Of royalty and forgotten recipes

Arid land, harsh topography and scarce resources. While these factors can pose a monumental challenge over sustenance, the people of Rajasthan, who also had to deal with frequent wars, truly embraced the challenge, and hence, was born their sumptuous cuisine, which is as popular as the state’s famed palaces and forts.

As basic cereals were unavailable, they embraced bajra and jowar, which could survive the harsh climate, and in the absence of enough vegetables, wild berries and beans such as Ker and Sangri came to the rescue. As water remains a premium commodity, milk, buttermilk and ghee were widely used, and food items with a longer shelf life, from Baati to pickles, became central.

The non-vegetarian options in this largely vegetarian state are few but decadent, the most popular being the Lal Maas. Meaning red meat, it is lamb cooked in a fiery mix of spices, chillies, onions, garlic and yogurt. There is a white and creamy version of Lal Maas, called Safed Maas (‘white meat’), too.

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“With people now having little time to prepare these, and the increased popularity of fast foods among youngsters, these recipes are disappearing fast,” says chef Chetan Singh of Fairfield by Marriott Jodhpur. “Such as Safed Maas, which is not made anymore, or Panchkuta, a pickle-like curry made with five ingredients, which is hardly made in homes nowadays, or Bajre ki Raab, a welcome drink, Khad Khargosh and Chakki ki Sabzi,” he adds.

In a bid to revive these forgotten and disappearing dishes, chef Singh has brought these, and many other dishes, to Delhi as part of the Baati food festival at JW Marriott Aerocity, which is on till June 15.

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His quest for these recipes took him on a three-month journey across several villages in Rajasthan and to what can be called the grandmoms’ kitchens. “There are certain hamlets where such foods are still being made by the elderly, authentically and with original flavours intact,” he says. Jodhpur is where the chef started the Baati festival, followed by Lucknow. “We have received an excellent response in Jodhpur, Lucknow and now Delhi, where vegetarians especially like Dal, Baati, Kadhi-Kachori and Panchkuta, and non-vegetarians Lal and Safed Maas,” he adds.

While authenticity is the USP of chef Singh’s offerings, the cuisine itself has undergone some changes over time. Take the case of game meat. While hunting was a favourite pastime of the erstwhile royalty, when the hunt made up for splendid dishes, such as the Junglee Maas, it has been primarily replaced by lamb due to the ban on the activity. Interestingly, “most of our lamb comes from a small hamlet in Ajmer district called Nathuthala. The USP of these is that they are free-grazing lambs, are lean and have a peculiar taste. Yes, while earlier, everything used to be wild, now we have these free-grazing lambs. So, one type of meat has been substituted by the other, but the ethos and liveliness of the recipes are being held by these kinds of proteins,” says chef Sandeep Pande, executive chef at JW Marriott Hotel New Delhi Aerocity.

Rajasthan has been known as the land of royalty. And while the ruling class along with the common folk together shape the cuisine of a place, “there was not much distinction, apart from finesse, finishing, quality of ingredients and richness of the food,” says chef Pande. “For example, many foods in Rajasthani cuisine require a thickening agent. So, while a commoner used curd or besan (chickpea flour), a khansama in royal kitchens used cashews, khoya, etc. Another distinction lay in the cooking method. While the royal cooks had the luxury of time and could cook food longer on slow flame, as they had an abundance of both wood and time, the common folk would quickly wrestle up a meal as they went to work or came back. So, while a bajre ki khichdi, cooked longer over a slow flame, would be finer and khoya added would accentuate the taste, the same prepared by a commoner would be just a mud-pot dish, which would be spiked up with chillies, garlic, and onions,” the chef explains.

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While the royals’ food was distinct from that of the commoners in style and feel, one can find a good mix and balance of both in the spread offered by chef Singh at the Baati festival. One can start with popular street snacks such as Kadhi-Kachori and Mirchi Vada, followed by a royal Rajasthani thali consisting of myriad dishes, from Lal and Safed Maas to Gatte ki Sabzi and Churma, before finishing off with a heartful serving of Malai Ghevar and Mohanthal.