JWB Rediscovers Jaipur's Authentic Taste In The Lanes Of The Walled City

Thursday, September 08 2016, 12:56:50

Komal Panwar

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JWB Rediscovers Jaipur’s Authentic Taste In The Lanes Of The Walled City

JWB Post

September 3, 2016

Once upon a time, in the pink, congested lanes of the Royal city of Jaipur sat a beautiful, mouth-watering eatery. They called it Grand Peacock. I wonder why I’d never heard of it before.

Well, I think I’d blame it on myself. Due to the crazy traffic in the narrow lanes of the old city, I honestly never felt like stepping in. But, this time, JWB decided to explore the authenticity of Jaipur’s heritage.

We stuffed ourselves inside one car, and on empty stomachs, went on a lunch date. When we reached the , we were rather surprised to see the ample parking space, since you don’t get to see that in the walled city.

We walked inside the restaurant that had only foreign tourists. The interiors had already stunned me. This place sure was authentic. Traditional wall paintings and colored glasses spoke for themselves. We took our time to admire the ambiance, while Priyavrathh Singh Mahar, the restaurant’s owner, showed us the way.

“I’m hungry,” Lavanya said, pinching my arm.

“Have some patience,” I said while inhaling the food’s aroma. I felt like I was in Tom & Jerry, and the food’s aroma was dragging me into the kitchen. Oh, and so it was! Priyavrath showed us around as we crossed the chicken.

I mean kitchen. Sorry, food makes me more inarticulate than usual.

He showed us the beautiful rooftop and said, “We are open for lunch throughout the year, but starting October, we’ll be open for dinner, too. Shortly, we’ll also begin a 24×7 café where late-eaters and the nocturnals are always welcome!”

“You hear that, Lovy?” I said. But she was already noting everything down. Talk about desperation for food. Jayati, Drishti and Sanchit seemed reasonably quiet since you know, this place was going to be THE place for non-vegetarians.

We headed to the restaurant and began our pet-puja with lassi and Lemon Rajputana. The Lemon Rajputana was basically ginger-lemon juice with soda, and then add salt to taste!

Drishti jumped the binge-eating wagon and said “Diet, what’s that?”

“Well, please don’t use such words at the lunch table, Drishti! You will scare the food away!” Jayati protested.

Now, Jayati, Drishti, Lavanya, Anvita and I, were all ready to attack the food. While Anvita boasted of her Rajput culture, we didn’t shy away from imagine-marrying her to a prince from a far-away land.

Our attention quickly shifted from conversations, as the food was served. Lavanya was pretty much the Dogger-in-chief’s mom. That’s where the tiny office dog gets her foodspiration from.

We were served with a Grand Peacock Special Non-veg Platter, a Grand Peacock Special Veg Platter, Jaipuri Tikka and Dahi ka Kebab.

We desperately, with drooling mouths, waited for Sanchit to finish clicking the pictures of the food so that we could start eating. While Jayati, Drishti, and Anvita seemed patient, Lovy and I had already picked up a fork and a knife to dig into the food.

“Sanchit, are you done?” He continued to take his time. H8 u m8!

The moment he said done, even the seemingly calm girls attacked the food. With the Jaipuri Tikka stuck in her mouth, Lovy said, “Who needs a fork to chew this juicy piece of meat when it’s so deliciously soft?” Honestly, I didn’t understand what she’d said, she explained me later.

Out of all the ten pieces of the Jaipuri Tikka, Lovy had already eaten about seven. Um, thank you, Lavanya, for the eating support. I think I’ll chew on the Lal Maas.

The vegetarians were having a good time, too. The vegetarian platter had a lot of cool slurpi-licious Paneer Tikka and Dahi Kebab. Sanchit almost forgot about his camera for a minute when he was absorbing the taste of the Dahi Kebab.

“Oi, Sanchit, how would you describe the Dahi Kebab?”

“It’s melting inside my mouth.”

“It is so soft,” Drishti yelled.

Getting back to the non-vegetarian clan, our hunger pangs were still on, because someone ate seven Jaipuri Tikkas!

For a tiny frame, Anvita had the appetite of a whale. I felt like she was Ronald Weasley from the first Harry Potter Movie. Remember how he ate during the feast?

The Lal Maas, Special Amer Shahi Kofta, and the Keema Goli had now been served. Oh, God, now it was time for me to stuff the food in my mouth.

Anvita had already done-her-job with the Non-veg Platter, and since I’m a gravy person, everything was now mine. Lavanya had other plans. She wrapped her arms around the three dishes and said: “Ye sab mera hai.”

And just then, she saw a glass of Lassi, which made her grab onto it. Meanwhile…

I was sure that after Anvita’s prince from a far-away land will see her sucking onto the bone marrow, he’ll say goodbye to her.

“Komal, you’ve got to try the keema goli! It’s so delicious. Ek baar kha lo!” Lavanya said.

“Please let me eat the Lal Maas in peace, woman!” I said. Anvita continued teething her bone.

Lal maas was like Diwali for my taste buds. Just as Jayati had said for the Dahi ke Kabab, the Lal maas was melting in my mouth.

“Please tell us the recipes!” Anvita jumped.

“Our recipes are centuries old, and that’s why we have such unique, unmatched flavors,” Priyavrath added.

“I think I’ll agree. I just want to eat this Lal Maas and not brush for a week.”

“Ewwww. I think I just lost my appetite.” Drishti said. Well, I almost forgot the vegetarian lot! They had been served with Dal Kabul Fateh, Kadhi Hari Bhari, and Aloo Pyaaz Paneer.

“There’s actually a rich story how the Dal Kabul Fateh’s recipe was created,” Priyavrath said.

“Please tell us!” Jayati said.

“One of our ancestors was with Ram Singh I during his war in Kabul. To keep themselves warm, and adjust to the changing temperature, they added a lot of Kesar to the dal. It was a win in the time of the Kabul war, and so we named it Dal Kabul Fateh.”

“So for all of these centuries, you’ve preserved the recipe?” I said.

“Yes,” Priyavrath smiled.

Well, was he right! The vegetarians and the non-vegetarians joined hands and split the dal, and still had to order another one, because food = love.

We were almost food drunk by now. And, the warmth of the restaurant staff wasn’t helping. We just wanted to continue eating!

Jayati who never eats Kadhi, finished two bowls of the Hari Bhari Kadhi, with cheese naan. For those who like naans to be on the sweeter side, this should be your pick. Drishti however, was fixating on the Aloo Pyaaz Paneer.

Well, vegetarians, we are glad you had a great meal, too. After the Gulabjamuni dessert, guess what the cherry on the gulabjamun was?!

We met Priyavrath’s mother, and their little poochie Pepsi. We returned from the narrow lanes with their warmth and bulging tummies.

Food for two would cost you about Rs. 850.