Ever wondered what royal food tasted like? If you thought extravagance was the answer then Mewari khana will surprise you...
Ever wondered what royal food tasted like? If you thought extravagance was the answer then Mewari khana will surprise you...
Why should Rajasthani cuisine make anyone's mouth water? When one thinks of Rajasthan all which ought to come to one's mind is the 'dreary desert sand of dead habit' with an occasional well-built fort or an oasis with an ignorable patch of green.
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Authentic Rajasthani fare is in fact one of the most invigorating cuisines north of the Vindhyas, with cultural peculiarities that would baffle any true food lover.
The average Bangalorean has been fed to the brim with Punjabi and NWFP delicacies, and if you're the kind who has had your fill of the same old red curry, white curry base, then here's your chance to discover something new.
A cuisine so chaotic and yet, gastronomically interesting, Rajasthani food is something you just have to try.
Mewari tradition
Mewar, a royal area in southern Rajasthan, is home to the Udaipur Rajputs and claim to be the only area in the desert kingdom that withstood the Mughal onslaught, which changed Rajputana forever.
The area's isolation in that sense has thus allowed the culinary tradition to be influenced, but remain relatively intact, in comparison to Marwari and other such traditions from the state. Mewar also boasts of a fish enriched cuisine, all thanks to the many lakes that dot the picturesque area.
An evolved cuisine
The claimed home to the 'Indian kebab', lore and tradition also claim that the Mewari's incorporating meat into their cuisine, unlike more vegetarian Jain cuisines, changed the face of their culinary practices forever, yet kept their base intact.
So while hunting expeditions of the royalty led to the increased consumption of game, a much-laboured on vegetarian cuisine also developed side-by-side.
Menu perfection
The Mewar food festival at Jamavar, The Leela Palace hopes to bring the magic and rich culinary tradition of the area to our city.
The food is great no doubt, but the very exoticness of the food might work against it. Mewar is home to the infamous daal baati choorma a meal in itself.
Loaded with ghee and the goodness of pure wholesome lentils, learn to eat this delicacy the right way as your vegetarian entree.
That this festival is associated with Jiggs Kalra makes it one of a kind and the menu, true to its creator, boasts of some delicious uncommon non-vegetarian delicacies.
I recommend
I must recommend the safaed maans, baby lamb slow cooked in a creamy yoghurt gravy and the more famous laal maans, rib-chops in a fiery spicy chilli gravy, as must-have's.
I was also extremely impressed with the paneer ke sooley, a rather innovative take on the 'Indian kebab' and the Jodhpuri pulao. The menu also offers a few atypical dishes that anyone would associate with Rajasthan including an interesting kadhi pakori, gatte ki subzi, panchmael daal and an authentic kaer saangri that will satiate any appetite.
The perfect end
Wash it all down with some delicious chaas, or a sharbat or a thandaai for that pure Mewari experience complete with the imagery of Rana Pratap on his steed Chetak, and let good food do the rest.
Don't get too carried away however and order something you wouldn't want to try in the first place. I was quite put off by the methi kishmish, an unusual combination of fenugreek seeds, raisins and fruits. I am usually all for bittersweet symphonies, but this one wasn't all that palatable. But then again, it's all about personal tastes.
Do try the ghewar, a honeycombed pastry topped with rabri and malpua, semolina pancakes in a syrup, to finish off the heavy meal and I promise, you won't be disappointed.
Where: Jamavar, The Leela Palace Kempinski, Old Aiport Road
Call: 30571344
On till: December 6
Murgh ke mokul
Ingredients:
Red chilli powder, 12 gms
Boiled onion paste 200 gms
Cashewnut paste 100 gms
Clotted cream 100 gms
Yoghurt 300 gms
Coriander leaves 100 gms
Method:
Heat the ghee in a pot and add whole spices and chopped onion.u00a0 Saute the mixture till the onion becomes light golden brown. Once that is done, add ginger-garlic paste and saute for fewu00a0u00a0 more minutes, till the moisture dries up.
Now add all the powdered spices with a little water and continue stirring until specks of fat begin to appear on the surface. Add boiled onion paste and continue cooking for few minutes, add yoghurt, cashewnut paste, cream and stir. Add chicken and again stir cook till it comes to a boil. Simmer on low heat until chicken is cooked.
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