INTRODUCTION
The Land of Princes, as Rajasthan is called, boasts of many a fine kitchen-both within the palaces and outside. In the royal kitchens of Rajasthan, the preparation of food was a very serious matter and was raised to the level of an art form. Hundreds of cooks worked in the stately palaces and kept their recipes very closely guarded. Some recipes were passed on to their sons and the rest were lost forever.
ABOUT THE STATE
Situated in northwest India, Rajasthan is india at its exotic and colorful best, with its battle-scarred forts, its palaces of breathtaking grandeur, its riot of colors, and its romantic sense of pride and honor. In Rajasthan, the spectacular is commonplace and colorful costumes, festivals, and customs relieve the tedium of coping with a harsh, demanding land.
INFLUENCES
Rajasthani cooking was influenced by both the war-like lifestyles of its inhabitants and the availability of ingredients in the desert region.
Food that could last for several days and could be eaten without heating was preferred, more out of necessity than choice. Scarcity of water and lack of fresh green vegetables also had their effect on Rajasthani cooking.
The Maharajas, with their obsessive love for shikar (hunting) have been largely responsible for shaping the culinary art in Rajasthan. In the world of good eating, game cooking is easily the most respected art form, largely because the skills required to clean, cut, and cook game are not easily acquired.With the Pathani invasions, filtered in the art of barbecuing which has now been honed to perfection and the quintessential sula-smoked kebabs or skewered boneless lamb-can be prepared in 11 different ways.
At the other end of the spectrum, is the vegetarian cooking of the Maheshwaris of Marwar or Jodhpur, who do not use even garlic and onions, as these are said to excite the blood.
STAPLE FOOD
Dried lentils and beans from indigenous plants like sangri, ker etc. are staples of the Rajasthani diet, as wheat and rice do not grow very well in the desert land. Gram flour is an integral cooking ingredient and is used to make delicacies and so are powdered lentils.
Bajra and corn are used all over the state for making rotis and other varieties of bread. In Rajasthan, bajre ki roti (millet bread) and lahsun ki chutney (hot garlic paste) combined with spring onions are the staple diet of the locals as these are believed to be safeguards against the hot winds.
In the desert belt of Jaisalmer, Barmer and Bikaner, cooks still use very little water and instead use milk, buttermilk and clarified butter as alternatives.
Few vegetables grow in the state due to the lack of rainfall and the strictly vegetarian Marwaris have incorporated the use of pulses, mostly, moong and moth and gram flour.
METHODS
Lentils in their myriad forms provide the protein to these desert people. Moong dal khilni, a dry preparation of lentil, tossed in a tempered mixture of spices, moongodi ki sabzi, grape-sized dumplings of moong dal ground to a paste, sun dried and stored, and gatte ki sabzi where rolls of gram flour are steamed and cooked in buttermilk sauce or onions turn out as delectable dishes.A distinct feature of the Maheshwari cooking is the use of mango powder, a suitable substitute for tomatoes, scarce in the desert, and asafetida, to enhance the taste in the absence of garlic and onions.
In Rajasthan, every game is cooked in several ways to avoid monotony. The rabbit, for example, can be cooked as khargosh ka keema (minced rabbit) with raw mangoes and yogurt, sabat khargosh (whole rabbit), and khad khargosh, which is a multi-tiered cake of rabbit mince and chapattis. The deer is yet another favorite and is cooked in many ways.
There is also a recipe called jungli maans or wild meat, which requires very few ingredients and can be prepared by a stranded shikari with little more than his game. In fact, so prized is game meat that whatever is not consumed is pickled and preserved, including the rind of a boar.
Generally, Rajasthani curries are a brilliant red but they are not as spicy as they look. Most Rajasthani cuisine uses pure ghee (clarified butter) as the medium of cooking. A favorite sweet dish called lapsi is prepared with broken wheat (dalia) sautéed in ghee and sweetened.
SPECIALITIES
Perhaps the best-known Rajasthani food is the combination of dal, bati and churma but there is a wide variety to choose from in Rajasthani cuisine. The bati, lachhedar paratha and besan ki missi puri are types of bread peculiar to Rajasthan. Two meat specialties are lal maans (red meat), a fiery heavily spiced dish, and safed mass (white meat) cooked with almonds, cashew nuts and coconut. Various chutneys are made from locally available spices like turmeric, coriander, mint and garlic.
Apart from the spicy delicacies, each of the regions of Rajasthan is distinguished by its popular sweet - ladoos of Jaisalmer, mawa kachori of Jodhpur, malpuas of Pushkar, dil jani of Udaipur, mishri mawa and ghevar of Jaipur, sohan halwa of Ajmer, mawa of Alwar, and rasgullas of Bikaner, to name a few. Bikaner also has a whole range of other savories and snacks like the world famous Bikaner ki bhujia.
SPECIAL OCCASIONS
With every festival in Rajasthan, some traditional goodies are associated like the ghevar with Teej, and the malpuas with the Pushkar cattle fair. For occasions like hunting, there special preparations of meat that the men cooked themselves. During the times of the kings and princes, every cook tried a new dish almost everyday. Game, ranging from peacocks to camels, was prepared to perfection and decorated elaborately before being served in silver platters.
HOW TO EAT WHAT
Rajasthan is, like other Indians, enjoy their meals with chapattis, puris, kachoris and plain boiled rice. Raitas, pickles, papads and chutneys are the normal accompaniments. Besides, Rajasthan is fairly rich in milk and milk products, and produces some rich sweetmeats typical of the region.
Also like the rest of the country, the traditional way of eating the food is sitting cross-legged on the floor and using fingers to slurp the mouthwatering kadis and gravies.
EATING OUT
The idea of village theme restaurants is gradually becoming popular in the state, and examples of this are Apno Gaon and Choki Dhani. Both the restaurants offer more or less the same things-the colorful Rajasthani ambience, a glimpse of the rural desert life, and of course, traditional Rajasthani cuisine. Delicacies of Rajasthani origin can be savored to the accompaniment of folk music and dance, and the famed Indian hospitality at these restaurants.
The Land of Princes, as Rajasthan is called, boasts of many a fine kitchen-both within the palaces and outside. In the royal kitchens of Rajasthan, the preparation of food was a very serious matter and was raised to the level of an art form. Hundreds of cooks worked in the stately palaces and kept their recipes very closely guarded. Some recipes were passed on to their sons and the rest were lost forever.
Situated in northwest India, Rajasthan is india at its exotic and colorful best, with its battle-scarred forts, its palaces of breathtaking grandeur, its riot of colors, and its romantic sense of pride and honor. In Rajasthan, the spectacular is commonplace and colorful costumes, festivals, and customs relieve the tedium of coping with a harsh, demanding land.
INFLUENCES
Rajasthani cooking was influenced by both the war-like lifestyles of its inhabitants and the availability of ingredients in the desert region.
Food that could last for several days and could be eaten without heating was preferred, more out of necessity than choice. Scarcity of water and lack of fresh green vegetables also had their effect on Rajasthani cooking.
The Maharajas, with their obsessive love for shikar (hunting) have been largely responsible for shaping the culinary art in Rajasthan. In the world of good eating, game cooking is easily the most respected art form, largely because the skills required to clean, cut, and cook game are not easily acquired.With the Pathani invasions, filtered in the art of barbecuing which has now been honed to perfection and the quintessential sula-smoked kebabs or skewered boneless lamb-can be prepared in 11 different ways.
At the other end of the spectrum, is the vegetarian cooking of the Maheshwaris of Marwar or Jodhpur, who do not use even garlic and onions, as these are said to excite the blood.
STAPLE FOOD
Dried lentils and beans from indigenous plants like sangri, ker etc. are staples of the Rajasthani diet, as wheat and rice do not grow very well in the desert land. Gram flour is an integral cooking ingredient and is used to make delicacies and so are powdered lentils.
Bajra and corn are used all over the state for making rotis and other varieties of bread. In Rajasthan, bajre ki roti (millet bread) and lahsun ki chutney (hot garlic paste) combined with spring onions are the staple diet of the locals as these are believed to be safeguards against the hot winds.
In the desert belt of Jaisalmer, Barmer and Bikaner, cooks still use very little water and instead use milk, buttermilk and clarified butter as alternatives.
Few vegetables grow in the state due to the lack of rainfall and the strictly vegetarian Marwaris have incorporated the use of pulses, mostly, moong and moth and gram flour.
METHODS
Lentils in their myriad forms provide the protein to these desert people. Moong dal khilni, a dry preparation of lentil, tossed in a tempered mixture of spices, moongodi ki sabzi, grape-sized dumplings of moong dal ground to a paste, sun dried and stored, and gatte ki sabzi where rolls of gram flour are steamed and cooked in buttermilk sauce or onions turn out as delectable dishes.A distinct feature of the Maheshwari cooking is the use of mango powder, a suitable substitute for tomatoes, scarce in the desert, and asafetida, to enhance the taste in the absence of garlic and onions.
In Rajasthan, every game is cooked in several ways to avoid monotony. The rabbit, for example, can be cooked as khargosh ka keema (minced rabbit) with raw mangoes and yogurt, sabat khargosh (whole rabbit), and khad khargosh, which is a multi-tiered cake of rabbit mince and chapattis. The deer is yet another favorite and is cooked in many ways.
There is also a recipe called jungli maans or wild meat, which requires very few ingredients and can be prepared by a stranded shikari with little more than his game. In fact, so prized is game meat that whatever is not consumed is pickled and preserved, including the rind of a boar.
Generally, Rajasthani curries are a brilliant red but they are not as spicy as they look. Most Rajasthani cuisine uses pure ghee (clarified butter) as the medium of cooking. A favorite sweet dish called lapsi is prepared with broken wheat (dalia) sautéed in ghee and sweetened.
SPECIALITIES
Perhaps the best-known Rajasthani food is the combination of dal, bati and churma but there is a wide variety to choose from in Rajasthani cuisine. The bati, lachhedar paratha and besan ki missi puri are types of bread peculiar to Rajasthan. Two meat specialties are lal maans (red meat), a fiery heavily spiced dish, and safed mass (white meat) cooked with almonds, cashew nuts and coconut. Various chutneys are made from locally available spices like turmeric, coriander, mint and garlic.
Apart from the spicy delicacies, each of the regions of Rajasthan is distinguished by its popular sweet - ladoos of Jaisalmer, mawa kachori of Jodhpur, malpuas of Pushkar, dil jani of Udaipur, mishri mawa and ghevar of Jaipur, sohan halwa of Ajmer, mawa of Alwar, and rasgullas of Bikaner, to name a few. Bikaner also has a whole range of other savories and snacks like the world famous Bikaner ki bhujia.
SPECIAL OCCASIONS
With every festival in Rajasthan, some traditional goodies are associated like the ghevar with Teej, and the malpuas with the Pushkar cattle fair. For occasions like hunting, there special preparations of meat that the men cooked themselves. During the times of the kings and princes, every cook tried a new dish almost everyday. Game, ranging from peacocks to camels, was prepared to perfection and decorated elaborately before being served in silver platters.
HOW TO EAT WHAT
Rajasthan is, like other Indians, enjoy their meals with chapattis, puris, kachoris and plain boiled rice. Raitas, pickles, papads and chutneys are the normal accompaniments. Besides, Rajasthan is fairly rich in milk and milk products, and produces some rich sweetmeats typical of the region.
Also like the rest of the country, the traditional way of eating the food is sitting cross-legged on the floor and using fingers to slurp the mouthwatering kadis and gravies.
EATING OUT
The idea of village theme restaurants is gradually becoming popular in the state, and examples of this are Apno Gaon and Choki Dhani. Both the restaurants offer more or less the same things-the colorful Rajasthani ambience, a glimpse of the rural desert life, and of course, traditional Rajasthani cuisine. Delicacies of Rajasthani origin can be savored to the accompaniment of folk music and dance, and the famed Indian hospitality at these restaurants.
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