Rajdhaani Thali: Why You Must Visit This Place

We have all, at several points in our life, eaten thaalis. Sometimes on a dare. Sometimes because it made the most economic sense. Sometimes because we were too confused to go a la carte. Sometimes because we wanted to avoid heavy conversation with our companion and wanted to have our faces stuffed instead of talking. And sometimes because we just love thaalis and we are Indians and we love a bargain. A thaali always looks like a big, fat, unending bargain.

Only, it is not.

A thaali is not really lots of quantity. It's lots of variety, a spoonful of each. But when fifty-six things of a Chhapan Bhog stare you in the face, although just a spoonful, it can seem like you have to get through fifty-six platefuls of food until you call it quits. Or waste food. Which of course, makes a girl like me weep over wastage and insult to the food gods. And the chef of course. And harbour dark thoughts about hungry children in Somalia.

@desh in the Rajdhani Kitchen

But it's psychology and the best of us shudder in fear at the thought of really finishing a Thaali. Desh says "Humari umar ho gayi hai" (We have aged) and therefore we are no longer capable of eating as much as we could at some point when we were clearly 'very young'. I think it's just intelligence, over a period of time, when you understand your body better and want to play to its advantages instead of loading it down like a waste bin.

So when the man and I were invited to sample the Rajwar Festival food, literally, food for the royals, we were a bit, umm, perplexed. We decided to have a light breakfast and arrive raving and hungry at the venue. Which we managed to do, successfully.

Like us, several bloggers had arrived very hungry and wanted to start eating before their appetites died. Which was incredibly funny to watch.

The menu seemed endless. Chhappan Bhog probably sounds way more threatening than it actually is you sort of wish they would leave feats like those to the Gods, not to humans but well...

Two welcome drinks were served. The rose-pudina-sabjya shot. So yummy on a hot, dry day that I had this urge to keep drinking glasses of just this and leave happily.

But then, the Lemon Shikanji came and blew us all away. Shirin and I must have consumed copious amounts of this until we deeply regretted the resulting loss in tummy real estate, space that we were saving for the food.

Thankfully, we were saved in time by a trip to the Rajdhani Kitchen. Rajdhani is among those few restaurants that invites you into its kitchen instead of declaring 'restricted access'. A board declares 'Rasoi Me Aapka Swaagat Hai' (You are welcome to enter the kitchen). And our large group happily trooped in. Neat, shiny, clean.

We saw the Maharaj (how awesome, a place that calls the headchef Maharaj, like Indians traditionally call their chief cooks, instead of the fancy 'head chef' - blame me, I am a sucker for culture) making Jalebis and soak them into Chashni (sugar syrup) and Shirin and I went mad with happiness. Mumbai serves up some pretty pathetic Jalebis and this sort of got our hopes up.

We saw this massive gas-powered device for making fresh Phulkas. Rajdhani Phulkas are small and bite-sized. The management explained the logic to us though - the phulkas are served hot and fresh so your first and last bite are still hot because the size is so small. Which is the point. If your phulkas are big, by the time you get to the last bite, it will be cold and Rajdhani wants you to enjoy your food while its still 'garma garam'. I was quite thrown.

Through the entire explanation and tour of the kitchen though, we sort of noticed how quiet the place was. Which is when we were told that inside the kitchen and even outside it, the staff is trained to use sign language which they have developed in-house. Which means, they have a way to tell each other what you want, how many of those you want, without opening their mouths at all. Which is exactly how they function even inside the kitchen. Next time you go to a Rajdhani, observe :) The idea is to keep the din down.

So our plates and bowls arrived. All shiny and awesome.

Then this happened. *gulp*

Then I managed this feat. *gasp* And spent several days running it off in the gym. But must mention the things I loved to bits. Chickoo Halwa. Jalebis with Rabri. Hot syrupy Malpuas. The Phirni. The Chhaas. Notice how I am fast turning into a dessert person? Especially Indian dessert person? The Dal Baati was pretty kickass and so was the lovely Khichdi with the fresh desi ghee. Did I mention everything was dripping in ghee? Everything was dripping in ghee. I love ghee. To teensy tiny bits. What's not to love?

The man finished his food last. As wiped out as he looks, he was maha happy with the food. However, we did skip dinner that day. BTW, he is holding a Paan Shot. I had two of those. Lovely shot of paan in sweet coconut milk. I think I could live on that stuff.

@caramelwings beating the drum

After much discussion on how we will never move an inch again and how they should let us rent charpais or cots to pass out on just outside Rajdhani, the gang got their behinds out of the hotel. But we did beat an overlarge drum on our way out to express our happiness at the food and service.

And had some Mukhwas on the way out too. Overall, a must visit. Go with a ravenous appetite. Prices start at 475 bucks and up. We went to the Phoenix Market City outlet, in Kurla West. They have outlets in Mulund West (R-Mall) and in R-City (Ghatkopar West) too. So go on, I totes recommend this place. And if you can send me some of those Paan Shots, please do, I will send you cupcakes. For Rajdhani in all other cities in the country, head over to Rajdhani's Website here: Rajdhani Outlets.