The winter festival of Khandani Rajdhani focusses on spices and ingredients known to keep the body warm. By Karan Bhardwaj
While gorging on cheesy delights and saucy delicacies has become a regular affair with most of us, what we sometimes miss is the taste of an elaborate Indian meal. We are not talking about a dish or two here, but a package that comes with a mix of traditional fare. Our traditional thalis, that have got widely popular in the West and are again finding more takers back home, comes as a perfect option. But the places that do justice to thali are rare. Khandani Rajdhani has somehow maintained the tradition. And their latest offering is the winter food festival, called Avyo Shiyaalo.
As you enter, you are traditionally welcomed, like in a Hindu family, with a tilak. Once you wash hands in kamandal with warm water, you are set for a lavish affair. Each day they have a different menu, which is rotated every three months. The day we visited, they had undhiyu, bajri rotla, haldi ki subzi, sarso ka saag, bajri ni raab, adadiya paak, ponkh pattice, leeli tuvar ni kadhi, lilva rice and pattice.
Served in small portions, the food filled the stomach even before one could set off. What we liked most was the perfect balance of spices and ingredients. Daal baati was mouthwatering, so was undhiyu which was teamed with puris. Undhiyu happens to be the signature dish of the place. “It’s an authentic Gujarati delicacy. It is a seasonal one, a combination of sweet, sour and spicy tastes subtly blend with farm fresh vegetables like green garlic, tuver, lilva, surti papadi and sweet potato. These are underground vegetables grown only in winter months,” said the chef. The name of the dish comes from the Gujarati words “matlu” meaning earthen pot and “undhu” meaning upside down since they have been traditionally cooked upside down underground in earthen pots fired from above.
Khandani Rajdhani is the only outlet thriving on thali culture in the Connaught Place circle. Adjacent to it are popular food chains. However, this is the third most lucrative outlet as per the company figures. The manager Neeraj Kumar, said the brand tried to be as real and rooted as possible to retain its USP. “Other food outlets have been here since ages. But we are proud to be unique in many ways. We are a pure vegetarian restaurant and offer only fresh food. I think concept of thalis will always be a hit. It is time-saving, you don’t have to fret over the menu and you can have as much as you want. We have also modified as per times, like where else you would get liquid paan shots, with syrup and milk in it,” he said.
In morning they get corporate guests who also drool over their khichdi. “They avoid heavy stuff. So we keep unadulterated moong daal ki khichdi with tadka of oil and jeera,” said Kumar.
The kitchen has a staff of over 20 chefs and even invites visitors to keep a check. Our meal was fulfilling but incomplete without delicious desserts. With gond kay laddo, kheer and jalebis, it was a perfect end!