Rajdhani is a vegetarian Thali Restaurant serving meals with Gujarati and Rajasthani Dishes. It is known as a Khandhani restaurant where food recipes are collected from villages just like our grandma recipes and then is explored  in the kitchen by Maharaja (Master Chef) for volume production and then gets introduced in the menu.  We were invited to taste the special dishes to be introduced this season, Mango specials.  It was awesome spread of dishes made of raw and ripe mangoes and the Maharaja stood next to us and explained the dishes and its ingredients in the way we could understand.  These special dishes would be rotated to the customers as the part of the regular thali during this season.

If you are wondering about the reach of mango in the cuisine, you are in for a surprise.  Right from salad to dessert, mango is there in each and their inclusion in the dish is so natural that we do not feel it as an obstruction to the flavor of the dish, in fact in many cases, it enhanced the flavor of the dish – one of it is the mango jalebi.

Though we have been to Rajdhani quite often, one more thing we learnt today is the main dishes taste much better with the right combination of sauce or side dish.  Thanks  to Soumali who guided us on how to combine the dishes to get the best out of it.  If Cooking is art, eating is no less.

One of the unique combinations we had was a baby wheat phulka with ghee, generous amount of butter and a small amount of Jaggery rolled made it yummy.  The most interesting thing about Rajdhani is except few desserts introduced during festivals, all of their products are homemade including the butter and the jaggery.  Maybe this is the secret behind us having a full tummy but not heavy after having such a huge meal spread.

Khoba roti ( was thick and crispy and tasted like a biscuit) was good when we had it with Aam ki launji. The next one that stole our heart is the Aam bhara papad roll. Thin soft and with a filling, it was a dish that we could never get satisfied to call an ‘enough’.   Combine both with the home made tomato sauce and it was heavenly.

For those interested in seeing art in food, Kairi potli kachori  is a must try and yes, it tastes good too.  It is a small bag (gathering) tied in its neck with onion leaf with pleats in the top.  We assumed the bag to be thick and took a bite and the covering was so thin and the stuffing was Raw Mango based all the way.  We just could not come to terms with preparing something like this in huge volumes in a kitchen – this could go well as a handicraft item that is edible.

Mango Dal Dhokli is dal with its unique aroma and small bits of mango with thin white sheets (dhokli) immersed in it.  Pretty nice dish and we also had Kairi Samosa ki Sabzi along with mango pachadi (south Indian style) and two versions of dal to go along the main course of phulkas and puris.

We have rice section too with raw mango pulao, kesari pulao and the regular kichdi (green gram dal rice) and curd rice.

Aam ras served as pulpy mango is a big hit and we also have Raw mango juice and buttermilk to go with the food.  Food is unlimited and your stomach is the limit. This thali is a celebration of our palates with its unique aroma and flavors and remember it is seasonal and available only for the season.

One suggestion to the Rajdhani food curators – In Chennai, people tend to eat light in the nights / dinner. Being a Thali restaurant that you are now, if the dinner menu can be tailored to  address this practice of people here, it would be great.

Do checkout Rajdhani Thali during this season in Chennai at Phoenix mall, Velachery and Express Avenue Mall, Royapettah and do share your experience with us.