The culinary Rajasthan

Grand spread

Imagine a platter of rich Rajasthani flavours mixed with the alluring music of the ‘Manganiyars’ on the same platform. This is exactly what awaits one at the ‘Royal Rajasthan Food Festival’ being held at Le Jardin, The Oberoi.

Like any traditional North Indian meal, the culinary experience starts off with the welcome drink, ‘chaas’. The aromatic cuisine is showcased in a splendid Rajasthani setup.

From the tablecloth in the traditional patterns to the artifacts, the rich tradition of Rajasthan is showcased. While one listens to the beautiful music, appetisers like ‘Hare moong ki wade’, ‘Paneer ka soola’, ‘Ajwaini macchi’ and ‘Do maas ke seekh’ leaves an impact.

A traditional ‘thaali’ includes dishes like ‘Panckotta ka saag’, ‘Murgh bajre ka soweta’, ‘Laal maas’ along with ‘bajre ki roti’ and ‘pulao’. For those with a sweet tooth, there is an array of options like two types of ‘Ghewar’, ‘Malai ki burfi’ and more.

Though the festival is named ‘Royal Rajasthan’, it includes more of home-cooked style dishes, presented in all its grandeur. Chef Vipin Mogha, says, “What is unique about the festival is that it includes food from the homes of Rajasthan. These include not only dishes made for the kings of Rajasthan, but also those which are known as hunting food.”

By including the local cuisines and royal food from the generations of Prithviraj Chauhan, this festival has made it possible for the vegetarian and the non-vegetarian to indulge in plenty of choices.

“We have included forgotten recipes like ‘Suwar ke saonth’ (pork belly). The recipe cannot even be found on the internet. It is a very rare preparation. The meat is marinated in buttermilk for 24 hours and then cooked on a very low flame for a couple of hours,” explains Vipin.

Some of the other specialities are ‘Papad paneer ki subzi’, ‘Amrood ke subzi’ and ‘Chukandar ki subji’, and kebabs like ‘Maas ke sole’ and ‘Jimikand ke sole’.

Chef Vipin says, “This buffet will be on a rotational menu, where some of the core dishes will be retained, so as to provide Bengalureans a good peek into the elaborate cuisine.”

A few dishes to look out for are ‘Bhunna kukkad’, ‘Keema bati’, ‘Junglee maas’, ‘Kachori ke subzi’ and ‘Reshmi biryani’. The festival is on till September 10, from 12.30 pm to 3pm (lunch) and 7.30 pm to 11 pm (dinner).