Time to savour some regional delight

FOOD REVIEW

In a City which is full of restaurants with cuisines from across the world, regional cuisine is often given a miss, especially if it comes sandwiched between burger and pizza options.

A walk into Rajdhani restaurant and culture of Indian hospitality and Indian food, comes alive!

The restaurant situated near Scindia House in Connaught Place has an ordinary facade but the service extraordinary. Each customer is welcomed with a tilak and the restaurant’s waiters are very courteous and hospitable.

A thali containing not less than seven to eight katoris (the number can go up) will be placed before you and waiters take turns to serve various authentic Rajasthani and Gujarati farsans (snacks) and vegetables along with accompaniments such as pickles, chutneys and breads like roti, thepla and rotla (made of bajra). Snacks like khandvi and vegetarian patties (with palak stuffing) and papad are also added to the already over-flowing plate.

Before you realise it, your plate will look as colourful as it can, with as big a variety as can land together in a single thali. Muster courage and start with the welcome drink, which resembles oil in glass, but is actually Kesari sherbet.

The appetite shall increase with this flavoursome drink. Head for the authentic delicacy of dal-baati-churma and the mouth starts reciprocating to the crunchy pieces of baati diving in Panchmel Dal which is a combination of chana dal, toovar (arhar) dal, moong dal, urad dal and saabut moong cooked with khada masalas. The churma is rich in desi ghee and simply melts in the mouth.

Then there is meethi dal, kadhi, paneer (cooked with baby corn and capsicum), chole, aloo, gatte ki kadhi, aloo gobhi, dal dhokli and boondi raita. The Gujarati meethi dal is surprisingly good while gatte ki kadhi has a rich, thick gravy. The paneer tastes usual but aloo gobhi has a lot of fresh coriander which makes it smell awesome. The dal dhokli will also provide taste of pineapple pieces submerged with soft dhokla layers in dal.

Move now to the chutneys which are as interesting. The hari mirch ki chutney is as spicy as its name and rare to find in Delhi restaurants.

These chutneys go well with snacks like khandvi and patties. The latter is at its best when tried hot. The crisp pakora gives way to the soft inner stuffing of palak ke patte/spinach leaves.

The rotis are small in size. While the thepla is average in taste, the rotla is nicely done and tastes better with ghee and jaggery which is served quite generously!

Digest all this, with a sip or two of chaach which is simply yummy! And if you thought that we are done with the meal, stay and savour the desserts – suji halwa, basundi (sweetened dense milk ) and gulab jamun. Life (and stomach) couldn’t get more filling, we tell you!