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Among Artesia’s vital hub of restaurants serving myriad regional Indian cuisines, chef Pooja Dwivedi and her co-owner husband, Anshul, brought a lesser-seen vantage to the area this year: the flavors of their native Rajasthan. Order the maharaja thali to leap right in. Its plates and bowls, covered in crinkly-smooth sal leaves, hold nearly two dozen components. Half a dozen small breads ring the main platter. Some are flat rotis made using varied flours, including cornmeal and pearl millet. Others, called bati, are formed into orbs: They arrive plain, ideal for dunking in warm ghee or soupy dal, and also filled with potato masala. Garlicky chutney, astringent with kachri, a tiny, wild melon, and green chile pickle ignite spice-freckled vegetables and rice. The kitchen changes up some of the dishes on the maharaja thali, particularly sabzis (sauceless spiced vegetables), to keep its many return customers’ interest piqued.
A nearly 80-item menu also veers through chaat and puri variations, and curries that include a smattering of North Indian vegetarian classics like palak paneer. But I’m here to zero in on Rajasthani paragons. Beyond the thali, look for mirchi vada, green chile fritters filled with spiced potatoes and fried golden in chickpea batter, and a curry that centers around makhana, dried lotus seeds that are also known as fox nut. They bathe in a silky pool of milk and cream; fish out the cashews at the bottom of the pan for a study in crunch alongside the makhana, and save the gravy for dunking crusty bati.
