Palace perfection

Smaller and more intimate than the Lake Palace, the Shiv Niwas Palace hotel is part of the Maharaja of Udaipur's own HRH Group of luxury hotels and is housed within a collection of palaces built over the centuries on the shore across from the Lake Palace.

A range of Continental dishes - such as freshly made pasta for between 170 and 195 rupees (£2.51-£2.88) with either Bolognese, spinach and cream, or chilli, tomato and garlic sauce - appears on the menu at the hotel's 50-seat restaurant with poolside extension.

"For many of our guests, Udaipur is the last stop on their tour of India," explains the present maharaja, Arvind Singh Mewar. "By the time they get here, they have had enough of Indian food and are longing for something more familiar."

The maharaja has been keen to improve this section of the menu, as well as at the nearby Gallery restaurant in the Fateh Prakash Palace hotel and the Sunset Terrace bar used by residents of both hotels. So he has flown in catering consultant Camilla Festing from England to help out.

Her efforts are already bearing fruit. She has located sources of fresh basil and oregano, and has replaced the tricky sauces that can easily go wrong with simple but strong primary flavours. Chinese dishes, a mainstay of many restaurants in India alongside Indian dishes, are also being eliminated.

For those still enjoying Indian cuisine, choices cooked by the 37-strong brigade include tandoori dishes and a few Rajasthani specialities, for which spice levels can be adjusted in accordance with customer taste.

The latter includes safed maas (lamb in a creamy sauce with poppyseed and cashew) for 200 rupees (£2.96), while from the tandoor comes machli ka sulla (fish cubes marinated in yogurt with herbs and spices and roasted over charcoal) for 200 rupees (£2.96).

Vegetarian curries on offer include shahi govind gatta (gram-flour dumplings in yogurt), priced 150 rupees (£2.22), and aloo chutneywaley (potatoes stuffed with paneer, in a mango, mint and coriander chutney), for 170 rupees (£2.51). There is a choice of four Indian breads and four types of rice as accompaniments.

Average spend from the hotel's clientele, which includes wealthy Indians and tourists from the world over, and provides some 140 covers daily, stands at 500 rupees (£7.60) without drinks.

Shiv Niwas Palace hotel, City Palace, Udaipur, 313001 Rajasthan, India. Tel: 00 91 294 528016