Rajasthan - The desert land of India is rich in cultural heritage and is famous for its cuisine. The food habit of the natives is very different from the other Indian cuisine due to the extreme climatic conditions and scarcity of water.  A large part of the state prefer vegetarian but is also influenced by Rajput delicacies like the fiery meat curries and the desserts. You can find rich vegetarian food cooked in curd and milk to the spicy non-vegetarian food. The culinary style of the state is designed or shaped as such that it can be preserved for days. Rajasthani cuisine offers some scrumptious meal that can relish any foodie.

This week I got a chance to attend Rajasthani food festival  RANGEELO RAJASTHAN KA ZAIKA at SEPIA, Renaissance Lucknow under the guidance of Chef Anwar from THE WESTIN PUSHKAR.Who flew down to Lucknow from Rajasthan especially for the festival. He designed the meals and combos according to the taste bud of Lucknow. The festival was an awesome experience as I got to explore some of the most staple and exotic dishes from the state.

Here are my favorite delicacies from the food festival that you just have to try.


Starters-

1. Methi Chaman : Are the dumplings of cotton cheese and fenugreek leaves . They are the perfect snacks to start your meal.


2 .Thar ke Pappad: These are moong dal papad stuffed with gatta and spices. They were soft and crisp both. Its is must try .


3. Murg Tikka Banjara: These are small and light fractions of chicken marinated with onion and brown roasted cashew nuts with a smokey flavor.


4. Tomato Tikka Shorba: Tomato stock cooked with small chunks of chicken tikka. Its a perfect thick and spiced Indian soup and a perfect starter.


Main course-

1. Laal Mans: A fiery Rajasthani meat curry cooked with mataniya chili , curd, and hot spices. It is the most famous non-vegetarian dish of the region and also among the royalties.


2. Murgh Shekhawati: Shekhawti region is in South Rajasthan and is famous for it cuisine Murg Shekhawati  is .one of them , it is basically tender chicken cooked with curd and cashew nuts.

3. Paneer Mirch Masala: One of my favorite from the festival . Paneer cubes are cooked with tangy tomato and spiced up perfectly.


4. Daal Bati Choorma: One of the staple food of  Rajasthan which is famous all over India. These are wheat flour dupmling which are roasted and dipped in ghee. It was served with Dal kalbelia, a black urad daal tempered with garlic and tomato.

5. Warqi Paratha : Warqi paratha or  layered paratha is an ideal paratha to be served with curry . It was crispy and sweet and was well fried. They looked like a puffed pastry but were very light.



Desserts-

 1. Ghewar cheesecake : Rajasthani famous sweet cake was given a makeover by the chef. He gave it a western twist by adding cheesecake to it. It was a perfect combination of cheese and ghewar both . It had the perfect amount of sugar syrup which did not kill the taste of cheese and ghewar.



These were my favoriteS from the festival. You can visit SEPIA renaissance for more such delicacies. The food festival is running from 19th may - 28th may.  Explore Rajasthan cuisine at your own city lucknow at RANGEELO RAJASTHAN FOOD FESTIVAL.