On a desert safari

It was a culinary journey through the sand dunes offering diversity in terms of flavours, colour and taste.

At the festival titled Royal Rajasthan at Daniell’s Tavern – where guests can look forward to authentic food of the State and also see their dishes being cooked in a live kitchen – one started off with Maas ke Sule. It was bursting with flavours. The tender lamb was blended with home grown spices like garam masala and red chilly powder in a manner that the meat and the spice ratio was proportionate.

Next came Dhaurasi Taffri, a typical Rajasthani name even though the fresh water prawns are uncommon for the desert State. They are eaten around certain pockets of Udaipur, where Chef Prem K Pogakula, Executive Chef, The Imperial, had lived and worked. Prawns were marinated with curd, garlic and chillies and then cooked in clay oven. The besan coating on the prawns made the prawns more filling and distinct in taste.

It was now time for the main course. And within ten minutes of wait, the archetypal thali, with heap of rice in the centre and veggies placed aesthetically in silvery katoris, was placed on the table. Aptly named Royal Rajasthan thali, it came with accompanying papads.

Tale of two baatis

In taste, it was wholesome and looked pretty on the table . While trying the Dal Baati Churma, one was reminded of this typical Rajasthani dish one had eaten in Jaipur many moons ago. Baati was in two variants – one was fried in ghee and another was the baked one. Baati of the first variant was authentic and ghee was not overpowering the taste of other ingredients.

The baked one was crispier and contrasting in taste. Although not as delicious as the previous one, it certainly was the healthier option. And one had another nutritious baati.

Next came the tempting laal maas.

Without further ado, one began eating the medium sized lamb pieces with bajre ki roti. And it certainly was divine. Each piece was tender and taste got accentuated when pieces were dipped in the gravy in which cloves, garlic and cinnamon were blended seamlessly.

“To give laal maas a nice distinctive aroma, we dry roast red chillies. It gives the lamb red colour. We then add coriander seeds and cumin seeds. Then we grind them into a nice fine powder. Heat mustard oil in a pan and then add garlic and ginger into it. As soon as the garlic turns brown, we add lamb pieces and give them a good mix. This is also a good time to add salt and onions and mix all well,” explained Chef Pogakula.

One tried jowar ki roti with Govind gatte. The dumpling, stuffed with gram flour, was surely heavy but its thick gravy was made in a way that it was yummy and light on tummy. It was like a comfort food which families around cities like Jaipur, Jaisalmer and Udaipur eat almost on a daily basis.

Overall, the food was sumptuous, had certain earthiness to it and was mild as far as chillies were concerned. The festival, open only during dinner, is on till end of this month.