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One of the biggest issues I am facing at this point of my life is the need to keep learning and gaining experience in different areas of the restaurant business. This industry is always exciting and always changing, but often the daily grind of running the business does not give me time to travel or go out and learn.

You can't just read to gain culinary knowledge; you must also travel and experience different places. Two years ago, I went to Cape Town with my family but took a week by myself to drive to the wine country. I came back with lots of knowledge after having some incredible meals.

This year I decided to travel to a region I have not visited before and explore its food and gastronomic experiences.

So early next year I am going to Rajasthan, a state in western India, for 18 days to learn to cook from home cooks and chefs there. Some of them have been cooking for rich families for a long time, using recipes that have been passed down for generations. They may not get a lot of accolades, but they have an incredible sense of spice.

I always say to young chefs that going to school and getting your papers is not enough - you must also work under other talented chefs to gain knowledge and experience.

Whenever I am asked to do a cooking show in a new city or with another chef, I always do because I like to observe other chefs - and I always learn something new. I had this experience recently with Daniel Boulud at Daniel in New York and at Michael Stadtlander's Eigensinn Farm, north of Toronto. Both were incredibly rich experiences.

If you look at the most successful restaurateurs in the world, they have travelled widely and worked under a number of chefs. When I was at Eigensinn Farm, I not only cooked for the first time on a makeshift grill created from industrial shelving, but I also learned things about chefs from other parts of Canada that I never would have imagined.

I hope my trip to India is as much a learning experience for me as for the guests coming with me. I hope to do these trips every year, each time to a different part of India.

The staple bread throughout India is chapati, which is prepared differently from region to region. Here is a recipe for tasty parathas, which is a kind of stuffed chapati.

Cauliflower, honey and garlic parathas

What you need

1 small head cauliflower, very finely chopped

1 tablespoon salt

1/2 tablespoon mango powder

1 tablespoon ground coriander

1/2 cup chopped cilantro

1/2 cup canola oil or ghee

12 to 13 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

1 cup honey

3 cups chapati flour

2 cups less 2 tablespoons water

1 to 3 teaspoons canola oil (optional, for kneading and rolling)

1 cup chapati flour for rolling

1/2 to 3/4 cup ghee, canola oil or butter

What you do

In a large mixing bowl, thoroughly combine cauliflower with salt, mango powder, coriander and cilantro. Set aside.

Heat oil or ghee in a heavy-bottomed frying pan on medium heat. Add garlic and sauté until golden brown. Stir in honey, then reduce the heat to low. Stir for three to four minutes, or until honey melts and mixes with the garlic. Remove from the heat and cool.

While it is still warm, pour the honey-garlic mixture into the cauliflower and stir well. Set aside.

Place chapati flour in a large mixing bowl. Slowly add water and keep mixing the water into the flour with your hands. Knead flour and water until you have a ball of smooth dough without any clumps of flour in it. If the dough is too sticky, rub ½ teaspoon of oil on your hands and keep kneading until the dough is no longer sticky. Form the dough into an egg shape, cover it with plastic wrap and allow it to rest in the refrigerator for at least an hour. This will make the dough easier to roll.

It is crucial that you roll out and cook the parathas one at a time. Rolled-out paratha dough becomes very soft at room temperature and can easily fall apart during cooking, so you don't want to be transporting them too far or allowing them to sit too long. Make sure you have a tea towel on hand to use to help flip the parathas.

Line a plate with foil. This is where you will place the cooked parathas to keep them warm.

When you are ready to start rolling them out, warm up a frying pan over medium heat.

On another large plate, spread one cup of flour for rolling. Unwrap the chilled dough and divide it in 12 equal portions. Dab one portion in a little flour. Using your hands, roll the dough into a smooth ball.

If the dough sticks to your hands, rub ½ teaspoon of oil on them. Once you have a smooth ball, roll it in the flour, covering it completely but lightly. With a rolling pin, roll out the ball until it is four to five inches in diameter.

Place three tablespoons of the cauliflower mixture in the middle of the dough. Bring all the edges into the centre, so the cauliflower is enclosed inside the chapati dough. Carefully roll this ball in the flour, then roll it out until it is five to six inches in diameter or starts sticking to the rolling pin. Dip both sides of the paratha in flour again and continue rolling until it's eight inches in diameter.

Spread ½ to 1 teaspoon of ghee or oil in the heated pan. Carefully place the paratha in. As the edges cook through, in three to four minutes, bunch up a tea towel in one hand, then use this hand and a spatula to turn the sizzling paratha over and cook for another three to four minutes. Turn the paratha over again and spread ½ to 1 teaspoon more ghee or oil on it. Cook until both sides are slightly crispy and golden brown with darker brown patches throughout. Transfer the cooked paratha to the foil-lined plate.

Repeat this procedure with the remaining 11 portions of dough. For each new paratha, spread ½ teaspoon of ghee or oil on the pan. Eat them hot off the grill or stack them on the foil if you won't be eating them right away.

Serves 6.

Vikram Vij is owner and chef of Vij's in Vancouver.