Chef Anal Uniyal On Fairmont, Jaipur’s Newly-Launched Green Kitchen
Fairmont Jaipur launches Green Kitchen, an all-vegetarian, refined-oil free space that honours local ingredients, lost recipes, and regional classics all in one place
Jog your memory and recall the last time you found karela (bitter melon) or lauki (bottle gourd) on a restaurant’s menu. While restaurants across India have been working towards representing vegetarian cuisine beyond cottage cheese, the Green Kitchen initiative at Fairmont Jaipur is unique in more ways than one. The initiative is rooted in making vegetables the hero of the plate. It brings their diners refined vegetarian dining rooted in authenticity, cultural sensitivity, and culinary excellence.
Being one of the most cherished destinations for weddings in the Pink City, Fairmont Jaipur’s attempt at experimenting, evolving, and innovating on the food front has been impressive. The menu at the kitchen has been curated by Chef Anal Uniyal to celebrate vegetables in their purest and most flavourful form.
“We spent considerable time studying local produce from across the nation, traditional cooking techniques, and ingredients that are often overlooked in modern dining,” said Chef Uniyal in a conversation with Outlook Traveller Eats. The hotel has also sourced a selection of foraged vegetables directly from local communities to bring unique flavours and authenticity to the menu.
Standing True To Its Rajasthani Origins
When you find a flavourful lehsun ki chutney (garlic chutney) on your table, know that you are in Rajasthan. No one does the chutney better than Rajasthani people. And the one that landed on my plate on the evening of the Green Kitchen’s launch was lip smacking. While bajra rotis are a winter phenomenon in the state, the serving at the launch was a sign of how rooted the menu and the kitchen is in Rajasthan’s culinary traditions.
“Rajasthan has one of India’s most fascinating vegetarian culinary traditions. Historically, the cuisine evolved around limited water resources, seasonal produce, preservation techniques, and incredible ingenuity in creating flavour,” said Uniyal. His journey with Rajasthani cuisine began in 2010 at the Umaid Bhawan Palace in Jodhpur and over the years has worked with traditional ingredients, local recipes, indigenous grains, and cooking methods.
At the Green Kitchen, they have also worked towards reviving a few lost recipes and royal kitchen preparations that reflect Rajasthan’s rich culinary legacy.
What To Expect At The Green Kitchen?
Dining at the Green Kitchen is a complete journey through India. From the bamboo shoots and chayote leaves sourced from Nagaland to Haridwar Ki Moong Dal Chaat, which also showcases the diversity of regional Indian cuisine. Two of my favourite preparations from the evening were the ones with karela and lauki— both vegetables that have never found my liking. It changed my preconceived notion about the vegetables but also demonstrated what care could do humble ingredients.
Another section that I enjoyed was the koyele ki angeethi— a coal stove. In addition to paneer, sweet potato, and pineapple, the ember-cooked preparations included kathal or jackfruit. The charcoal-roasted vegetable was spiced to the right levels and was one of my favourites from the evening. While in many restaurants jackfruit is considered a vegetarian substitute for chicken, when I mentioned this to Chef Uniyal he said, “At Green Kitchen we are not creating substitutes for non-vegetarian dishes. Instead, we are celebrating the incredible diversity of vegetables, grains, legumes, herbs, and spices that India offers.”
From their floaters, I enjoyed the arbi ka patta rolls (colocasia leaf rolls). Coated with gram flour or besan, the bite-sized starters didn’t tingle on the tongue like colocasia leaves usually do and were surprisingly flavourful.
Through using vegetables that are otherwise kept away from luxury dining spaces and often associated with everyday home cooking, their aim is to honour India’s culinary heritage and spotlight underappreciated produce.
The cherry on the cake is the refined oil-free philosophy that restaurants across the hotel follow. Instead of refined oils, they prepare food in ghee, mustard oil, olive oil, or cold-pressed canola oil.
“Green Kitchen is our way of demonstrating that vegetarian cuisine can be innovative, indulgent, health-conscious, and deeply rooted in Indian culinary traditions all at the same time,” concluded the chef.