Home
·
Herbie's Blog
·
The Spice Discovery
·
Spices & More in South India Jan-Feb 2020

Spices & More in South India Jan-Feb 2020

September 10, 2019 posted in General

THIS TOUR IS NOW FULLY BOOKED.

Watch this space in case we do one in 2021.

Spices and More … in South India With Herbie and Liz

January 27th – February 15th 2020 (20 nights)


We invite you to join us, Herbie and Liz, as we return to our beloved India to take you to some places where many tourists don’t go! And some amazing places that you just can’t miss. This is designed as a holiday, not an endurance test, and we have made the itinerary a little more leisurely than some earlier tours, so that you arrive home refreshed and well. Be a part of our small group and join the fun!

With places filling rapidly for our January 2020 Spices & More Tour to India, we would like to remind interested travellers that the cut off date for confirming bookings is 14th October 2019. We will only take a small group of no more than 18, so travellers are assured of the best attention.

Why a Spices & More Tour?

Explore India and enter the exciting and historic world of exotic spices that drew the early explorers from Portugal, Holland, France and England to this cradle of the spice trade, guided by Australia’s own spice specialists, Herbie and Liz.

Visits to India’s famous chilli market in Guntur, the largest chilli market in the world, before heading down the east coast to French influenced Pondicherry, the historic Hindu ruins of Hampi and the majestic Hindu temple in Madurai. From farms in Tamil Nadu we head up the hills to Kumily, the home of cardamom and pepper, then to historic Cochin to experience the steamy spice-rich regions and markets of the South.

See fresh green peppercorns being hand picked  from this tropical climbing vine native to the south of India.

In this land of great contrasts and unforgettable images, India’s unpredictability is part of its charm.  Will we see splendidly-attired temple elephants in Cochin, or a colourful wedding procession as we arrive at our hotel?  These were some of the unexpected delights encountered on previous tours.

COMMENTS FROM PREVIOUS TRAVELLERS:

Jane:…”a fantastic trip with wonderful, lasting memories and amazing experiences.”

Anne: What can I say but  wow! and thank you , it was a great trip

Peter:… you never know I could certainly do it again.

Doug: I had a GREAT TIME and would travel with you anywhere any time

Hazel: The trip was splendid and surpassed all my expectations.

 

To receive the complete itinerary, and booking information please email: herbiesspices@icloud.com

Most Popular

Explore All

Aleppo Pepper

$4.90
Ground
35g

Cinnamon Quills Whole

View Options
Whole
15g 30g

Chilli Ancho Whole

$6.00
Whole
30g

Guacamole Spice Mix

$4.60
Spice Blend
25g

Cinnamon Quills Ground

View Options
Ground
70g 35g

Ras el Hanout Top of The Shop

$9.40
Spice Blend
40g

Shichimi Togarashi

$5.40
Spice Blend
35g

Baharat Lebanese 7 Spice, Advieh

$5.50
Spice Blend
45g

Coriander Seed Ground

View Options
Ground
35g 70g

Paprika Smoked Sweet Sweet 'Pimenton'

View Options
Ground
30g 60g

Paprika Hungarian Sweet Noble Sweet

$4.95
Ground
55g

Juniper Berries Hand Picked

$5.20
Whole
28g

Chilli Chipotle Powder

$7.50
Ground
30g

Lemon Myrtle Leaf Ground Australian Native Herb

$8.60
Ground
25g

Star Anise Whole

$4.85
Whole
15g

Butter Chicken Spice Mix

View Options
Spice Blend
100g 50g

More from the blog

Explore All
post

Meal Ideas for Isolation

We thought that in these unprecedented times, it would be appropriate to share some handy meal ideas to ease the stress of isolation and potentially limited food sources. Having to self-isolate creates an opportunity to brush up your cooking skills and have some fun experimenting with some flavours you may not have tried before. Let’s face it, everyone can cook. Have you ever grilled
post

Spices and Spice Blends for Vegetarian and Vegan Cooking

In this short video, Ian "Herbie" Hemphill talks about how Herbie's Spices, herbs and spice blends are all suitable for vegetarian and vegan cooking. A great spice blend for vegan meals is Aloo Gobi Masala. All ingredients are listed on the labels, so you know exactly what you are getting. For a wealth of information on spices, herbs and making your own spice blends,
post

Herbie’s Newsletter Summer 2019 – 2020

We’re all in accord about single-use plastics. Having seen huge drifts of plastic in the pristine seas off the Indonesian islands, we know just how important it is to get rid of those shopping bags, plastic wraps and sandwich bags. When one gets emotional about bad plastics, it’s easy to begin to demonize all plastics, and perhaps it’s timely to repeat this message from our Newsletter of some years ago.

post

Spices & More in South India Jan-Feb 2020

We invite you to join us, Herbie and Liz, as we return to our beloved India to take you to some places where many tourists don’t go! And some amazing places that you just can’t miss. This is designed as a holiday, not an endurance test, and we have made the itinerary a little more leisurely than some earlier tours, so that you arrive home refreshed and well. Be a part of our small group and join the fun!

post

Herbie’s Newsletter Spring 2019

What kind of meal do you think of when you hear the word “curry”?  The origin of our English word is Kari, meaning a spiced sauce.  The English took the idea back home from the colonies, and the classic Madras curry – well-balanced and flavoursome - became a staple in the English household.  The French, meanwhile, had colonized the Pondicherry area on the south-eastern
post

Newsletter Winter 2019

What is Single Origin? We see it emblazoned on tea, coffee, spices and other foodstuffs.  It’s pretty simple really.  If all your potatoes have been grown in the Hunter Valley, they are single origin from that region – they don’t all have to come from the same farm. If, say, a coffee blender buys beans from Africa and South America, and mixes them all
post

Easter Spice Essentials

With Easter just around the corner, it’s time to think about the spices you’ll need for your Easter recipes. For all those sweet recipes such as cakes, biscuits and hot cross buns, cinnamon, allspice, cloves and cardamom are traditional, along with Mixed Spice. For extra fragrance and flavour, try using our Fragrant Sweet Spice Blend as an aromatic substitute. Easter is a great time
post

ALL ABOUT ZA’ATAR

Za’atar, (often spelled zaatar, zartar, zatar) is a Middle Eastern spice blend that is used to flavour breads, and to season dishes in much the same manner as Mixed Herbs are used in Western cooking. The term Za’atar tends to create some confusion in the marketplace, as this Arabic word is used in many Middle Eastern countries to describe both the herb thyme, and
post

Herbie’s Newsletter Summer 2021 – 2022

This time last year, we thought the worst of COVID-19 was behind us.  We know now that it was just the beginning of another annus horribilis thanks to the Delta strain, but our changed conditions seemed to bring kindness and humanity to the fore.  As always, food has been a comfort and a blessing.  We’re coming to you a little earlier than the new
post

Herbie’s Newsletter – Spring 2021

Home Made Pizza Like so many Australians, we have had plenty of lock-down time during winter.  Our fabulous local pizzeria closed for a time, and we had to make our own pizza – not so difficult, really.  Here’s a simple dough recipe: mix 400g white bread flour with 1½ teaspoons of dry yeast and 1 teaspoon Italian Herbs.  Dissolve ½ teaspoon of salt in
post

Welcome to our New Website

The first thing you will notice is that this website looks quite different to the one you may be used to. In response to the many questions we have received from our customers over the years, we have built in many new features that will enhance your shopping experience. While navigating the site is intuitive, we've described some of the many new features here.
post

Herbie’s Spices Newsletter – Winter 2021

Following through on our gradual revision of the Spice Kits, we’ve had a look at the Al Fresco kit.  At our place, outdoor meals often include big sharing platters, which enable those who are hungry to really dig in, and those with bird-like appetites to pick gently at morsels, without any embarrassment about how much is put on, or left on, the plate.  So we’ve
post

Black Pepper Beef Recipe at Spice Village, Kumily, Kerala, India

Braised Black Pepper Beef, with Chef Manoj at Spice Village, Kumily, Kerala, India Serves 4-6 1kg beef tenderloin, trimmed Masala Marinade 1 tablespoon extra virgin coconut oil ½ cup grated fresh coconut 2 shallots, peeled and sliced 2 teaspoons coriander seeds 5 small dried red chillies, seeds removed and chopped 3 sprigs curry leaves 1 tablespoon crushed black pepper Braising Curry Sauce 1 tablespoon extra virgin coconut
post

Herbie’s Spices Newsletter – Autumn 2021

We trust that you have all survived Australia’s quiet introduction to the new year. Isn’t it wonderful that, in times of trial and frustration, cooking, eating and sharing bring such consolation? For those of us separated from our loved ones by insurmountable obstacles, we can be encouraged by improving conditions this year.

post

Herbie makes Avial (South Indian Vegetable Curry) in South India

Herbie loves being in South India, the food and the people. In this video he makes Avial (a South Indian Vegetable Curry). Making lightly spiced meals is one of life’s great pleasures, made all the simpler with our Herbie’s Spices all-natural spice blends.

post

Herbie’s Newsletter Summer 2020-2021

A world-wide annus horribilis is drawing to a close, and all we want for Christmas is a better year ahead. For many, time spent in confinement has been a time for reflection, communicating with loved ones, and cooking up a storm.

post

Herbie Makes a Curry in Kumily

In this video, following a short elephant ride, I have the audacity to show my Indian friends at Spice Village how I make my Saturday Curry!

Join the inner circle

Herbie’s Spices Inner Circle fills a need in the community of cooks and food lovers for early-access & upcoming events to all those hard-to-find herbs and spices.

Please enter valid email.
Subscribe