Rajdhani - Rolling out the Indian feast on Rolla Street

Eating in Rajdhani has been on my Dubai to-do list for a while now! I heard loads of people talking about it, either praising it or saying it's too spicy (pfff, Europeans...), either liking it or hating it, nothing in between. I like these kind of restos, they have personality, they're not just "nice"!

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Finally, the moment came! I called my Indian friend and said "dude, no more procrastination! Whatever you have to do tonight, cancel it cause we're going to eat thali". He said "ok, yalla, bye" and hanged up. Ok, khalas, done, we're going.

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Walking in, I will admit wholeheartedly that it looked much classier than what I expected (Confession: a girl friend of mine ate there a few months and she just doesn't take spice...or Indian food, for that matter; so she called me up complaining about the place, the looks, the food, the whole thing and making me believe that I will end up in this dark hole at the end of Dubai and I will probably never make it out alive). The place looks clean, is bright, has table napkins rather than tissues (big plus, I like!!), the manager is wearing a suit (and a tie) and...it just gives away a very comforting feeling.

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The moment we sit down, I get the shiny spotless thali in front of me. Very intimidating! For those of you who don't know, a thali ("plate" in Hindi) is a tray (how we would call it). On every thali, you will find katori - small metal bowls- waiting to be filled with yum curries, dal, rice and more tasty treats. So, we sit down, and the thali and the katoris are placed in front of me and the food starts coming....a waiter comes with 4 pans and fills 4 katoris with curries and dal. A second one comes with a mint dip and a chutney. A third one brings freshly baked bread. A forth one comes with rice. A sixth one is asking me what kind of pickles I want. My head is spinning from all these waiters, the service is fit for a queen! To tell you the truth, I had no idea where to start, my indecisiveness kicked in big time and I panicked, until my friend gave me a few tips as to what to start with.  With my friend holding my hand through this culinary journey, this is what I had (and there is no other way to write these dishes without making a list):

BREAD:

- Puri - small round bread made from wheat flour and salt, served with potato curries and dal. (I loved this one, the waiter knew it and he kept bringing it to my thali even with my dessert!)

- Roti - flat bread based on wholemeal flour, one of the basics of Indian meals.

KATORI:

- Kathiyawadi val papdi - young green beans, cooked Gujarati style.

- "No name" stuffed tomato (or tomato stuffing?!?) - green tomatoes with a spicy gravy.

- Aloo raswala - potato cubes in a tomato, green chilli, turmeric, garam masala and coriander gravy.

- Rajasthani gatta - besan (gram flour), coriander flour, curd, chilli powder and ghee. Basically, dumplings with a spicy gravy.

- Guj (Gujarati) kadhi - curd, gram flour, green chilli paste, coriander and more. This tastes more sweet than spicy...

- Sweet dal - yellow dal, chilli powder, sugar, ghee, cumin, fenugreek. I actually liked this dal, which was a bit weird than what I was used to. Mix it with one of the spicy sauce and you're good to go!

- Spicy dal - I call it yellow spicy porridge.

- Dal bati churma - "crumbled sweet bread" for my non-Indian fellows; I think it is basically bread fried in ghee, then served with dal with more ghee and churma. 

SAUCES:

- Mint sauce - mint, coriander, chilli, lemon, yoghurt and many many other ingredients.

 - Sweet tomato chutney - tomato, ginger, cumin, onion, garlic, cinnamon (and more) sweetened with sugar.

DESSERTS:

- mango juice  - traditionally called Aamras, it is the pulp of the mango.

- Bengali sweet - somehow, no one could tell me the name of this. The best one I got was: "Madam, this is best Bengali sweet! you have to try!".



So yes, I had all the above for dinner, a lot of everything! I kind of loved (ok, I really really loved) the idea of having small bowls and many things to choose from. Usually, I get very confused when having to order in a restaurant cause I don't want to miss out on absolutely anything But with the thali, I got everything, no miss. Awesome!!



I could hardly decide on my favourites, everything was super tasty and so complex in flavour, that I didn't even manage to identify all layers (truth be told, I've never even heard of some ingredients, how ignorant of me!). But, of course, there were a few katoris that stood out: aloo raswala, rajasthani gatta and the spicy dal, with the mint sauce and puri. 



I wish I could say more, much more about the food, the ingredients, the flavours, but it is just an explosion of taste and textures! The soft boiled potatoes, the dal, the "crunchy sweet bread", the abundant ghee, the puri, the pickles....this is food you feel, you enjoy, you travel with it to distant places, not over analyze and question.



In Rajdhani, the food and the people are so honest and true to their basic norms and beliefs, makes me question why I don't stick to mine as much as they do. I love their genuine smile and pride in talking about the food and their restaurant, in seeing someone so different (like me) taking interest in their culture. I think that, should I have had a few more hours to kill, they would've sat down at my table, we would've had chai and they would've talked for hours on end about India.

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Eating in Rajdhani was not only a culinary experience, but a wake up call. To some extent, I let go of my roots a long time ago; living abroad, embracing different cultures, meeting different people, made me an ingredient in the "melting pot" of the world rather than in the "salad bowl". I am still proud of my origins and country, I talk about it warmly to anyone who is willing to listen, but to go through following the traditions while leaving abroad, that is something I find hard to live up to. So thank you, Rajdhani, for reminding me that no matter how far you are from home, if with others of your own kind or alone, being proud of your roots and embracing them is vital. 



Good food can only be enjoyed in the company of good people. If you ever feel like eating veg Indian, take your closest friends, jump in the cars, go for a drive on Rolla Street and stop at Rajdhani (P.S.: the place has valet parking so, fussy people, don't worry, you still get 5 stars service for 2 stars prices!). Bond over food, experience together something new and learn from it.



Rajdhani is not only good for the stomach, is good for the soul too..