The Silver Spoon

I have written about Kingdom of Dreams and 'Culture Gully' at other places before but never here, I had felt the need to chronicle it here as well, for posterity and for all those amazing memories and that's when we were invited for dinner at the Rajasthan Pavilion and a viewing of 'Zangoora' the Bollywood musical. The Rajasthan pavilion is especially close to my heart, their chef, Maharaj is a man with all the charm of a celebrity chef and none of the 'attitude', he is steeped in culture and carries with him a trove of erstwhile and often royal recipes and he keeps his pavilion like the warm (and rather opulent) living room of a gilded 'khandaan'!

Kingdom of Dreams is majestic. It is a startling artifact in the heart of an urban jungle and no matter who I take there, they always come out feeling 'awed' and some of these people are seasoned travelers. I remember my father telling me about the artificial sky in a casino in Vegas about a decade ago, that's what he was reminded of when he visited, my 7 year old feels like it's a fairytale and me, well I have been there about 20 times and am yet to eat everything on my list from their14 pavilions and kitchens. With an awesome team of 100 chefs, Culture Gully is where you will find the best Haleem (Lucknow), Rava Fish Fry (Kerala), Vindaloo (Goa), Hyderabadi Biryani, Raj Kachori (Rajasthan), Chingri Malai Curry (West Bengal) and everything, absolutely everything at the Lucknow pavilion.

Since we were guests of Maharaj, we spent a very vibrant hour with a man who told tales from history like he had been there. He spoke of food like it was a 'healing force and he was a medicine man, it was beatific. He spoke of the troubles and travails of a space age generation with the comic relief of his anecdotes about solemnizing Marwari and Baniya weddings right here in this pavilion, he is not just Maharaj to many, he is 'Panditji' too. Maharaj's kitchen serves pure vegetarian food, sans onions and garlic too. This is the food I grew up with in my father's side of the family. Though most of his generation and the ones after did not abstain per se, my grandparents did. They were lovely people, they never questioned our culinary leanings and never imposed theirs, which is why I remember actually loving 'Jain' food because it was left entirely to us as to how we want to perceive it. Most people discuss Jain food with disdain, like it were a punishment, if only they gave it the time of day, they would realize, how much fresher and more transparent the tastes of food are when potent flavours like onions, garlic and even ginger are kept at bay.

We started with the best Raj Kachori I have ever had and I have had many thanks to my brother who has one at least twice a week albeit at commercial chaat places (sadly!).  It's the filling which was perfect, much like Gujarat, Rajasthani's love chiwda's or dry snacks (Farsaan in Gujarat). This is a desert state where produce is hard to come by and so many dishes are made with mock veggies formed out of 'chickpea flour' or 'Besan' like the 'Gatte ki Sabzi'. The Kachori was crisp and fresh and enormous and 'not' filled with annoying bean sprouts but with 'namkeen'! Loved it!

Then came the enormous silver thali, laden with goodies, some of which I hadn't had in years and some I hadn't had at all!It had their signature 'Ker Sangri' which I was secretly very thankful for and the best ever 'matar ki poori' or green peas stuffed poori (sorry Biji!). The menu will stump you mainly because it is very tough to eat all that but some of us actually managed to gormandize the entire platter. The 'Bajre ki Khichdi' was a revelation, I loved the texture and the fact that it was sweet was so soothing for the palate. The Badam ka Sheera reminded me of the 'Panjiri' we grew up on, the kind I made for myself when my daughter was born as my mother looked down upon us...this one took me back to my childhood so much so that I had to hold back the tears. We make the Dal Panchmeli very often, my mother learned it from people my father knew in Jodhpur, we have it with a 'meetha' Parantha, decadent and deadly!

Rajasthani Thali:
Matha (yogurt based beverage)
Dahi Ka Singhara

Jodhpuri Gatta Curry

Sangri Ka Kofta

Aloo Methi Lipatma

Matar Mangori Ki Subzi

Bhindi Jaipuri

Dal Panchmeli, Bati, Churma

Ghee Bhaat

Bajre Ki Khichdi with Rawri

Bedmi

Bikaneri Paratha

Missi Roti

Ker Sangri

Badam Ka Sheera

After a meal like that, what do you think one needs? A La-Z-boy easy chair, a Bollywood musical with a fair share of dance, drama, climax and six packs and bhelpuri! It's the perfect life, it truly is. Zangoora was yet another revelation, mainly because I am not a Bollywood person but I am all for theatrical performances, my family says that's because my whole life is one (hahahaha!!). The whole performance is spectacular mainly because India has never really seen anything like it. Trapeze artists fly overhead, hyper-energized dancers mingle with the audience and Hussain and Gauhar are quite a treat. This is an elaborate production and one everyone should see at least once for the simple fact that no celluloid movie can ever mimic the heart thumping involvement that theatre induces. I am going back for Zangoora next week, this time with the kid in tow, I would rather she appreciates Film/Arts this way than have a not-so-secret crush on Sallu Bhai! Keep Kingdom of Dreams on your to do list when you hit Gurgaon, its probably one of the best things about this town!

I spent this wonderful evening with my fellow blogger buddies, read more of their perspective right here  -


Sangeeta Khanna: Banaras Ka Khana
Charis Bhagianathan: Culinary Storm
Sushmita Sarkar: My Unfinished Life
Himanshu Taneja: The White Ramekins