Did you know that over 250 varieties of mango are grown
in India, and that we produce slightly more than 50% of Mangoes in the
World? Amazing statistics, and no
wonder, come summer season, and we are scrambling across markets to find and
eat our favorite mango variety. It is then appropriate that, Rajdhani
celebrates the season with its ‘Aamlicious’
Thali. Here is the review for it.
It is a given, when you are at any Thali Restaurant, that
you would probably be overeating, and more so with Rajdhani, given the huge
variety of dishes to savor. We were prepared to have a lot of food as we
embarked on our mango discovery journey here..
Drinks:
·
Mango
Lassi: Sweet-n-Sour, thick and delicious, but a tad heavy to start
off a meal.
·
Mango Thandai:
A fav. Holi and Shivaratri drink, this version with mango wasn’t
particularly great, but not bad either.
·
Kairi
Panna: This was my personal favorite from the lot. The sweet-sour of raw
mangoes in a refreshing drink, this went well with the meal, being light as
well as a change to your taste-buds
Starters:
·
Aam
Khasta Kachori: Crispy kachori with a hint of mango, made this a nice eat.
·
Mango Dal
Dhokli: Starter of the day for me, this was almost like a chaat, with a
tangy sweet-sour base and pieces of daal-dhokli and aam slices. Amazing flavors
in this one!
·
Mango Ring
Dhokla/Kairi Kanda Dhokla: Two
versions of the classic dhokla. The rink shaped one with ripe mangoes and the
regular dhokla with the falvours of raw mango. A good touch to a traditional Gujarathi
dish. Liked this!
There were several other starters/chats as well, such as
the Mango Khichiya Chaat and Mango Karkara Roll along with several varities of
Chutneys like Mango Choonda and Papad Churi.
Mains:
At this point, we were almost full, given the immense varieties
of appetizers that we had, but we ploughed on. Here is an extract:
·
Khaata
Moong: Regular dry, boiled moong dal and hints of raw mango, this was a
nice light mains dish.
·
Arbi
Kairi Nu Saag: Arbi or Colocasia, is not liked by many, due to its slightly
slimy texture. However, cooked properly, it can be really tasty. I was
pleasantly surprised by this Parsi dish which had spinach and raw mango, to
heighten the flavors here.
·
Kanda Kairi
Subzi: Assorted veggies with the tang of raw mango, this would go great
with any of the rotis available here.
·
Mango Kadhi:
Being such a staple dish in most Rajasthani, Gujrati and even Maharashtrian households.
Experimenting with Kadhi can be tricky. This version here, was a hit and a
miss, it was liked me several people and disliked in equal number. ME, being a
mango fanatic, liked it!
·
Mango
Surti Dal: An Indian meal can rarely be complete with a daal to accompany
it. This lovely daal was the perfect foil to the tangy, spicy dishes preceeding
it, and I relished it with the Mango Pulao.
These were served with Kairi Thepla, Khoba Roti
and Mango Vegetable Pulao and each of
them went well with several of the dishes from above. A decent main course, if
you are a Mango fan and haven’t filled up too much on the starters.
Desserts
It is hard to be enthusiastic for desserts after such an
enormous meal, however, some of these were so good, that we had them despite being
full to the brim.
- Aamras: Truly a nectar for the Gods, Aamras is pureed mango pulp with a hint of cardamom, sugar or jaggery and sometimes a bit of milk. The aamras at Rajdhani was truly divine and I could have an entire meal made up of this alone.
- Hapus Jalebi: Be prepared to be amazed, as you find pieces of fresh, sweet hapus(alphonso) mango pieces inside a crispy jalebi shell. This is the first time I had a ‘stuffed’ Jalebi, and I habe to say, I was really impressed.
- Angoori Applet Kheer: After the extravagantly sweet desserts above, this one paled in comparison. It was a standard kheer with tiny apple slices, and grapes, and I would rate it as just average.
Verdict:
Rajdhani has been a pioneer in popularizing the Thali
concept across India, and while I respect their decision to go with a
Mango-Based Thali, it can be overwhelmingly sweet for someone looking to have a
regular thali. There are mostly 2 predominant textures in this thali, sweet and
sour, which throw the balance right out of the window. While the individual
dishes are really good, a more careful approach to get the right balance in
this thali is required. But the thali is still worth it, and more
