Cuisines of
Rajasthan
Each region in India has its own traditional dishes and specialties.
In the royal kitchens of Rajasthan, as well as most other states,
food was very serious business and raised to the level of an
art-form. Hundreds of cooks worked in the stately palaces and kept
their recipes a closely guarded secret. Some recipes were passed on
to their sons and the rest were lost for ever. It became a matter of
great prestige to serve unusual dishes to guests and the royal cooks
were encouraged to experiment. The tales of how cooks tried to
impress their guests by presenting at least one unforgettable item
on the menu have now become legends. The monthly budget ran into
lakhs of rupees and the royal guests were treated to such delicacies
as stuffed camels, goats, pigs and peacocks... it was perfectly
normal to have live pigeons and other birds fly out of elaborately
decorated dishes. The food was served in gold and silver utensils
and the number of dishes at one meal ran into hundreds. It was
usually never possible to taste all the delicacies sewed.
The finest cooking in India was derived from the Mughals and did
influence the royal kitchens of India, as did European cooking. But
the common mans kitchen remained untouched, more so in Rajasthan.
Cooking here has its own unique flavour and the simplest, the most
basic of ingredients go into the preparation of most dishes.
Rajasthani cooking was influenced by the war-like lifestyle of its
inhabitants and the availability of ingredients in this 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,
fresh green vegetables have all had their effect on the cooking. In
the desert belt of Jaisalmer, Barmer and Bikaner, cooks use the
minimum of water and prefer, instead, to use more milk, buttermilk
and clarified butter. Dried lentils, beans from indigenous plants
like sarigri, ker, etc are liberally used. Gram flour is a major
ingredient here and is used to make some of the delicacies like
khata, gatta ki sabzi, pakodi, powdered lentils are used for mangodi,
papad. Bajia and corn is used at! over the state for preparations of
rabdi, kheechdi, and rotis. Various chutneys are made from locally
available spices like turmeric, coriander, mint and garlic.
Perhaps the best known Rajasthani food is the combination of dal,
bati and churma but for the adventurous traveler, willing to
experiment, there is a lot of variety available. Besides spicy
flavours, each region is distinguished by its popular sweet Ladoos
from Jodhpur and Jaisalmer, Malpuas from Pushkar, Jalebies from most
big cities, Rasogullas from Bikaner, Dil Jani from Udaipur, Mishri
Mawa and Ghevar from Jaipur, Sohan Haiwa from Ajmer, Mawa from Alwar... |
