New Delhi, July 19: The fiery hot chicken from Chettinard may become a secret weapon in luring tourists to Indian shores.

The tourism ministry believes that the way to a traveler’s heart is through the stomach — just like men — and has grand plans to attract visitors to India through its cuisine.

“There is a lot of interest in Indian cuisine abroad,” said Leena Nandan, the joint secretary tourism. “We have decided to use food to consolidate our brand in different regions across the world. In the next few months, we are going organise several food festivals so that people can be exposed to the variety of the Indian cuisine.”

While chicken tikka masala may have captured the imagination of the UK, the ministry is not relying on perhaps India’s most famous culinary export, but has decided to depend on the varied flavour of the south to conquer the foreign taste-buds.

“Most people seem to associate Indian food with just nan and tandoor chicken,” an official said. “The idea is to show the world that there is more to Indian food than just the north Indian cuisine. One of the chefs that we take to these countries specialises in south Indian fare.”

Tandoori chicken may have become synonymous with Indian food, but apparently the coconut-flavoured dishes from Goa are a huge hit. The biggest draw seems to be Indian sweets, officials said. The most popular dessert according to organisers is the gulab jamun.