Drink and Dine
Laying the table.
On the island, from the Rajputana households
Sawai Kitchen
Restaurant · Dinner
Two things shaped this food and neither of them was taste.
Water was scarce and the household was often at war, so what survived is what could be cooked ahead, carried, and eaten cold several days later.
The recipes ask for particular cuts and particular ingredients and will not take a substitute, which is part of why so few of them are cooked anywhere now. They were guarded inside a handful of families for centuries.
The room is calmer than the food. A carved screen closes the far end, drum lamps hang in a line down the centre, and the tables run along the banquette rather than filling the floor. It only opens for dinner, so you never see the room in daylight.
They were guarded inside a handful of families for centuries.
