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ARTISANAL COCKTAILS are really having a moment in Jaipur, with bartenders bringing a fusion of Indian elements and Western templates to the table. What sets Raag Studio, a new restro-bar being billed as “The Indian Cocktail Room," is its food. The options cut across palates, textures, and regional cuisines. If you visit this new spot in town, please don't restrict yourself to your culinary comfort zone, and venture out into the unknown, like taking a heritage walk across the country's hidden gems, instead of cruising by the touristy hotspots.
The perfect dish to start the journey at Raag Jaipur is their Papad Medley, part of their bar snacks menu, aptly titled ‘Raag Dar-Bar’. The grazing tray makes for the perfect munchies along with their signature cocktails. It combines rice papadam and tomato chutney of South India, sabudana papad and thecha (made of green chillies and peanuts) from Maharashtra with North Indian papad made of lentils, served with garlic chutney and delectable creamy garlic yoghurt dip.
The region-agnostic cocktails that are a must-try are – Amla Picante (a gooseberry juice-infused spin on the classic tequila cocktail), Ajwain Negroni (made with carom seed-infused gin), Haldi Ghati (turmeric and spiced milk mingling with G&T, named after the historic battlefield), Gul (a flower bouquet infused in gin clarified with lavender milk), and Bachpan (chocolate milk meets espresso meets alcohol).
After this palate adjustment, one can begin their journey from the home turf, Jaipur. From their starters menu, ‘Raag Pratham’, comes Rajasthan Sangri Tikki (desert bean fritters) and Masala Keema Khari – local keema curry served on khari biscuit. Then there's the signature Laal Maas Dhungaar – red meat cooked in ghee and red chilli from Mathania in close vicinity. Served with cracked coriander chapati, it makes for an apt homegrown start to their main course menu, titled 'Raag Pradhan'.
If you're looking for a cocktail to go with it, there's the eponymous Rajasthan – a heady and fine blend of ginger, peach, honey and Mathania chilli – clarified with camel milk. Closer home, there's Chopad – named after the four-way junction in Jaipur's walled city, which, like the restro-bar itself, merges flavours from all four directions namely North's Hapusa gin, East's Gandhoraj cordial, West's wine and South's sparkling coconut water.
From the adjacent state of Gujarat, there's Biskut Pizza – a shoutout to the streets of Ahmedabad. It can be savoured with Thaal – a cocktail which assembles as many spices as the items that the Baahubali Gujarati thali does. From the far Eastern land of Kolkata, there's Chow-Chow Samosa – filled with chowmein in the signature style of Kolkata's bylanes, and Gunpowder Bengali Beat (melt-in-mouth beetroot cutlets laced with gunpowder masala); from the fellow food haven of Indore in Madhya Pradesh, comes Bhutta Symphony with Lavash (grated corn paired with the local Jeeravan-spiced crispy lavash); and from Uttar Pradesh's food hub Mathura comes its signature Matar Kachori (a hollow fritter filled with flavourful peas gravy).
The menu literally travels from Kashmir to Kanyamuri, as demonstrated by Nawabi Kathal – tender jackfruit slow-cooked in Kashmiri rogan josh-style, served with saffron chapati. Pair it with Kahwa, a cocktail blending all key ingredients of Kashmir's staple hot beverage – saffron, dry fruits, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, and honey. Or go South and try Rasam – a fiery tequila drink borrowing curry leaf dust and black paper from another hot beverage, punctuated by notes of curd and pineapple. If fiery isn't your jam, try Dakshin – rose-infused gin with hints of cardamom milk, cold brew coffee, and vanilla foam. Or opt for the middle ground with Pachadi – spices and chillies balanced by coconut gin.
Its extensive South Indian menu also makes Raag Jaipur a rare place in the city to get flavours from the four southern states right. In Raag Pratham – there's Cabbage Thoran Steak served with peanut sauce, Mirapakaya Bhaji (Andhra Pradesh's green chilli bhaji paired with tamarind sauce), Anna Onion Rings (coated in dosa batter and served with South Indian chutneys), Mangalore Ghee Roast Vol au Vent (mushroom roasted in ghee and Mangalorean spices nested in khari biscuit), Wing Wing Tamarind (chicken wings tossed in tamarind sauce), and Hyderabad Biryani.
End the symphony in style with Raag Madhur, their dessert menu. We tried the Kesar Sebhi Tart (made of caramelised apple and saffron) and the Swad Ananas Sandesh (the Bengali dessert turned on its head literally – instead of having pineapple topping the sandesh, chhena (cottage cheese) is peppered liberally all over cut sweetened pineapples. That's the most appropriate aftertaste to leave the restaurant, serenaded with Mughal rugs and gramophones – a familiar essence, conceived and perceived inside out.
