Culinary art
Meals at The Lodge at Wah are healthy yet flavourful. We plan meals according to preferences of our guests, and the menu is based on what is fresh and in season. Most dishes are cooked using earthen and kansa (bronze) pots and firewood, with herbs from the garden lending a burst of flavour to local Himachali, Indian, Continental, and Italian dishes.
Meals are served in a family-style setting either outdoors when the weather begs us so, or inside in the common dining area. The staff at The Lodge at Wah work hard to make your stay comfortable, and because some of them stay some distance away, we try to adhere to ending our meals on time.
Local and traditional
The Kangra Valley offers a range of gorgeous local flavours and dishes, and it would be remiss of us to not add this as an integral part of your stay experience.
Kangra Dham is the most beloved meal of this region. This is cooked and served only for special occasions, and is an explosion of tastes unique to the Valley. While this is usually cooked by special chefs called Botis, we have recreated this in the traditional cooking style, using bronze and earthen pots. This meal consists of a variety of lentils and seasonal vegetables, all slow cooked over woodfire. Each item has a particular flavour and ingredients, making this meal a must-have during your stay with us.
Apart from Dham, we also cook other Himachali meals which varies based on season. The Himachali khichri, sarson saag, makki roti, and desserts like moong dal ka halwa have become guest favourites over time!
gourmet cuisine
For a break from Indian cuisines, we like to serve our guests pancakes, khowsuey, wood-fired pizzas, barbecues and Tibetan dishes. Our wood-fired oven pizzas made with fresh homemade dough and tons of garden fresh vegetables and herbs, is a popular request. So is the Tibetan cuisine with hand pulled noodle soup and chilli-cheese curries with a riot of flavours and options, and pakoras with crispy and light taste.
Given enough notice, we are happy to try our hand at custom requirements, ranging from gluten-free options to vegan substitutes.
We love trying new dishes, discovering new recipes, and testing new cuisines, so that usually no two visits to us ever feels like the same!
In-house specialities
The Lodge prides itself on making a variety of in-house specialities. Seasonal homemade jams, pickles, chutneys, sauces, and juices pepper our tables throughout meals. All our breads are baked fresh for our guests, and our vanilla sugar cookies are gobbled up daily!
Our small-batch granola has become a breakfast table star. Cakes, banana breads and cupcakes are always served fresh during teatime. The homemade peach ice-cream using our organic farm-grown peaches is the best way to cool off during a warm summer day.
Iced teas, hot toddies, cool mint chutneys, warm muffins - there is something for all weathers, so make sure to try it all!
Organic produce
The Lodge at Wah prides itself on using organic and local produce. We grow a lot of vegetables and herbs in the kitchen garden. More are planted on the Wah estate and in our greenhouses. Fruit trees line our driveway, from which we offer a selection of choice to our guests to eat fresh, or make them into juices, compotes or jams. We even grow our own wheat which is used to make homemade breads every day.
Spring and summer bring with them the scent of fresh peaches and the taste of ripe apricots. Tons of summer fresh vegetables and leafy greens decide our menus, figs find their way to our table, apples keep doctors away and all sorts of scrumptious gourds make our lifestyle a bit healthier!
Monsoons mean persimmons from the garden, tons of okra and sweet ears of corn, juicy tomatoes, kiwis, and pomegranates.
Winters are filled with the exotic specialties. Broccoli and cauliflower recipes are quickly declared favourites, peas are little green balls of sugar, long radish make parathas yummier and lettuce and arugula has us begging for more salad servings.
We have honestly lost count of everything we grow, but our meals are wholesome from start to finish - even our oils are extracted in the tea estate!