Here lives an Indian Maharaja !!!” Immaculately handsome with extravagant tastes

Wherever the Maharaja went to dine he got exemplary service for he wore a

“PINK TURBAN”

Cooking for the Maharajas was never easy. The kitchens of Royal Indian Palaces were lavish and extravagant. Global

cuisines were frequently experimented with local produce for that one person in a Pink Turban for whom Food was

art. Beneath the crystal chandelier on the grand dining table, there would be an array of unusual dishes - a veritable

smorgasbord of colour, texture, flavour and taste. The Maharajahs were proud of their kitchens. When the Royal

chefs returned from training in France, England, China and other Indian royal states , they created gastronomically

delights with local produce. The Royal kitchens of Punjab harnessed the fertility of its fields, the richness of its dairy

and the game in its jungles.

In the Royal kitchens there was no place for the usual…

So the legacy of the aromas flavours and art of royal cooking are not forgotten, there's a concerted effort to

pass on the secret recipes to the present and future generations. With the menu at Pink Turban we

celebrate the long lost cuisine of the Indian Royalty or as we say “The Maharajas with the Pink Turban”

HH Bhupinder Singh,

Maharaja of Patiala

Maharaja Bhupinder Singh was the first man in India to own an aircraft,

which he bought from the United Kingdom in the first decade of the

twentieth century. For his aircraft he had built an an airstrip in Patiala.

According to legend, Maharaja Bhupinder Singh would be driven in a

motorcade of 20 Rolls Royce cars. In 1930, Maharaja Bhupinder Singh felt

slighted at the British Rolls Royce company’s refusal to accept an order

from him for a new Rolls Royce car. Reacting to the refusal, the Maharaja

put some of his old Rolls Royce cars to work hauling garbage, dung and

filth in Patiala city to the chagrin of the all-powerful Rolls Royce-loving

Viceroy and the British ruling establishment who quickly prevailed upon

the Rolls Royce Company to comply with the Maharaja’s wishes.

He is perhaps the most famous Maharaja of Patiala, best known for his extravagance, and for being a cricketer.

His cricket and polo teams " Patiala XI " and "Patiala Tigers " were among the best in the world. He was a great

patron of sports and built the world's highest cricket pitch at 2443 m in 1893 at Chail. He was also known for

an exceptional collection of medals, believed to be the world's largest at the time Maharaja Bhupinder Singh

was also the proud owner of the world famous necklace "The Patiala Necklace" manufactured by the famous

brand Cartier SA.

Chapli Kebab £ 6.50

Spiced minced lamb kebabs with mint,

coriander and chillies,

topped with masala fried egg

Tandoori Chops £ 7.50

Lamb chops slow cooked in the

tandoor with roasted garlic and

Ambarsari chillies

Hiren ki Seekh £ 7.50

Venison kebabs with mint garlic

and garam masala

Glazed Lamb Chops £ 12.50

Slow braised lamb chops cooked with

plum and honey glaze

Mirchi Murgh Tikka £ 5.50

Traditional chilli and yoghurt,

marinated chicken cooked in the

tandoor

Chilli Chicken £ 5.50

Delhi style chilli chicken, spicy and

succulent with bell peppers and

green chilli

Patiala Chooza £ 9.50

As they say the National Bird of

Punjab is Tandoori Chicken . Absolute

Favourite of the Maharaja of Patiala.

Imli Bater £ 9.50

Indian Quail Marinated with fine

Tamarind and herbs, served with

chilli oil dressing

STARTERS

Maharaja Duleep Singh nicknamed the Black Prince of Perthshire,

was the last Maharaja of the Sikh Empire. He was the youngest son of

the legendary "Lion of the Punjab" Maharaja Ranjit Singh and the

successor to the Koh-I-Noor diamond.

After his exile to Britain at age 13 following the British annexation of

the Punjab, he was befriended by Queen Victoria. In June 1850, Lord

Dalhousie presented the Kohinoor Diamond by Dalip Singh after it was

confiscated by the British. From that date on, the diamond became part

of the Crown Jewels, set in the Crown of Queen Elizabeth and on display

in the Jewel House in the Tower of London.

Dalip Singh was much admired by Queen Victoria, who is reported to

have written of the Punjabi maharajah "Those eyes and those teeth are

too beautiful". The Queen was godmother to several of his children.

Today Singh is considered as Britain's first Sikh settler, having been

exiled to its shores in 1854, after being dethroned and having his country annexed by the East India Company

in 1849.

Dalip Singh bought a 17,000 acre (69 km²) country estate at Elveden on the border between Norfolk and

Suffolk, close to Thetford, in 1863. He fell in love with Elveden and the surrounding area and restored the

church, cottages, and school. He transformed the run-down estate into an efficient game preserve of

approximately 17,000 acres (69 km2) and it was here that he gained his reputation as the fourth best shot in

England. The house was re-modelled into a quasi-oriental palace where he lived the life of a British aristocrat.

Maharaja Duleep Singh,

(6 September 1838-22 October 1893)

Tavey ka Jhinga £ 16.50 Wild catch caribbean prawns with home made spices, cooked on tawa

Wasabi Prawn £ 8.50

Prawns tossed with wasabi mayo and served with tomato and

coriander salsa

Sipahi Kaleji £ 6.50 Grilled chicken liver with chilli

cheese naan

Soft Shell Crab £ 8.50 Crispy Canadian crab

served with chilli garlic sauce

Ambarsari Macchi £ 7.50 Fried tilapia fish with carom seed

Calamari £ 7.50 Crisp squids tossed with red onion,

coriander and chillies

STARTERS

Maharajadhiraj Sri Yadavindra Singh ,

Maharaja Yadavindra was one of the first Indian princes to

incorporate his princely state of Patiala into the newly formed India in

1948. Sir Yadavindra was passionate about sports and served as the

President of the British Indian Olympic Committee and the Indian

Olympic Committee.

The Maharaja played cricket for India against England in 1934 and also

led the Patiala Polo team.

Maharaja Yadavindra was the last person to wear the famous Patiala

Necklace at his coronation. The Patiala Necklace was the largest single

commission Cartier ever executed. The massive art deco necklace had five rows of diamond encrusted

platinum chains with 2930 diamonds and Burmese rubies. The $25 million necklace disappeared from the

Patiala royal treasury in April 1948.

Five decades later in 1998, a Cartier representative stumbled upon the remnants of the necklace in a small

London antique store. All the big stones were gone. It took Cartier four years to create a replica of what was

once the most exquisite pieces of jewellery in history.

VEGETARIAN

Manchurian Gobhi £ 4.50

Gobhi Chilli Cauliflower dumpling in

honey chilliManchu sauce

Chilli Cheese Toast £ 4.50

Crunchy rustic toast with

spicy cheese topping and green chillies

Pataka Aloo £ 4.50

Flatten baby potatoes, crisp fried and

tossed

with red chilies, chaat masala and cumin

Pepper Paneer Tikka £ 4.50

Paneer Tikka home made paneer with

freshly ground spices , cooked in the

tandoor

VEGETARIAN

Subz Tikki £ 4.50

Seasonal vegetable chops with apricots

and

cheese stuffing coated with sago

Samosa Channa Chaat £ 4.50

Vegetable samosa, Masala channa

and home made chutney

Dahi Papadi Chaat £ 4.50

The Punjabi house hold favourite,

served with homemade papadi on

tamarind and mint chutney

STARTERS

Anita Delgado Briones

My name is Anita Delgado Briones and I am the Princess of Kapurthala. I was born in 1890

in Málaga (Spain), but due to matters of life my family was forced to sell their business and

come to live in Madrid. Our situation was becoming more precarious, but, as you will see as

follows, suddenly fortune smiled upon us in a surprising way. It all began with some dance

lessons that the neighbour downstairs used to give us for free, because we could not pay… A

promoters was scouting for new faces and saw the two of us dancing , a few weeks later we

were christened “Las Hermanas Camelias” - The Camelia Sisters. We were hired for the sum of

thirty real’s per night, to entertain as a support act , to dance between the various acts of the

artists at the wedding of King Alfonso XIII

One morning we went to attend the march of personalities which were on their way to the

Royal Palace. They were guests to the wedding of King Alfonso XIII of Spain, who was to be

married on the 31st of May to an English Princess, known as Victoria Eugene. I was sixteen

years-old then, I had my hair tied up in two plaits and wore mourning attire for just passed

grandmother. We were left with our mouths open when, on the corner of Montera Street with

Plaza del Sol, a silver plated coach with a strange character inside stopped before us. The man

wore a white and blue turban over which shone a peacock-shaped brooch and clothing so

luxurious and outlandish! He was loaded with jewels, wore an odd beard and his eyes were

insistently nailed upon myself. His piercing gazes made me shake from my head to the toes.

Those who were present said , when the procession resumed its march, the man’s head turned

around and with his face turned on me until he lost us from sight. Later I knew that the man

was none other than His Royal Highness the Rajah Jagatjit Singh of Kapurthala.

I think that His Highness fell in love with me that instant, as the saying goes: true love is…love at first sight… Not a week had gone by when the

Rajah’s secretary reached our door with a letter for myself. In it His Highness confessed that he was captured by my presence and he proposed for

my hand in marriage. In case of acceptance, I should consider the bearer of the letter as my personal servant, as he would be in charge of taking

me to Paris with my family to arrange the wedding. And so we did. The whole train journey I spent suspecting: Does this man love me so much

that he would have me leave for foreign country with my family? Leave like this, in an express service, to see a king and to marry him, as if we

were lovers from long ago…what do I know if that will be love or what it will be… When arriving in France I was determined to learn whatever

was needed, as an Indian queen must know things that women here do not learn…

We set sail from Marseille. And arrived in Bombay with my lady in waiting, 40 trunks and an Andalusian damsel. On reaching Kapurthala, I took a

deep breath and came back down to earth. I was about to become The Spanish Maharani. His Highness said: ”Look to your right and you will see

the dome of the palace that will be our residence. It is a copy of Versailles”. “Have you built it for me?”, I asked; he smiled: ” I never imagined that a

woman so beautiful would be the first to live here, but now I know it was destined to be for you”.

Murgh Makhani £ 7.50

Home Cooked Chicken Tikka simmered in

creamy tomato sauce with fenugreek leaves.

Rogan Josh £ 8.50

Spicy Lamb Curry

Shaolin Chicken £ 7.50

Crisp chicken and vegetable dumplings

in a black pepper sauce with mushrooms

Dahi Aur Kubani Ka Murga £ 12.50

Chicken tossed with Kashmiri chillies, garlic,

apricot and finished with youghart .

Macchi Curry £ 11.50

Tilapia simmered in tomato and tamarind

sauce with curry leaf and ginger.

Thai Green Prawn Curry £ 12.50

Sweet water prawns in a green thai curry

with lemongrass and pea aubergines

Saag Panner £ 6.50

Creamed Spinach and panner,

cooked with garlic and whole chillies.

Bhindi Channa £5.50

Okra and chickpea stir fry

with ginger and carom seed

Dal Makhani £ 5.50

Black Lentils cooked overnight with

Homemade butter and cream

Paneer Mirchi ka Salan £ 6.50

Indian cottage cheese simmered

hyderabadi sauce with sweet peppers

Palak Kofta Manjusha £ 7.50

Spinach kofta with prunes in a

creamy tomato and fenugreek sauce

Tofu Panang Curry £ 7.50

Tofu simmered in a thai style peanut sauce

with eggplant, bamboo shoot and mushrooms

MAINS

JAGATJITH SING BAHADUR,

KAPURTHALA.

Maharaja Jagatjit Singh Bahadur was the ruling Maharaja of the princely

state of Kapurthala until his death.

Jagatjit is best known for his association with Anita Delgado, a beautiful but

barely literate Spanish teenager. The fantastical romance began in Madrid

during the preparations for the wedding between Spain’s King Alfonso XIII

and Princess Victoria Eugenia of Battenburg. Jagatjit, then 34 years, was part

of the retinue of the Prince of Wales. He arrived in a glittering coach,

wearing a turquoise blue turban adorned with pearls and precious stones ,

his chest studded with decorations and a diamond encrusted dagger in his

belt.

Anita Delgado danced a brief flamenco where she caught Jagatjit’s eye. He was

smitten by her black hair and huge sleepy eyes. Jagatjit showered her with

gifts and flowers. Legend has it that Jagatjit took Anita to dine in Madrid’s

smartest restaurant where the unworldly teenager drank the hot water in the

fingerbowl!

He married her and Jagatjit gifted her jewels personally designed for her by Cartier. They stayed in his lavish palace in

Kapurthala for 18 years and had a son Ajit Singh.

He was a great admirer of French architecture and has a Louis the XVI palace built for himself by a French architect.

BIRYANIS

Saunfiyan Subz Biryani £ 8.50 Seasonal vegetables cooked with

creamy fennel scented basmati rice

Gosht ki Biryani £ 12.50 Lamb Cooked with basmati rice in a sealed

pot.

SIDES

Pulao Rice £ 3.95 Steam Rice £ 2.95

Egg Fried Rice £ 2.95

Raita

Kurkuri Bhindi ( Okra ) £ 2.95 Khajur ( dates ), £ 2.95

Cucumber £ 1.95 Pineapple & Cucumber £ 1.95

Plain yogurt. £ 1.95

SALADS

Farmhouse Salad £ 5.50 Baby salad and dressing

Lacha Pyaaz £ 1.50 Punjabi style red onion salad

Khansama Salad £ 2.50 Chopped seasonal vegetable salad

BREADS £1.95

Naan Plain, Chilli Garlic, Cheddar & Onion, butter.

Roti Plain roti

Parantha Laccha , Pudina , Aloo

HOME MADE ICE CREAM AND

SOBERT £2.95

Ice cream

Masala Chai, Rose Petal, Rocher

Chocolate, Bombay Aphonso Mango

Caramel & Toffee

Sorbet

Mango Chutney, Lychee

Imperial Passion, Black current

Alcohol Sorbet

Bailey’s, Pina colada, Mojito

, Irish coffee

GULAB JAMUN £2.95

Succulent Gulab Jamun with a hot

sweet viscous syrup, a cardamom

Tinged flavour and a soothing

rose fragrance

RUS MALAI £2.95

India’s ethnic dairy delicacy, a

gourmet dessert of soft cheese patty

in thickened milk and sugar sauce

PUNJABI KHEER SHOTS £2.95

Saffron infused rice pudding in

Chocolate shot cups

Desserts

KULFI £2.95

Kulfi, the traditional Indian ice cream

saved on a stick, has a strong

characteristic flavour of cooked milk

and a dense icy texture

VODKA CHUSKI £ 4.95

A multi-sensory experience. As you

deftly manoeuvre your fingers on the

ice stick to save it from breaking, you

feel the ice and salts on your lips,

taste the cloying sweetness of the

syrup as it dilutes with the ice water

in your mouth, here the loud slurps

and taste the tang of the cool syrup.

EXOTIC ICE FRUIT PLATTER £ 9.95 Carefully crafted exotic fruits and nuts

collection, selected from the finest regions

CRÈME BRULEE £ 3.95

Rich vanilla custard base topped with A contrasting layer of hard caramel

ALMUND CRUNCH £3.95 Ice cream with almond crunch, candied

strawberries, caramel and flaked almond

CASSATA £3.95

Vanilla and chocolate ice cream with candied fruit centre.

CHOCOLATE BOUCHON £ 3.95

Chocolate cake with liquid chocolate

filling, Served with ice cream

Desserts