Cuisine of Rajasthan

The royal kitchens of Rajasthan have centuries of experience of making food fit for kings and their skill is such, you will not be disappointed. Rajasthani cuisine opens up another window into the culture of this great province, fashioned by the limitations of the desert vegetation and influenced by the many foreign conquerors who made this land their home, the cuisine is distinct and delectable. There are a host of vegetarian and non veg delicacies that originated here, the Rajput's were skilled shikaris (hunters) and not averse to killing game for a meal. The Vaishnavas, Bishnois, Marwaris and Jains were strict vegetarians and had to create innovative preparations to make up for the lack of fresh fruit and vegetables. In the desert belt of Jaisalmer, Barmer and Bikaner, cooks make minimum use of water and prefer, instead, to use more milk, buttermilk and clarified butter. Dried lentils, beans from indigenous plants like Sangri, Ker etc was what was mainly used, more out of necessity than choice.

Popular Dishes
Some of the popular dishes specific to Rajasthani cuisine include- Karhi, popularly known as khatta, made of buttermilk or yogurt, mixed with chickpea flour, mustard seeds and crushed garlic cloves, cooked on slow heat for a long time, for the longer it simmers, the better it tastes. 'Gatte ka saag', is cooked with freshly made dumplings of chickpea flour and 'badi ka saag' is prepared with sun-dried moth-lentil dumplings. 'khichra' a porridge of millets and moth lentils that is cooked along with water, a little spice and some ghee in combination with either jaggery or karhi forms a staple part of the Rajasthani diet. The hot red-chilli-and-garlic chutney (a type of tangy Indian sauce) 'raabori' and millet flour cooked in buttermilk, (which is believed to be an excellent coolant in the summers) are popular accompaniments with the food. Sangri and ker (a hard desert berry) abounds in the preparation of Rajasthani meals and vegetables such as Okra, Jackfruit, Eggplant, Mustard and Fenugreek leaves are also used.

Dal-Bati-Choorma, made of butter and cereals and later sweetened, is quite a delicacy. Bikaner is famous for its sweets and bhujiya (salties) along with its papads, badis and on the non-vegetarian side, the lean mutton of the desert goats. Jodhpuri kachoris (puffed breads with stuffing) are either sweet (when stuffed with mawa) or quite tangy (when stuffed with hot green chillies and hot spices). Milk sweets of Bharatpur are not very commonly seen in markets but melt deliciously into the mouth. They are prepared by boiling milk for hours to such a consistency that it can be folded into little pancakes. Ghevar, a delicacy especially prepared during the Teej festival is quite popular. It looks like a round cake made up of white flour, which is then dipped into the sweetened syrup and is dressed with cream and khoya. Kebabs and pasandas and sevaiyan, prepared especially during the Eid festival are an integral part of the Muslim dining table are have moved on from the Tonk and Loharu region to cover the whole of the state.

After spicy, sweet is the next preferred flavour in Rajasthan and each town boasts of a specific sweet speciality, Laddoos from Jodhpur and Jaisalmer, Malpuas from Pushkar, Rasogullas from Bikaner, Dil Jani from Udaipur, Mishri Mawa and Ghevar from Jaipur, Mawa Katchori from Jodhpur, Sohan Halwa from Ajmer, Mawa from Alwar and the list goes on.

Non Vegetarian Fare
Rajasthani NonVegetarian, unlike most parts of India is not restricted to Chicken and Fish. Infact the Rajputs were consummate hunters who would kill and cook wild boar, deer, ducks, fowl, hare, goats and even peacocks. The game brought in from the hunt was simply cooked in pure ghee, salt and plenty of red chillies. Though by now most recipes have been refined to an art. One of the specialties is a dish called Safed Maans or white meat. The preparation is white in color and is prepared from white mutton. The curry is prepared from cashew nuts, almonds, fresh coconut kernel paste, white pepper and poppy seeds. The most common way of preparing meat in Rajasthan is to first baste in the spices and then roasted in a pot over a wood fire until it turns into gravy. Kachri, a vegetable belonging to the cucumber family, is used to marinate the meat and imparts it with a distinctive tangy flavor.

Created for the Maharajas and their subjects, Rajasthani cuisine is a result of intense experimentation in the royal kitchens and when you try it for yourself, you will definitely be delighted.

Rajasthan Tourist Attractions
Arts and Crafts of Rajasthan	Camel Safari in The Thar Desert	Cuisines of Rajasthan
Dance and Music of Rajasthan	Famous Golden Triangle	Rich Culture of Rajasthan
The Land of Maharajas	The Only Brahma Temple

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