Epic dining and time travel in Jodhpur

Each visit to the city reveals its past alongside a fast-evolving food landscape where heirloom recipes meet new experimentations

- Rahul Jacob

Rationalists would scoff but Jodhpur's mesmerising Mehrangarh Fort may well have mythical powers. I have visited almost half-a-dozen times and still come away in awe of how it was built in a world without earthmovers and cranes. Rudyard Kipling’s father’s joke that it was the handiwork of giants seems the only plausible explanation.

I also return to Jodhpur because I love its food, which is now infinitely more varied and creative than I remember from earlier visits. From classic Rajasthani food at the decades-old Rohet Garh to the nouvelle Indian twists at its sister property, Mihir Garh, to the classic takes on roast chicken and spaghetti Bolognese at Daspan House, there is much to savour.

Within 20 minutes of leaving the airport, I found myself amid the urbane chic of Daspan House, a small boutique property in Jodhpur with a standout bar. I am usually averse to variations on classic cocktails. But the house rose martini was so well balanced—with just a dash of a rose liqueur made in Rajasthan combined with Grey Goose vodka—that it makes a case for occasional innovation. Ask for other such zany concoctions, and the bartender replies that the hotel’s bar is focused on classic cocktails. In a world in which cocktail menus in places such as Bangkok and Bengaluru are so jammed with ingredients and pretentious descriptions, this sense of old-school purpose is to be applauded. Paper Planes and Negronis sit side by side with Old Fashioneds with a twist; a banana is soaked in Jameson whisky to which are added bitters while the usual simple sugar syrup is omitted altogether.