Indian wedding. Real couples and their friends and families take the spotlight, supported by a cast of planners, caterers, florists and all the rest who make wedding dreams a reality. Each of the 12 weddings, chronicled over six episodes, is unique. From focusing on sustainability to multicultural traditions, these stories, which span 25 Indian cities, are beautifully…

Kashmir Rare Saffron, almonds, walnuts, apricots—Kashmir Rare ships the valley’s produce countrywide, along with a winter-special almond and walnut chocolate bark. @kashmirrare Janavi India X Kiera Chaplin 1920s glamour and Art Deco designs inspire the capsule collaboration between cashmere brand Janavi India and Kiera Chaplin, actress and granddaughter of Charlie Chaplin. The “Hollywood 1933” scarf with a beaded bee motif is among the embellished pieces. janaviindia.com Good Earth Anita Lal’s design house Good Earth celebrates its twenty-fifth anniversary with a retrospective of their most timeless textiles, tableware and décor. The reimagination of Kashmiri Naqashi papier-mâché is among the archival designs that will be launched as limited editions and made available only in 2021. goodearth.in PHOTOGRAPHS: ARTFOTO STUDIOS; STORIES BY JOSEPH RADHIK; ERRIKOS ANDREOU/DEU: CREATIVE MANAGEMENT; SHREYA SEN PHOTOGRAPHYA…

When a devastating explosion tore through the Lebanese capital last summer, the city’s independent artists and designers, whose jewel-box shops and busy studios fill the neighbourhoods closest to the blast zone, were among those particularly impacted. This was the latest tragedy in a year already marked by the pandemic and a collapsed economy. “As a community, we felt like we’d all been hit together,” says designer Tatiana Fayad, co-founder of the high-fashion women’s brand Vanina (vanina.me), whose store in the bohemian enclave of Gemmayzeh was heavily damaged. The network of designers, many of whom have been friendly for years, have always tried to bolster one another in the absence of more formal support, says Fayad. “We don’t have organisations that help us or teach us how to sell abroad—so we learn…