Plan my trip to Rajasthan

[ewindels]

I will be in Mumbai from Nov. 12 - 17, and was planning to wander up to Rajasthan (Udaipur, Jaipur and Delhi/Agra) afterwards. Aside from a small amount of obligatory sightseeing (e.g., the Taj Mahal), I need lots and lots of suggestions on food-related places to visit, wander through, try, etc., particularly restaurants!

My tentative plan is the nights of Nov. 18, 19, 20 in Udaipur, the nights of 21, 22 and 23 in Jaipur, the night of the 24th in Delhi and back to the States early the 25th. Bear in mind that I'm going in to this totally blind, so people should feel free to make any and all suggestions, although I don't particularly want to be in a different location every night (too much bother). I'm looking to do some sightseeing (particularly temples), some shopping (antiques only), and as much food exploration as possible.

Thanks in advance!

[tryska]

traditional for that region, if i recall correctly is tandoori food. So lots of dry-grilled meats and naan.

i also recall from my tour of India when I was small - the poori bhaji was quite good for breakfast up north.

(of course dosai down south)

[buttercup]

I am not sure if this is too far off your plan. We stopped in Johdpur at MV Spices, www.mvspices.com. Johdpur is also known for its antiques. I am trying to remember the sweet shop in Jaipur. It is on the road of the Jem Bazaar and it is next to a hotel. Attached is a vegetarian restaurant. Will try to get the specifics, I think there is a mention in the lonely planet guide on the veggie restaurant and it states that there is a sweet shop.

Definitely go for the grilled meats/chicken. Or mix them with sauce dishes. We started eating a lot of the foods with sauces and got a bit sick since we were not used to the amount of cream/butter, whatever. Oh, often on the menu they translate lamb as mutton. I was fearful at first, but it turned out to be lamb.

Our usual order (after the stomach meltdown): grilled chicken (there are a variety of styles, some coated in an egg mix), grilled lamb, dal, raita and naan.

Make room for a good Lassi. It may have been at Lake Palace where I had one with saffron.

Mumbai also has Persian food. Leopolds (?) has this dessert/drink Faloodi and their tandori chicken was great.

Have a great time!

[SDSeth]

The sweet-shop/vegetarian restaurant is Laxmi Mishthaan Bhandar(LMB). Also on the outskirts of Jaipur a must-eat is Chokhi Dhandi- an open air eatery where excellent food is served in very authentic surroundings. It has a Fair kind of feel with camel rides, gypsy fortune tellers and lots of local handicraft stores.

In Delhi one must visit Karim's Nematkada in Old Delhi or Nizamuddin. One of the best kababs in town are at Bukhara restaurant in Maurya Sheraton Hotel. Can't say if the flagship of Tandoori chicken the once venerable Moti Mahal is still good.

30 years ago as a bachelor I have had some great food in Colaba. The regular haunts were hole inthe wall places like Kailash Parbat, Olympia and the lip smacking good Bade Miyan stall behind the Taj Hotel in Apollo Bunder/ Gateway of India.

[Matthew Grant]

Blimey I thought I had posted about my 3 week trip to Rajhastan earlier this year but it appears I hadn't. Not sure whether this is the best place for it but it might answer a few questions for you and help you decide where to go:

Finding information on the best places to eat was difficult outside of Delhi. The only information I could really find came from tourist guides (Fodors/ Lonely planet/Footsteps etc. etc.) and these seemed to reflect exactly the same restaurants that locals recommended as the best place to eat. In the majority of towns the best eating was supposedly found in the hotels and this seems to be proven when you see local middle class families eating in them. Unfortunately with very few exceptions the food was completely toned down for Westerners - not just the chilli but in some cases it seemed that a concerted effort had been made to make the food as bland as possible. This was especially evident at Vanyavilas in Ranthambore. One of the finest hotels I have stayed in it was let down by food so unadventurous it defied belief. This was even true when we specified that we didn't mind our food spicy or hot, unfortunately at nearly every venue we went to tourists were requesting dishes that weren't too spicy. I did notice that Americans didn't request this, they simply advised that they were allergic to chilli?!?!

In Delhi we started at Bukhara - the most famous restaurant in Delhi. Nothing like we expected it has apparently remained unchanged for 20 years. It's rather like a theme restaurant with tree trunk stools and tables to sit on, aprons to hang around your neck and a giant open kitchen. The restaurant specialises in Tandoori dishes and it really does excel. The main menu contains lots of dishes but no selection plate. We asked for a mixture and were advised that we could have the presidents platter (named in Bill Clinton's honour). Anybody who is going this has to be the thing to order although it is not shown unless you ask.. Excellent Raan. lamb chops, tandoori chicken, Chicken Tikka accompanied by breads and Bukharas famous daal. personally I found the daal unremarkable, the overwhelming flavour being ghee which completely overpowered any other spicing in the dish. The grills and kebabs were exceptional and were dreamt about them for the next 20 days until we returned to Delhi and were able to eat there again. Other meals at Chor Bizarre and Dum Pukht were unremarkable. I was particularly disappointed with Dum Pukht where I found the food to be rather pedestrian although there burnt garlic daal was excellent and they served the best paratha of the trip, crispy, elastic and chewy. Delhi rocks, the old town really is "a seething mass of humanity"

At Amarvilas in Agra the Indian restaurant Esphahan did provide a good meal, excellent Tandoori Quail and a giant Tandoori Prawn. Raan was a little heavy on the clove but A makhani byriani was wonderful, served in sealed pot the smell was incredible once the pastry was cracked. The flavours infused throughout the dish. Despite the hotels grand setting, luxurious rooms and impeccable service the restaurant was relatively cheap at around £10 for a main course including daal and bread.

It was a shame the cocktails couldn't match the food - awful classics with barely a whiff of alcohol - I have a feeling this is due to local alcohol laws.

However many times you have seen the Taj Mahal on television or in photos, nothing can prepare you for it. It is completely mind blowing and despite being riddled with tourists it is still a great place to visit.

Jaipur was fantastic, bustling streets, cows asleep in the road, traffic held up by Ox drawn carts/elephants/camels, men in turbans, beautiful architecture and a beautiful hotel in Samode Haveli, a converted Haveli (if you couldn't guess) in the heart of Jaipur.

Food at Niros was a little spicy but we watched in wonder as everybody around us ordered pasta/salads and Chinese?! Another night was spent at Choki Dhani - this was an incredibly cringeful theme park depicting traditional Rajasthani village life. Traditional dancing, elephant rides/camel rides/rickshaw rides and a traditional dinner eaten on the floor with your hands. The food was pretty awful and if it was authentic its no wonder the middle classes aspire to eat in hotel restaurants. We hated it, so contrived and false we couldn't get out of there quick enough, as we were leaving hundreds of Indians were queuing to get in!

Jaipur gave us The Amber palace, Jantar Mantar, the city Palace and our English guide having the biggest "hoiking" fit we had yet seen, it must have lasted a good 3 minutes and I was sure he would pass out with the exertion.

A visit to the market on our departure was good fun, the produce was all remarkably familiar - Cauliflowers (just 5 rupees a kilo), potatoes, tomatoes etc. etc. What was unfamiliar was the street hairdressers and the phone stalls.

Onto Ranthambore where we failed to see Tigers and seemed to be destined to fail every step of the way, our jeep was allocated one poor route out of 4 and on the other 3 occasions our driver and guide were caught going off their designated route when heading towards a confirmed sighting and had to turn back. For a anybody attempting this trip it is often touted as the best place to se tigers, even the official literature advises that "most drives will see a tiger". Well we went on 4 drives (incidentally they are in open top jeeps and are incredibly cold even with the hot water bottles and blankets provided by the hotel) and saw zero tigers. We met several people that had been on 4 drives, a couple on 5 and another who had been on 6 drives without seeing a tiger. Although a lot of people had seen them, there were equally as many who were disappointed. Fortunately my disappointment was softened in my luxury tent and with the incredible service. Elephants were waiting for us as we drew up in our car and a member of staff opened the doors and welcomed us by name. From that point onward every member of staff greeted us by our names, all the more impressive as we aren't married and they remembered Rachel's surname as well. The hotel was only let down by the bland food mentioned earlier.

In Kota we stayed at Brij Raj Bhawan Palace - a converted palace still occupied by the Maharaja and his family. Unfortunately the great location overlooking the river wasn't matched in the quality of the beds. We were a little concerned as we were the only people staying and they were cooking us dinner. The dining room had one of those grand dining tables fit for a queen (Queen Mary had stayed here in the past) and there were just two places laid at it. Stuffed tigers, lions, buffalo etc. adorned the walls. The staff, all 3 of them, slightly scruffy in their military style uniforms, multitasked as security, bell boy, receptionist, cook and waiter. We feared the worst for the food but it was fantastic, a spicy Chicken Korma. the chicken stuffed with chillies and almonds accompanied by some spicy fried potatoes and cauliflower.

The Lake Palace was another amazing hotel but unfortunately the lake is almost dry following 7 poor monsoons. They still manage to transport you to the hotel by boat but it is a token effort and 3 men are digging the channel all day to keep it clear to transport you. All around people are walking or driving on the dry riverbed.

Every night the hotel organises a royal parade with elephants, camels, horses and musicians and they head off across the riverbed. The "fine dining" restaurant offered good Tandoori quail, excellent mutton patties, carefully spiced and with a fantastic delicate texture verging on liquid. Unfortunately a main course of chicken in a yoghurt and chilli sauce tasted exactly like chicken in a Campbell's cream of mushroom soup. Our guide in Udaipur annoyed us by treating us like school children. He lectured us for an hour on the Hindu religion, he asked us questions on what he had just told us and looked to the heavens if we got it wrong. He asked me what I thought was kept in a particular tank "Water"

"No"

"Gold" (replicating an earlier tank) said Rachel

"No, it was filled with water which was splashed over the Maharaja"

"That's what I said!"

A few minutes later he confronted us "So I think you have a problem with me as guide" We were so embarrassed that we denied it but ditched him a few minutes later by saying that we needed to rest at the hotel. We came back out after 5 minutes once he had left. The hotel did make exceptional cocktails, apple martini and Cosmopolitan were both much appreciated. The hotel was let down by its service which was well meaning but cumbersome. A 21:00 dinner reservation was not ready when we arrived and despite me being able to see at least 3 empty tables we had to wait 15 minutes until they had managed to lay one for us. When leaving the hotel you had a committee of two girls at the door, a couple of steps on a tall Indian in magnificent dress greeted you and then you were accompanied by a man holding a large umbrella to protect you from the sun despite the walk being in the shade. He walked the 30 yards to the boat jetty where 2 musicians started playing when they saw you and stopped the minute you got level with them. The boatman helped you onto the boat and at the other end, about 1 minute away, the whole process was repeated in reverse. It quickly became tiresome.

Drove to Jodhpur via the Jain temple complex at Ranakhpur which was superb. No touts, No guide and a beautiful temple.

In Jodhpur we were craving a bit of night life and headed towards "On the Rocks" a bar in a hotel somewhere that also served grills and snacks. Noticed all the westerners were seated outside but we could hear music from within the bar and despite the waiters protests ("it's full up") we headed in to find it empty save for a table of 3 men and another of half a dozen men who were clearly pretending to be drunk. Ridiculously exaggerated movements, bumping into everything, crazy interactions with each other. It was like something from a Bollywood movie. The barman looked bemused, probably because they knew that they had only served them a couple of beers. The market gave us a stall selling false teeth.

The next stop was Jaisalmer with its fantastic fort still fully living and breathing. We saw a wedding, a licensed "bhang" shop, a man pissing against the outside of a urinal which had "please use me" written on it and a man with a 4 foot long moustache. In the evening we rode camels in the desert just 70km form the Pakistani border. A reasonable meal at Trio - once again the "best restaurant in town".

On the long straight road to Bikaner our driver made his one and only (near fatal) mistake. Indian drivers have top overtake if they are even going 1 mile and hour faster than the vehicle in front of them and I noticed Babu pull out to overtake a lorry, we were barely going fast enough to overtake but trusted him to know what he was doing. Then I noticed the lorry coming ion the opposite direction and thought that Babu would pull back in. He didn't. It was then that I realised that he was driving in a daze, presumably due to the long straight featureless road that we were on. The Lorry was getting ever closer and I called Babu's name without getting any response, I called another 3 times in increasing desperation before Babu noticed the lorry and swung back across with quite literally a second to spare. Quite a heart stopping moment! Bikaner was a dusty oasis town. Not particularly inspiring. At the local Place (I forget its name) some modestly dressed French girls were stared at so rudely that I nearly stepped in to say something. Some Indian men seem o have no concept of shame whatsoever and the staring was a constant problem but here it reached new levels with men actually detouring to stand in front of the girls and stare at them, mostly at their breast are. Two of the men were accompanied by Hindu women who had their faces covered (a common sight outside the major cities) I wondered what there response would be if we stood in front of the girls staring at them. We sometimes took to staring back, right in the eyes but this elicited no guilty response whatsoever. Laxmi Niwas Palace had great suites, full of original carvings, antique bed, black and white photos from days gone by. the drawing room and bar were once again full of animal skins. A great heritage hotel. Dinner of Laal Maas "the fiery Rajasthani speciality" sounded appealing until I was told by our waiter that it wasn't spicy because tourists don't like spice! Aggggh! Told him that we did and managed to get a reasonably spicy version of the dish. There was also good byriani here and the best butter naan that we tasted anywhere on the trip.

A quick overnight stop at Mandawa to view the sorry Havelis before returning to Delhi where an illness to a speaker at a conference meant that the Uppal Orchid didn't have a room for us as delegates hadn't checked out. This was a shame as the Uppal Orchid was a member of "Leading small hotels of the world" They had shifted us to the dated Le Meridien which was very impersonal and managed to have a disco so loud that I was driven to complain twice at 01:00. The Disco was 18 floors above us but the music still shook the walls. Delhi gave us the opportunity to return to Bukhara. We ordered exactly the same. This time the daal was better, not as much ghee and the spicing coming through a little more. The meat here is incredible tender and the marinades seem to have penetrated every inch. I could eat the same thing here many times over and still not be bored. It really is very touristy but despite that the food is great. The open kitchen affords excellent views of them cooking the food and of them making the huge "Bukhara Naan" which takes up a table big enough to serve 6 people. I've no idea how they get it in the Tandoor but it comes out looking as good as the smaller version.

What a country, tremendous poverty, ridiculous driving, poor sanitation, awful pollution, terrible infrastructure. The people look unhappy, not like the smiling faces you see in Thailand. Tradition is still pretty strong here with regard to marriages although the next generation should change that. Apparently most marriages in Delhi now are approved by the parents but are in fact Love marriages, this isn't true in the smaller towns but the educated younger people want it and things are changing. Reading the papers you are left with the feeling that it is a naive country "The weather conditions continued to fluctuate with a bright sunny morning and a chilly windy evening "We spent the entire day on the India gate lawns. It was quite pleasant in the morning and we have discarded all our woollens" said Rajesh Gupta from Karol Bagh" - reports like this take precedence over the kidnap of 50 villagers, 6 of whom were killed and had their hands and feet cut off by Maoists, this received only 5 or 6 lines in the Times of India. Corruption is rife, traffic police stopping people to try and extract bribes. Our driver just ignored them and drove on whenever they tried to stop us, occasionally he started to stop but they waved him on as soon as thy realised he was carrying tourists. I don't feel like I have been on holiday at all. My senses have just been subjected to an intense assault and aren't going to recover anytime soon. Incidentally, I loved it.

Edited October 20, 2005 by Matthew Grant (log)

[anzu]

Rather than restaurant suggestions, here is a brief (and over-simplified) outline concerning

Rajasthani foods, and some dishes specific to the region. A couple of years back I spent 6 weeks or so in Udaipur while my husband was teaching a course there, and I spent most of that time cooking with and collecting recipes from the ladies who lived in the neighbourhood of where we were staying.

I hope this run-down might help you in knowing what to look out for in restaurants, whichever restaurants you may end up in.

First off, a couple of words of warning. Rajasthani food tends to use a lot of oil or ghee, and a lot of chili. That bright red coloring in certain dishes is not going to be from tomatoes, but from a frighteningly high amount of chilis. Unless your body is accustomed to this type of fare, going all out on purely Rajasthani dishes might actually make you ill - maybe certain dishes would be better tried from a buffet or shared, so that you can take a small amount to get the taste while also eating a substantial amount of milder foods.

Incidentally, my neighbours claimed that an extremely high oil intake (easily an inch of oil floating on the top of each dish) was essential in the hot arid climate of Rajasthan.

The dryness of most of Rajasthan means that fresh vegetables tend to play a smaller role in the cuisine that many other regions of India. Certain vegetables - such as greens and tomatoes - tend traditionally to be used very little. The souring quality that tomatoes bring to dishes is instead provided by using amchur (ground dried unripe mango) or kachri (a bitter melon which grows in desert regions and is dried and ground to a powder), or sour yogurt.

The heat and sun is used to good effect for souring and for drying foods out, a couple of examples:

- vegetables are dried, and are rehydrated for cooking. My neighbours all had pantries filled with dried vegetables, most of which they had dried themselves.

- chaach (a type of drink: more on this later) is prepared by being placed in the sun for several hours.

The dishes I'm mentioning are so much associated with Rajasthan that they are almost a cliche, (but are nonetheless worth eating)

1) Dal, baati, churma.

This is actually three foods, but they 'belong' together.

The dal for this dish is usually panchmel dal, prepared with five different types of lentils.

Baatis are balls of dough (wheat flour + semolina, or wheat flour + besan) around tennis ball size. They are boiled, then baked in a tandoor, in hot coals, or the oven. Before eating, they are dipped in melted ghee. To eat, you break them open and eat with the dal.

Churma are a type of sweet made from the same dough as the baati. The dough is formed into rounds, deep fried, then broken up into small chunks, mixed with sugar, and formed into balls.

2) bajra roti (In Gujerat, these same breads are called rotla)

Flat breads made from bajra (a type of greyish millet). The flour is grey when milled, and so the bread is rather an unappetizing color. Don't let this put you off. Often served with a generous amount of ghee.

My neighbours all claimed that Bajra roti would only have the right taste when cooked on an earthenware skillet (tava). Keep an eye out when you see people selling large earthenware pots (for water storage) on the side of the road. In Rajasthan, many are selling these earthware skillets as well (slightly rounded, no rim around the edge).

3) Chaach.

This is a chilled drink made from besan, bajra flour, buttermilk, and water. These are mixed together, then placed in the sun to 'cook'. The mixture is then boiled, then chilled. It has a slightly sourish, interesting taste.

4) Laal Maas.

Literally, 'red meat' (meat when referred to like this always refers to mutton/lamb.)

The main spices in this are chili, Indian bay leaves, cloves, coriander, black pepper, large (black) cardamom. It's very tasty, but also extremely spicy.

5) Safed Maas

Literally, 'white meat'

Lamb cooked with yogurt, boiled onion paste, cream, cardamoms, cloves, cinnamon, Indian bay leaves, mace, and white pepper.

6) Ghatte

Think Rajasthani gnocchi . This may be served in a sauce, or as part of a pulao. Lightly spiced besan is formed into a dough with yogurt, rolled into a 'sausage' shape, and boiled. The boiled dough is cut into lengths, then cooked further in a sauce or a pulao.

7) Mungodi ki subzi

Papad ki sabzi

The two are different, but the principles are similar. Mungodi are small balls of cooked, spiced mung bean paste, which have been dried in (yes, these too) in that relentless sun. The dry mungodis are lightly fried, then a spiced sauce is made with yogurt, chili, coriander powder and amchur, and the mungodis are cooked further in this.

Papad are pappadums - like those often served fried as an appetizer in Indian restaurants. Here, they are dipped briefly in hot water, torn into strips, then added to a similar sauce as the sauce for mungodi. Often, these pappadums will have been homemade (and yes, dried in the sun), so that they make be quite a bit thicker than the commercially available ones, and the spicing will be varied more to taste.

Our neighbours made their own papad from corn, as well as from the more usual urad dal.

8) Ker

Sangri

Both are plants indigenous to Rajasthan and have no English name. They are not - as far as I know - actually cultivated, but are nonetheless widely harvested and dried.

Sangri are the pods of a leguminous tree. You can read more about sangri

here

Despite the reference here to sangri as 'famine food' it is a common food in Rajasthan.

Ker are a small berry. I have eaten both only in the form of pickles. Both are meant to be extremely good for the health. Try them if available, as you probably will not get the opportunity anywhere else.

9) Ghevar

A type of sweet made from flour and ghee, that is fried in ghee. It may be served with syrup or rabri/rabdi (thickened sweetened milk).

Often, the sweets you find for sale in India in sweet shops are a case of repeating the same old favorites the length and breadth of the country, regardless of where they actually originated. (although of course, the sweets in some places will be better than in others). If you eat ghevar in Rajasthan, you are at least eating this sweet in its region of origin. Also, as you need a special mold for shaping the ghevar, and a large amount of ghee for frying, this is one sweet that one will most probably never try to make at home.

It should be available in Lakshmi Mishtaan Bhandar, mentioned by SDSeth.

10) Malpua

Small wheat pancakes that have been dipped in syrup. There are many different possible flavorings, such as pepper, anise, saffron, or rose water. These can be very very good if done well.

[silverbrow]

I was in Rajasthan almost 2 yrs ago and had a trip that looked pretty similar to Matthew's. One comment on Udaipur, we stayed at Udaivilas, which apart from being a fantastic hotel, had great food as well. I can't for the life of me remember what it was as it was so long ago, but I do remember the quality being excellent. We had a similarly good experience at Rajvilas in Jaipur. The various Oberoi Vilas hotels are renowned for their quality, I would expect/hope that Matthew's bad experience at Vanyavilas was a one off.

For a thoroughly amusing, although by no means good meal, try to eat at Delhi golf club. If I'm honest, I found it so funny because it is just like eating in a golf club in the home counties in the UK. Not what I'd expected in the middle of Delhi.

[Milagai]

For a thoroughly amusing, although by no means good meal, try to eat at Delhi golf club.  If I'm honest, I found it so funny because it is just like eating in a golf club in the home counties in the UK.  Not what I'd expected in the middle of Delhi.

←

Well - it's whole raison d'etre is that it's a relic of the Raj.

It was founded by homesick Brits...

Delhi Gymkhana club is exactly the same way...

Milagai

[ewindels]

Thanks for all the tips, folks (particularly Matthew!). Though I'm not looking for amusing meals, I'm looking for good ones. Amusing I can get anywhere, but as this may be my only trip to India, I want to squeeze all I can out of it.