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07 Min Read A mid-pandemic socially-distanced escape is the need of the hour for those of us privileged enough to cash in. For me, it meant a work trip to Dehradun, a place where the Ganga and the Yamuna, the Shivaliks and the Himalaya, all take turns dancing around the valley. What I’m trying to say is the town itself is gorgeous, but I took it a step further near the village of Doiwala, at the mouth of the Rajaji National Park.
An easy five-hour drive from Delhi, the Dudly Manor is a farmstay and B&B with a lot to offer. And although Haridwar and Rishikesh are both mere day trips from the property, we recommend you keep enough time to explore the offerings at Dudly. You can spend a morning walking across the sugarcane and paddy fields, forage through the herb patches, sit under the lemon tree, or even go on a tractor ride. When it’s not breeding season, Rajaji is open for day and night safaris.
At the property, you can indulge in pottery classes, or traditional Garhwali cooking using a chulha. Reserve your evenings for the pool to watch the fireflies dancing across the night-sky. If you’re one to enjoy furry-footed company, the two twin Labradors—Marshall and Buzo—will take all your attention and then demand some more.
This afternoon, however, was a little different. I was going to try rolling some handmade pasta! My previous experiences hadn’t fared too well but nonetheless, I was determined to get it right this time.
Chef Amal Kumar graduated from Le Cordon Bleu Institute of Culinary Arts in Sydney, Australia, and has worked at various hatted restaurants in Sydney and Melbourne over the last six years like Ananas Bar & Brasserie, Otto Ristorante, and Bistro Guillaume and Grossi Florentino. He moved to Copenhagen, Denmark, to intern at restaurant Noma in March, but found himself back home in Dehradun as the pandemic swept the world by storm.
“I recently started hosting interactive pasta making sessions at Dudly Manor where people can learn how to make pasta from scratch with me and then enjoy what they’ve made afterwards,” he said. “I’m calling this little venture ‘Pasta Fresca’.”
We rolled the yolk-rich dough with our hands before putting it through the Kitchen Aid. It took a little getting used to catching the sheet on the other side, but once we got the hang of it, it was oddly satisfying. We learnt how to shape some tortellini, farfalle, and agnolotti, after which the chef whipped up some mouthwatering sauces to go with them.
He’s now sharing his love for fresh pasta with the people of his hometown by starting a new venture where people can order fresh pasta and sauces to go with them. All that people would have to do at home is boil the pasta for a couple of minutes, heat up the sauce and combine the two.
As for us, we dragged our food-coma stricken bodies back to our quaint little cottage to snooze until the pool came calling at dusk.
04 Min Read 
Offbeat destinations
