Rajasthani Food Fest at Pune's The Westin

Papad Mangodi

Rang Rangeelo Rajasthan always stokes curiosity and interest in its historic forts, palaces from the times of princely states, colourful festivals, vibrant folk dances and music and cool and starry nights in the desert of Jaisalmer.

However, being at the Rajasthani Food Festival at Kangan - the Indian speciality restaurant of Pune's leading business hotel The Westin, demolished two beliefs of yours faithfully. One, that the Rajasthni food is mostly vegetarian; two, that the Rajasthani food is mild, even sweeetish - certainly not spicy.

Among the reasons behind holding the Rajasthani Food Fest," intervened our host for the evening, adding that it was important to familiarise foodies south of the Vindhyas about the promise Rajasthani food holds.

Murgh Makai Soyta

"There is  more to Rajasthani food than daal-baati-churma.
Both, the Marwar region of Rajasthan where the food is mostly vegetarian and the Mewar region which flaunts the Rajput warrior legacy of Rajas and Maharajas marked by chicken and lamb delicasies when it comes to food, offer great variety and challenge your pallate with their unique spices and cooking traditions."

The appetisers roll out however was led by vegetarian specialities such as Marwari Seekh, Jodhpur Paneer Tikka and Mirchi Wada. The Marwari Seekh  had its charm of veggies blended with dryfruit and then heat-treated in a tandoor to create kebabs that melted in the mouth. What followed was the succulent Paneer Tikka with its rich form enhanced by the tangy, spicy seasoning.

Jodhpur Gatta Curry 

 Mirchi Wada arrived on the plate with a warning, "this would be quite spicy, Sir."

The warning however seemed more relevant for the 'global' customer averse to extereme tastes; an Indian worth his salt (or chilies?) would lap it up with ease. The 'mirchi' in this Mirchi wada was in fact Simla Mirch with tasty stuffing of cooked potato and grated green chili with a hint of garlic and ginger.

Then came the non-veg options Pathar Ka soola and Jugalbandi Kebab. The former was comprised thin slices of lamb marinated with ginger, garlic and piquant Indian spices cooked to perfection with a grilled crust. Ceratinly noteworthy with its light flavours and soft form.

Achari Ker Sangri 

The Jugalbandi kebab came as a surprise of consisting of layers of lamb and chicken rolled to go around the skewers and ultimately form the kebab armed with delicate spices and freshly grounded Indian herbs. The shy and soft spoken Chef Ram Singh, who has flown in specially to create the Rajasthani spread at The Westin, explained how to go about making this speciality but admitted its commonly available back in Rajasthan.
There was an interesting mint chutney to go with all the members of the appetiser class but after respecting its existence by dipping in it once or twice one left it alone as there was really no need to interfere with the great taste all the classmates possessed.
Rajasthan has a tradition of sun-drying fresh vegetables in season and use them in cooking during times of low availability after soaking them in water for a while. The tradition may not be relevant now with much improved logistics for transportation of vegetables and the explosion in retail sector, but the Achari Ker Sangri

Churma

lived up to it with its dried long beans and berries soaked in warm water and cooked in yoghurt based fennel flavoured gravy. The Jodhpur Gatta Curry (Bengal gram dumplings cooked in spicy yoghurt gravy) and Papad Mangodi(dumplings of moond dal with papad in mild yellow gravy) came up as authentic preparations (we get to taste these when at a place serving Rajasthani Thali).

No prizes for guessing that the proverbial daal baati churma graced the table with its spicy-sour flavour and the richness of ghee that characterised the baati and churma.

The famous Lal Mas with all its strength of spices and red chilies changed the track and got reinforcement from the sober Murgh Makai Soyta. Keeping company to all these delicasies were jeera methi ka Pulao and assorted Indian breads. The breads, notably, did not have anything special about Rajasthan. The familiar roti and naan were of course up to the mark.

Baati, Daal

What lifted the experience to a high level was the rare desert Mave ke Ghewar - a traditional Rajasthani sweet temptation made with cottage cheese and milk reduction moulded and garnished with saffron and pistachios. The subtle rich flavour of this dessert was very pleasant and did not offend the tongue with sweetness of sugar.

Lal Mas

Chef Ram Singh was very polite when he told us he has been able to present 'only a few' of the Rajasthani dishes. "Aur bhi bahut hain, saare nahin bana paya(there are many more dishes; I could not prepare all)" he mentioned.
Select ingredients of the menu which we experienced will eventually form part of the Kangan menu, but it is strongly recommended to get to taste them right now, as the festival is on till 31 July (dinner only).