Open Sesame

And that8217;s true of most food in Jaipur. Delhi8217;s favourite bolt-hole doesn8217;t yield its culinary mysteries too easily and the wise foodie will take patience along to the city.

First things first. Jaipur doesn8217;t do Rajasthani, not unless you hit the Airport Road to Chokhi Dhani, a kitschy village resort where ethnic entertainment climaxes in a meal so heavy, some people prefer carrying their own sandwiches or pen in a two-hour post-prandial nap. The fare is delectable enough, especially if you8217;re not counting calories, but be warned: The only way to swallow the missi roti is by dousing it in ghee.

Safer, then, to head towards Niro8217;s, the 8217;80s style restaurant located bang opposite the lassiwalas on MI Road. The interiors8212;dominated by a huge Satish Gujral mural8212;haven8217;t changed in close to a decade, nor has the menu. 8216;8216;The locals come here for Continental and Chinese, tourists8212;everyone from Naomi Campbell to Arundhati Roy8212;for the Lal Maans,8217;8217; says owner Rajnish Pardal.

The dish is a Rajput speciality, one of the few to be found on every five-item-Rajasthani menu in multicuisine restaurants. But Niro8217;s Lal Maans is on another level8212;tandoori-red, redolent with whole spices and chilli8212;hot enough to fire the imagination into doing things robust Rajputs did with their petite princesses.

Rajasthani cuisine, actually, is a composite of two very distinct strands: The meat-heavy meals of the Rajputs and the austere, kathor-based meals of the Marwaris, livened up with lashings of ghee. Desert produce being what it is, the vegetarians of Rajasthan haven8217;t moved too far away from the foods of their ancestors, though old-timers will tell you that markets nowadays stock far more varieties of vegetables than ever before.

You wouldn8217;t know that by sampling the kachoris at Rawat Mishthan Bhandar, RMB by another name. Located near the interstate bus stand, it8217;s busy from 6 am to 10 pm, till the last bus leaves the city, packed with satisfied stomachs burping piaz, and lovely light-green mirchis packed into kachoris.

Rawat8217;s kachoris Rs 25 for a plate along with a glass of badam milk are something of a legend in the city, served fresh and hot and oily in leaf bowls. Budget meals, in fact, are Jaipur8217;s USP. If you8217;re not too squeamish about the surroundings, head straight to Mohan8217;s Dhaba in Nehru Bazar, which serves up a full thali for Rs 30. They do half-plates, which means you can sample their special paneer, bhindi masala, alu piaz with tiny whole onions, kadhi-pakoda and chapatis8212;this being one of the few places in Jaipur that serves excellent chapatis8212;for Rs 100. And don8217;t forget their lahsuni chutney, Rs 10 will get you a memorable bowlful.

If, on the other hand, you8217;re feeling rich, start your day with the Hilton Breakfast buffet at the Trident Hilton on Amber Fort Road. It is part of a bed-and-brekkie package8212;a child-oriented two-night, three-day summer deal, priced at Rs 6,100, is on offer right now. The breakfast Rs 350 for non-residents comes helpfully categorised into low-cal-low-fat, hi-energy, hi-fibre and low-cholesterol, so you know exactly what you8217;re eating.

The best five-star breakfast in town comes with just one caveat: It may not leave you with enough room for all the other foods Jaipur has to offer!