The Duke of Cambridge showed off his culinary skills making a tasty Indian treat - all thanks to an innovative labour-saving device.

William not only cooked a dosa - a savoury Asian snack similar to a crepe - using the automatic machine but was pleased with the results, describing his effort as delicious.

But he could not persuade wife Kate, who wore an outfit by Emilia Wickstead, to have a nibble of the treat made by the DosaMatic machine.

The Duke and Duchess were given a demonstration of the device by its inventor Eshwar Vikas, 24, during a visit to The Social in Mumbai, a cafe and business centre used as a meeting place by young innovators.

William also sat behind the wheel of a racing car simulator and was left grinning by the experience, and both he and Kate put on blindfolds to use a Braille typing machine and spelled out the name of their son George.

Mr Vikas, chief executive of Mukunda Foods, which he founded three years ago, said: "The Duke told me he and the Duchess love dosas and he said it was a wonderful machine.

"He said they would love to have one in their palace and the Duchess said that because you can also use it to make pancakes the whole of London will want one."

During the demonstration the entrepreneur showed off the features of the DosaMatic machine which makes pancakes, crepes, dosas and omelettes automatically once it has been pre-loaded with batter.

It even has a smartphone app so users can start it off when they wake up and have freshly-made food waiting when they get out of bed.

The Duke poured batter onto the hotplate of the machine and waited while it cooked, then rolled up the crisp dosa and pushed it onto a plate.

He took a small bite from one end, and told Mr Vikas it was good, before offering the Duchess a bite. She waved the food away with her hand.

The couple were also introduced to the team behind Mahindra Racing, an Indian-backed motor racing team that competes in the Formula E championship for F1- style electric cars.

The Duke sat in a racing car simulator and drove around the Buddh International circuit in Delhi, managing a lap time of 2mins 6secs.

Isaias Sousa Valero, one of the team's technicians, said: "It's a good lap time. He is a really nice driver and he could come and drive for us anytime with a bit more training."

The couple, who are at the start of their seven-day tour of India and Bhutan, were also shown a Braille typing machine made by another local company, and each wore a blindfold as they tried their hand at typing letters by following instructions on which combinations of keys to press.

Before they left, the Duke made a short speech to launch an awards programme called the Tech Rocketship Awards.

As he made his way to a lectern, he quietly asked his wife: "Do you want to do it?" She laughed and said no.

The Duke began by putting his hands together in the traditional Indian greeting, and said "Namaste Mumbai" meaning "hello Mumbai".

He told invited guests: "Catherine and I are very impressed by the energy and ideas we have just seen. Being here today, it is clear that India is leading the way in so many areas of innovation and technology.

"Your ability to innovate is not just good news for India but it's great news for the world. With one sixth of the world's population, young innovators like you must play a major role."

He then pressed a button which set off a series of exploding pinatas filled with metallic foil confetti.

He joked: "All this innovation and we get this."

Later William and Kate paid tribute to India's founding father Mahatma Gandhi as they scattered rose petals on the spot where the man who led India to independence was assassinated in 1948.

The couple described him as a "visionary leader" and spoke of how they were struck by the simplicity of his life.

The house where he was killed by a Hindu nationalist in New Delhi has been turned into a museum, where concrete footsteps mark his last journey from the house to the garden where he was gunned down.

Gandhi was shot three times at what was then called Birla House by Nathuram Godse, an extremist who rejected his lifelong call for peace.

The spot where he fell aged 78 is marked by a stone pillar bearing the words Hey Ram - "Oh God", Gandhi's last words.

The Duke and Duchess were given a private tour of the Gandhi Smriti - "Gandhi memory" - by the director, Dipanker Shri Gyan.

Inside the museum, they were shown five panels about the historical background of Gandhi's life.

Mr Gyan then showed them Gandhi's room where he spent much of the final 144 days of his life, including a mattress on the floor where he slept, with his prayer book on the pillow. At the foot of the mattress sat his weaving loom, and next to it, a cabinet and small, low table.

William and Kate were then shown Gandhi's "worldly possessions" now housed in a glass cabinet - his pocket watch, spectacles and case, two forks, two spoons, a knife, a small scythe and his walking stick.

Mr Gyan said: "They told me they were surprised by his simple living, that such a man had such a simple life."

He then showed the couple the prayer spot in the garden where Gandhi regularly prayed. Inside, the walls are covered with murals of scenes from throughout Gandhi's life, including him playing the violin as a child and dressed in a suit and tie when he was studying in the UK.

"They were very surprised to know that he had played the violin and adopted British customs before returning to India," Mr Gyan said.

The couple walked the length of the garden alongside the path that Gandhi took on the afternoon of January 30 1948, before removing their shoes to see the prayer hall where he used to address his followers.

The Duke walked across the lawn in his socks while the Duchess removed her shoes to reveal a barely-noticeable pair of tights.

After viewing the prayer room they paid homage to him at the memorial where he was shot at 5.15pm.

They also listened to children singing an interfaith prayer and one of Gandhi's favourite hymns, Vaishnavajana Tau.

Before leaving they signed the visitors' book, inscribing it "To India's visionary leader".

Rajdeep Pathak, programme director of the Gandhi Smriti, said: "They seemed very humane and very down to earth.

"More than that they requested to hear the children sing and gave them enough time to give a full performance. They said afterwards that it was beautiful."