CHENNAI: Offering diversity in terms of flavours, colour and taste, the 10-day Rajasthani food fest which kickstarted at Ramada Plaza in Guindy on Friday oozes royalty. The food festival fits perfectly into their aim of highlighting undiscovered, royal and forgotten aspects of Indian culinary space, and has succeeded in bringing the traditional Rajasthani flavour into Chennai. Guests can choose between an authentic Rajasthani thali in the afternoon or an elaborate buffet for dinner.
The vibrant decor and staff dressed in bright traditional attire can instantly transport anyone to the state of Rajasthan. The guests are first treated to masala chaas, a perfect choice in the scorching summer. Though there is a 60-40 vegetarian to non-vegetarian food ratio, neither will be disappointed. The murg tikka is prepared in a spicy tangy marinade and slow cooked till the meat is tender. The vegetarian variant of it, creamy malai chakki chaap is sure to tantalise your taste buds.
For the main course, vegetarians will notice very little vegetables in their food as Rajasthan is a desert area, hence the scarcity. Another interesting aspect is that gram flour or besan as it is locally called is incorporated in dishes like Gatte ki sabji, Jodhpuri pulao with Gatte and Sev tomato sabji. Other than this, there’s the quintessential Ker Sangri, Dalbati and lotus stem curry among other delicacies. “Gram flour is most easily available, so due to a scarcity of vegetables in the area, it is used in most of the dishes. We have not tweaked the dishes to suit the palate of Chennai. We wanted people to taste authentic Rajadhani food made with the correct amount of spice,” said the curator of the menu, Virendar Dutt Joshi, from Udaipur Ramada resorts and spa.
Non-vegetarians will be treated to one of the most famous Rajasthani delicacies, Laal Maas prepared with meat in a sauce of yogurt and chillies sourced from Rajasthan. Other famous dishes include Murg Padmavati made in rich creamy gravy and mutton dum biryani prepared with Rajasthani spices. With minimal garnishing and giving off an aura of simplicity, Malai ghevar, Moong dal halwa, and Choorma mark the perfect finish to this royal feast.