Travel » Chitra Cafeteria Jaipur

CHITRA CAFETERIA - JAIPUR
If you hanker for vegetarian fare with a home-cooked aroma, head for Chitra cafeteria. Here the vegetarian menu changes daily and includes one or two pasta or other Euro items.
In the cosy, self-service, 64-cover eatery, a long table laden with the day’s choices runs parallel to one wall. If, for instance, you find karela (Rs 17) on the menu, you can gauge the color, texture, size of the portion before you decide to order. Pile on your freshly cooked fare on a steel tray. Help yourself to the cutlery and drinking water and take the tray back to your table for a tuck in. Baked items like pasta may take longer.

Admire the walls that have mythological paintings of Lord Krishna at play and so on. The napery, table cloth, etc are elegantly color matched, exuding quiet elegance.
The tomato /vegetable soup is priced at Rs 15, salad (Rs 10), coleslaw (Rs 20), seasonal vegetables (e.g. karela, tinda, potato, red-bean, baingan bharta Rs 17). Special vegetables (Rs 22) include malai kofta in gravy, palak paneer, stuffed capsicum, peas-mushroom. Other fare includes dal (Rs 10), egg bhurji (Rs 22), egg curry (Rs 22), raita (Rs 10). Plain chapatis are priced at Rs 2, parathas (Rs 6), plain rice (Rs, 15), vegetable/fried rice (Rs 20), mushroom fried rice (Rs 23), cheese macaroni (Rs 30), chow mein (Rs 20). (The food is not oily and spicy so that the natural flavor is enhanced.)

At breakfast and snack time, they have pakoras /chips/ cutlets (Rs 20) and omelettes (Rs 15-22) besides tea/coffee/juices (Rs 15-20), including chocolate lassi!

Popular with backpackers and locals alike is the Indian thali (Rs 65), a wholesome and tasty melange of salad, two sabzis, dahi, plain rice, four chapatis and half papad. Or one can try the continental meal (Rs 75), which is usually soup, finger chips, a pasta or Euro dish, omelette, tea/coffee.

Jaipur is a place that offers quite a range of cuisine, usually vegetarian, from really low-cost bhojanalayas to eateries at palaces converted into hotels. Chitra Cafeteria is our favorite because one can come day in, day out, to savor the tasty fare, suffer no guilt pangs about calories nor survive on Digene doses. All that, while being easy on our pocket.