Food review: Mango festival at Mumbai's Rajdhani

A young man dressed in traditional dhoti-kurta welcomes you into Rajdhani at Phoenix in Lower Parel. And he won’t let you enter in without smearing a little dot of sandalwood on your forehead.

“Now, that’s a pretty traditional entry,” my friend whispered in my ears.

Rajdhani outlets across India are hosting the Mango Festival till May 31, 2012.

The interiors aren’t very impressive, but if you’re going to eat with your hands, you know you’re not going to be judged. What happened once we settled in our seats did not stop for the next hour.

A big plate arrived, along with little katoris, which led us to believe we would be served an assortment of vegetables. They did. Dal baati, okra, beans, paneer masala, at least three different kinds of dals, magically appeared in the katoris.

Being a hardcore non-vegetarian, I’ve always been a bit repulsive about vegetarian food. Rajdhani has changed that perception to a large extent. If Rajdhani opened in Norway, they’d shut it down. They believe in an overt expression of hospitality, one that sees the staff almost force-feed guests of all ages. But who’s complaining.

When a generous helping of ghee met the dal baati, the taste became prominent. My friend and I became instant fans of the mithi and spicy dals, also of the soft puris that disappeared from our plates as soon as they came. They appeared soon enough in at least three varieties, one heavier than the other.

The vegetables were well-cooked and we couldn’t wait to finish the katoris in the hope of getting to the mango delicacies which looked enticing. The tangy raw mango chutney elevated the taste of the dals and puris. The aam ras was fresh, while the amrakhand-puri can be a meal in itself.

Umpteen 'aur lijiye' (have some more) moments later, we found ourselves physically warding off the waiters who wouldn’t budge until you had another helping of whatever they were serving. So full were we that the buttermilk might have cursed us for not paying it the attention it deserved.

Wait, it’s not over. The hot moong halwa that came as the dessert was the best part about the whole meal. Not very sweet with the overriding taste of moong dal lingering in your mouth long after you swallowed it. It makes you wonder why you had all the food served before it.

And finally when it was time to leave, fully satiated, we beat hard the gong at the exit. “Aav Jo” (come again) rang through the restaurant, the staff’s traditional way of inviting us to ‘visit again’ and eat our hearts out.

Rajdhani is a vegetarian glutton’s paradise. Even though the quintessential mango drink keri panna was missing from the menu, the ongoing festival is worth paying a visit. The cheerful manager at the Lower Parel outlet only makes your meal and time worth the money you’d be spending.

Date: April 15, 2012- May 31, 2012
Time: 12 noon – 3:30 pm and 7:30 pm - 11 pm
Venue: All Rajdhani outlets across Mumbai
Prices: Rs341 per thali
Rating: ***