From Jaipur, with love: Enjoy authentic Rajasthani food right at your doorstep

We first heard of Pratap Bhawan Cuisine from a friend We had just returned from a weeklong holiday in Rajasthan and were experiencing major culinary withdrawal symptoms So we followed their social media handle almost immediately Himanshu Rathore of the royal family of Nimaj helms the kitchen Rathore took to cooking at a young age and is preserving his culinary heritage through his venture Pratap Bhawan Cuisine in Jaipur Along with his wife Rathore runs a homestay in Jaipur and his inhouse guests are often treated to his delicious food During the pandemic he started his delivery kitchen and then later tied up with an online portal that delivers his food to many major cities in the countryThe cardboard packaging in which the dishes arrivedThe idea that we could access the taste of his heirloom recipes in Mumbai was exciting And so we reached out As soon as Rathore came on the line we shot a bunch of questions at him about the execution of the experience He says ldquoRajasthani food goes beyond laal maas Every family has its recipes While growing up in Nimaj I would observe many male members of the family cooking In winters when we experienced good weather we would organise campfires and cook Many dishes are inspired by those experiencesrdquoPast perfectAfter our conversation we take Rathorersquos recommendations and order a portion of the junglee maas dish You can order a full portion with 12 pieces of meat R1635 or half that comes with six pieces a plate R1123 ldquoJunglee maas is the safest thing to order from our menu when the food has to travel a long distance It has no onions or tomatoes The original recipe is supposed to be only Mathania chilies ghee salt and meat I have added a couple of ingredients like garlic in it and I smoke the meat towards the end of the preparation Legend has it that back in the day when people went out to hunt in forests that were near small villages they would only find basic ingredients to cook with so they would add these to the meat and simmer it on a slow flamerdquoThe containers inside the boxThe second dish is the safed chicken Rs 806 half portion Rs 1438 full portion a recipe Rathore learnt from his mother ldquoEach ingredient has to be white If yoursquore using almonds it needs to be skinned or else it affects the colour The onions need to be made translucent on very slow heat The red chilies are added halfway through the cooking otherwise the chilies can also release a lot of colourrdquoFlavour forwardHimanshu RathoreOur food order arrives a day after we order it neatly packed in boxes that lie within boxes it reaches us on a morning flight After peeling off layers of packing we begin our feast The instructions suggest freezing the food immediately if not consumed on receipt We heat the food immediately and tuck into the regal fare It is all that had been promised mdash fresh delicious and unique The meat in junglee maas is tender The flavour is unlike anything we have tasted before It is probably because this dish doesnrsquot have any of the usual ingredients that go into a mutton curry The chillies are not too hot but deliciously pulpy and have soaked in the masala completely Each time we taste it the flavours explode in our mouth The safed chicken transcends our expectations There is none of the heaviness associated with white gravies cooked in thick buttery cashew paste This chicken dish is cooked with a paste made up of almonds and poppy seeds ground on a traditional mortar and pestle The base of the gravy is yogurt ldquoWe Rajasthanis donrsquot traditionally use tomatoes in our cooking Tomatoes were a later addition to our cooking All our meat dishes are cooked in yogurt Thatrsquos where the tartness comes fromrdquo we recall Rathorersquos words while tasting the chicken Pratap Bhawan also offers a varied vegetarian fare and meat picklesPratap Bhawan CuisineLog on to pratapbhawancom justmyrootscomEmail rathorehimanshugmailcomCall 09829074354