ALTRINCHAM’S Michelin-rated Indian restaurant, Dilli, is teaming up with the Government of India Tourist Office and the Rajasthan Tourism Development Board to celebrate the food of India’s largest state.

The two-month Rajasthani Festival, from February 1 to March 31, celebrates the cuisine of an ancient Indian princely state and ‘land of Maharajas’ where 132,151 square miles cover just over 10 per cent of the country.

It is poetically referred to as ‘the land of kings’ or ‘the land of colours’ but it’s also known for the tough people who live in an uncomprising northwest region that contains most of the inhospitable Great Indian Desert.

The festival is part of an initiative that brings together Dilli and Mela’s other three restaurants - Mela Redhill in Surrey, Mela West End in London’s Shaftesbury Avenue and Mela Spice in Droxford, Southampton.

“Rajasthan has developed a unique cuisine that reflects an area where food ingredients are often not plentiful and can struggle to survive,” says award-winning Chef Kuldeep Singh.

Chef Kuldeep is one of Rajasthan’s own. He trained at the prestigious Rambagh Palace, a palace of the Jaipur Royal Family, before going on to work at a number of prestigious Rajasthani heritage hotels including the famous Lake Palace Hotel in Udaipur.

In association with Dilli’s chef director Mohammed Naeem, a special new menu shares the secrets of the royal kitchens where food preparation was raised to the level of an art-form. Recipes from that era were closely guarded and passed only from generation to generation of Rajasthanis.

Now the Dilli team is including dishes that even regular Asian customers may have never experienced before.

Jangli Maas, for instance, was eaten by Maharajas when they went hunting for days and were only able to take a few ingredients. This meal of sautéed lamb in clarified butter, flavoured with whole red chillies, tested their chefs’ skills to the limit.

Or the speciality Keema Bharvan Murg – spiced chicken stuffed with minced lamb, nuts, eggs and raisins - is “food literally fit for kings,” says Dilli’s Ravi Bajaj. “This festival is an opportunity to savour something new - and Dilli has always been about helping people discover the true taste of India.”

The Rajasthani Festival will run alongside Dilli’s normal à la carte menu throughout February and March and the usual lunchtime menu will also feature Rajasthani specials.