RAJASTHANI CUISINE

Rajasthani cooking is influenced by the its desert climate, lifestyle of its tribes, and the availability of ingredients in this region. Some foods can last for several days, and can be eaten without being heated. In the heart of the desert, where water is sometimes scarce, e.g. in Jaisalmer, Barmer and Bikaner, cooks use a minimum of water and prefer, instead, to use milk, buttermilk and clarified butter or ghee.

Dried lentils, beans from indigenous plants like sangri, ker etc. are used. Gram flour or besan is a major ingredient here and is used to make gatta ki sabzi, pakodi. Powdered lentils are used for mangodi, papad. Bajra and corn are used all over the state to prepare khichdi and rotis. Various chutneys are made from locally available spices like turmeric, coriander, mint and garlic.

Dal, bati and churma is a popular Rajasthani meal, but all the places I visited had restaurants serving cuisine from other regions of India - the most popular being Punjabi and South Indian.
 

Much to my gastronomic delight (and to the delight of my sweet tooth!), I discovered that each region in Rajasthan is distinguished by its popular sweet or confectionery:

Jodhpur: makhaniya lassi (rich frothy buttermilk), peanut & jaggery chikki or brittle, and the mawe ki kachodi, a rich crumbly pastry

Jaipur: Ghevar and mishri mawa

Pushkar: Malpuas

Bikaner: Rasogullas & Bikaneri sev (spicy!)

Pokhran: delicious over-sized Cham Chams (buy them on the main road at the Pokhran bus stand)

Jaisalmer: Ghota & Boondi laddoos

Home : Rajashthan : Jaipur : Jaisalmer : Pushkar : Jodhpur : Bombay : Goa : Rajashtani cuisine