It’s been raining for a couple of days and the temperature in Delhi has dipped again. God has created the perfect setting for me to enjoy some really spicy food. And when I say spicy Indian food, the cuisine which comes to mind is the Rajasthani cuisine.
Rajastan gives so much importance to its cuisine that it is divided into gharanas. One such promotion of the royal menu of Jodhpuri gharana is going on at The Suryaa New Delhi’s pan-Indian restaurant Seven till January 25.
Rakesh Prasad, executive sous chef, has put his heart and soul into replicating the flavours of the Marwar kingdom. He travelled to Jodhpur and visited local homes to bring out traditional recipes and tricks.
With no appetisers in the menu I started with the main course as everybody does at home. My dinner table was laid out with a couple of main course delicacies and a chur chur parantha. The khad murgh was delicious. Traditionally, maharajas of Marwar used to make it with rabbit after a hunt. But the chicken version also came out very well. The saffron gave it a nice colour and aroma. Next was the lamb delicacy kalbelia gosht — basically village style food cooked over hot stone. The unground masalas gave the dish a soulful taste.
I also tried the famous Jodhpuri lal maas, a regional preparation of lamb cooked with traditional spices. The delicacy was made well enough but lacked a pinch of salt which suppressed its flavours. I would have also liked the lal maas to be a little spicier. After loading myself with non-vegetarian dishes, I changed my plate as Chef Rakesh suggested some vegetarian dishes. And I am thankful to chef that he did. The vegetarian options were awesome. Their gatta curry and papad ki subzi are a must try. I kept some space for the dal bati churma through the dinner and decided to end with it. But it wasn’t amongst the better dishes of the day. Bati was over fried and hard. But still it’s worth trying. One suggestion — if you are on a diet don’t even think of it as the batis come dipped in a bowl of desi ghee.
After all the spicy food I ended on a sweet note with the moong dal halwa.
Meal for two: Rs. 2200
