A Taste of Tradition: Homestays in Chhindwara serve up authentic rural flavors; how organic food and warm hospitality are making tourism villages a favorite among travellers
Traditional dishes such as Makki ki Roti (corn flatbread), Baingan Bharta (roasted eggplant mash), Sama ki Kheer (barnyard millet pudding), and rice papad remain the top choice for tourists visiting the homestays in MP's Chhindwara. Tourists, especially those from metropolitan cities, are particularly enamored with the flavors of these dishes. Recently, when tourists visiting the tourism village of Deogarh were served a platter featuring Makki ki Roti and vegetables grown using organic manure, they greatly appreciated the taste and nutritious value of the food.
Many tourists—including 50-year-old Mrs. Ranjana Budhaji Ghatal and 24-year-old Akash Bhiva Kharpade from Mahuli village in the Shahapur Taluka of Thane district, Maharashtra—tasted Makki ki Roti and Sama ki Kheer for the first time. The tourists thoroughly enjoyed the traditional rural cuisine. The Madhya Pradesh Tourism Board's homestay project has played a pivotal role in transforming the landscape of Chhindwara's tourism villages.
Tourists prefer traditional meals cooked on a chulha
Under the guidance of Collector Harendra Narayan and District Panchayat CEO Agrim Kumar, improved facilities are being provided to tourists across all homestays in the district. Most tourists visiting to experience rural life prefer traditional meals cooked on a chulha (traditional earthen stove). Tourists visiting the district's tourism villages are served meals prepared from fresh vegetables grown in home courtyards, which is also boosting the income of homestay operators.
Homestay operators in tourism villages such as Deogarh, Dhusavani, Chimtipur, Chopna, Savarwani, and Kajra are cultivating various vegetables—including tomatoes, eggplants, long beans (barbati), bottle gourds, ridge gourds (gilki), and peas—using organic manure in their home courtyards. These vegetables are used in the meals served to tourists.
57 Homestays Operating in the District
The Madhya Pradesh Tourism Board has selected 12 villages in Chhindwara district to be developed as tourism villages. Currently, 57 homestays are operational across these villages, the highest number in the entire state. In view of the monsoon season, necessary preparations have been completed across all homestays through special cleanliness drives to ensure that visiting tourists do not face any inconvenience.