Ivanka Trump visits Hyderabad’s historic

Golconda Fort

The Economist 1843

Desserts in Hyderabad with Jonty

(Jayanti Rajagopalan), India | Andrew Zimmern’s

Driven By Food

India: a street food tour

It was a moment of culinary perfection in which I could revel for only a second before another ball was loaded and in my hand, requiring immediate attention. Jonty Rajagopalan had just initiated me into the Kolkata version of pani puri, a classic Indian street-food treat of deep-fried puri balls filled with pani or water, here enriched with tamarind and date purée, chickpeas, potato, onion, chilli, coriander, mint and kala namak, or black salt. It is sweet and sour, hot and cold, crispy and wet, weird and wonderful all at the same time.

World-class guides

Jonty set up Detours in Hyderabad in 2008 and quickly became one of the most sought-after guides in India. One old India hand told me she was the best he had ever met, and I can understandsee why. Hyderabad is stuffed full of the rich cultural fireworks that make India so compelling. If you want to learn how to cook the perfect biryani, Jonty knows the best chef in town. If you want to walk in the footsteps of the Nizami rulers of the city, she can take you there – and explain the story better than anyone.

India – Q & A with Jonty

Rajagopalan

Born in Hyderabad, Jonty quit the corporate world to follow her passions of history and food. A certified, albeit fussy foodie, her biggest passions of food, history and her love for offbeat locations keeps her exploring the length and breadth of India. Being an avid traveller she is always curious to know more about the people, traditions, and especially the food of that region. She delivers interesting stories and conversations with locals, all of which you might not experience when travelling independently.

A Hyderabadi Food

Fiesta!

In retrospect, this mild inconvenience was the only thing that went wrong that day—and I am really nitpicking here. As the morning metamorphosed into the afternoon, Jonty’s promised ‘The Andhra Spice Detour’ progressed like a line graph bound straight for the skies. By the end of it, I had tasted some scrumptious nosh; relished the sights, smells and sounds of a marketplace; and perfectly summed up a food-filled week-long sojourn to Hyderabad.

Other Lessons In Food

History

On a mild, late winter morning, I stood beside a small food cart at Patterghati, in Hyderabad, licking the syrup that had trickled out of the hot, sweet jalebis, some of the best I had ever crunched my way through, off my fingers. A shaft of early sunlight slanted across to highlight the kadhai where the owner was busy frying fresh batches and threading them through skewers. As I ate the last mouthful, he quickly wrapped something in a twist of paper and handed it over –I opened the package, curious. Small bits of fried namkeen were wedged in the paper, a little finishing touch to cut the sweet of the jalebi.

Now, tourists want to

be Ms-guided

From Ivanka Trump to the aam foreign traveller, women tour guides are much in demand. Last week, Jayanti ‘Jonty’ Rajagopalan shepherded Ivanka Trump around Golconda Fort. The US President’s daughter spent an hour at the monument, says the tour guide, recalling her interest in the fort’s acoustics. “She clapped her hands at various points to understand how sound travelled in the monument and helped the inhabitants warn each other of an impending attack,” says, who holds an MBA and runs Detours India, an all-women travel company in Hyderabad.

A chat with Jayanti

Rajagopalan: Founder,

Detours

Hyderabad-based Detours is a tour organiser of a different kind – it offers highly personalised and interactive trips in and around the City of Pearls. From its inception in the year 2008, Detours has organized many trips, for many satisfied customers. In an exclusive chat with SupportBiz, Jayanti Rajagopalan aka Jonty, the founder of Detours tells us all about her company and of life as an entrepreneur. ur tours can largely be grouped into four categories – Slice of Life, Historical, Arts and Crafts, and Culinary.