A mix of vegetarian and Rajasthani cuisine at The Imperial enticed the tastebuds with unexpected ingredients and combinations, says Saimi Sattar
Outside, the temperatures were sizzling and threatening to go through the veritable roof. And it reminded me of the sizzling sands of Rajasthan. Inside the Danielle’s Tavern at the Imperial Hotel, it was cool and the all-white decor further brought down the temperature some notches.
I was here to explore the cuisine of the state (and hence the comparisons above) with a festival called Royal Rajasthan. And it took me on a journey which offered more than the obvious like Dal bati churma or Gatte ki subzi. In keeping with the famed Rajasthani hospitality, the servers plied us with an array of starters. Maas ke sule, tender lamb pieces cooked with home-ground spices on a cast iron griddle, was the first of the many that followed. It was succulent but the two vegetarian dishes — Ker sangri ki tikki and the Makki ki seekh were the clear winners for me. Ker sangri (made of dried ker berry and sangri beans) was both — intense in flavour and melt-in-the-mouth soft. In the non-vegetarian section, it was the Dhaurasi taffri, which are fresh water prawns marinated in hung curd, garlic and chillies, cooked in a clay oven to perfection, which won a round of appreciation. Chef Prem K Pogakula, executive chef, The Imperial, New Delhi, said, “While most people would be surprised at the use of prawns in Rajasthani cooking as the place is a desert, it would do well to remember that there are several lakes in the state. And that is where the prawns were sourced from.”
The assortment of dishes in the main course was placed on a thali and katoris made of German silver, which added the right amount of regal touch to the fare. In the main course, it was the laal maans, the most famous of the Rajasthani dishes that lived up to its name. The fiery red colour of the dish comes from chillies from Mathania which are eponymously named. However, Pogakula used a mix of these chillies along with the ones from Kashmir in the dish. In the vegetarian dishes, it was the Paneer Sweta, a melange of cottage cheese with sweet corn, which scored with the perfect balance of sweet and savoury flavours. The spicy hot Aloo mangodi ki subji, crispy lentil dumplings cooked with potato and Govind gatte, stuffed gram flour dumplings simmered in yoghurt, onion and cumin gravy, when eaten with Jowar ki roti (made with sorghum, a gluten-free grain) were the other stunners on the plate. The slightly crispy gatte on a bed of smooth curry offered a perfect mix.
In the dessert, an entire smorgasbord was laid out. And with my sweet tooth, I admit, that I sampled more than one. There was laapsi, a sweet dish made of broken wheat and ghee, Ghevar, a disc-shaped sweet cake made of flour, Nookti, small pearls of gram flour dipped in sugar syrup, Balushahi, made of refined flour, butter and sugar syrup and sweet Kachori. I love Ghevar and I had never tasted laapsi, so those were the two I decided to take a helping of. And it was the newer flavour that didn’t disappoint. I went for a second helping of laapsi to round off the royal feast.
Photos: Pankaj Kumar