• Fascinating Rajasthan Cuisines were
influenced by the geomorphology and political conditions of the region of
Rajasthan.
• Like the state itself, its
inhabitants and their rich culture, Rajasthani cuisine is a splendid array of colourful,
spicy and unique dishes.
• The availability of all types of food
was a rarity here and the preservation of the food was the main criteria because
of the desert conditions and war situations of Rajasthan. Rarely has the world
seen so rich a cuisine from so little that was available from the land of
Rajasthan.
• Thar,
the Great Indian Desert,
immortalised in song and folklore as Marusthali
(The land of Death) lies in north-west Rajasthan, but not all of this state
is wasteland. The Arawali hills, the oldest geographical feature of the
Indian-subcontinent, is a rocky spine that divides Rajasthan into two regions
of startling contrasts: one is barren while the other has lakes, forests and
fertile land.
• While the eastern region of Rajasthan has
fertile soil capable of crops of everything from wheat and maize to
millets and corn, for much part the desert’s dry terrain, prone to droughts,
was incapable of producing even basic necessities of survival. Yet, live and
eat they did, creating an exotic cuisine from the soil that threw up a few
pulses, crops of millet, and trees with beans that were dried and stored for
use when, in the summers, nothing would grow.
• Land of Princes, as Rajasthan is
called, shows off the royal kitchens of Rajasthan in which the preparation of
food was a very complex matter and was raised to the levels of an art form.
Thus the 'Khansamas' (the royal cooks) worked in the stately palaces and
kept their most enigmatic recipes to themselves.
Historical Influence In The Rajasthani Cuisine
• Rajasthani cooking has its own unique
flavour and the simplest; the most basic of ingredients go into the preparation
of most of the dishes in Rajasthan.
• The cuisine of Rajasthan was highly
influenced by both the war-like lifestyles of its inhabitants and
the availability of ingredients in the desert region in Rajasthan.
• Scarcity of water and lack of fresh
green vegetables also had their effect on Rajasthani cooking.
• Food that could last for several days
and could be eaten without heating was preferred, more out of necessity than
choice in Rajasthan.
• The passion of the Maharajas
of Rajasthan for shikar (hunting) has 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 in Rajasthan, 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.
• On the other hand is the vegetarian
cooking of the Maheshwaris of Marwar or Jodhpur in Rajasthan, who do not use
even garlic and onions, as these are said to excite the blood. The Marwaris
of Rajasthan, of course, were vegetarian too, but their cuisine, though
not too different from the Rajputs, was richer in its method of preparation.
And then there were the Jains too in Rajasthan, who were not
only vegetarians, but who would not eat
after sundown, and whose food had to be devoid of garlic and onions which
were, otherwise, important ingredients in the Rajasthani pot.
• The unique creation of the Maharaja
of Salwar is the Junglee maas. Junglee maas was a great favourite among
the Maharajas and due to the paucity of exotic ingredients in the camp kitchen,
the game brought in from the hunt was simply cooked in pure ghee, salt and
plenty of red chillies of Rajasthan.
• The Vaishnavs, followers of Krishna,
were vegetarian, and strictly so, as were the Bishnois, a community
known for their passion to conserve both animal and plant life. Even among Rajputs, there were enough royal
kitchens where nothing other than vegetarian meals was cooked.
• The personal recipes of the royal KHANSAMA
still rotate around their generations and are the highlights of regal
gatherings of Rajasthan. Each state of Rajasthan had their own style of the
recipes which is continued in the Rajput households. It was mainly the men
folks of the family that prepared the non-vegetarian. Some of the Maharajas
apart from being great hunters relished the passion of cooking the SHIKARS themselves for their chosen
guests and the trend continues among the generation of Rajasthan
Characteristics Of The Cuisine
The
food style of this glorious desert state of India has been affected by the
natural topography and indigenously available ingredients like most other
civilizations of the world. A lack of leafy green vegetables, a pronounced use
of lentils, pulses, legumes and the use of milk, curd and buttermilk in place
of the water in the gravy marks the essentials of Rajasthani cuisine.
Some salient features cbe discussed as follows:an
• The cooking of Rajasthan was
immensely influenced by the war-like and belligerent way of life of its
people and the accessibility of the ingredients that were grown in this
region. Rajasthani food is well known for its spicy curries and delicious
sweets.
• Major crops of Rajasthan are Jowar,
Bajri, Maize, Ragi, Rice, Wheat, Barely, Gram, Tur, pulses, Ground nut, Seesame
etc. Millets, lentils and beans are most basic ingredients in food.
• In a land where ordinary vegitables
like potatoes and cauliflowers can not be grown, the people of Marwar have
learnt to supplement their diet by using whatever the environment has to offer,
be it from a tree, a bush, a plant or a creeper. For instance, ‘kachri’
(cucumis melo), ‘fofliya’ (citrullus lanatus), ‘khumattiya’ (it is a small
circular,flat, black-brown colored herb which is picked from the tree Kumatiya,
spread naturally all over in the desert of Thar), ‘gawar’ (cyamopsis
tetragonoloba) etc are all regarded as vegetables. Besides several
types of melons and cucumbers are also used and are considered exotic.
• Rajasthani
food is characterized by the use of Jowar, Bajra, legumes and lentils, its
distinct aroma and flavour achieved by the blending of spices including curry leaves,
tamarind, coriander, ginger, garlic, chili, pepper, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom,
cumin and rosewater.
Other spices commonly used are powdered cumin seeds (jeera), fennel seeds or
aniseed (saunf), fenugreek seeds (methi dana), nigella seeds (kalonji), carom
seeds (ajwain), cloves (laung or loong), garlic, dried ginger (soonth), amchoor
(dried mango powder), mustard seeds (rai), kasuri methi (dried coarsely powdered
fenreek leaves), asafoetida (heing), cinnamon (dalchini), etc. These are
generally powdered in a heavy iron mortar and pestle just before adding to the
food to retain their coarse texture and natural flavour.
• The Rajasthani cuisine uses a lot of dry
coconut.
• Clarified butter or ghee forms the main medium of cooking.
• Till or gingelly, used primarily to extract oil, is
another crop that grows here and finds its way into the foods of Marwa. The
cooking oils that are commonly used in the Rajasthani cuisine are mainly oils
such as vegetable oils like sunflower, canola and peanut oil.
• Dried
lentils, beans
from indigenous plants like sangri ,ker
etc. are liberally used. Gram flour
is the major ingredient in the making of a couple of delicacies such as
"pakodi" and "gatte ki sabzi". Powdered lentils are
liberally used in the preparation of papad, mangodi etc.
• These robust desert people have also
perfected the skill of drying vegetables. Thus fresh green chilles or dry red
ones are integral to their diet and are made into snacks, curies,
pickles and chutneys. One reason why they
consume enormous quantities of chillies is because they grow them. A
preference for flavourings which can be stored for long times in normal weather
conditions characterizes the local cuisine. Red chillies of Rajasthan
are famous worldwide. These may be used either whole or coarsely powdered. They
lend the gravies not only a bright red/orange colour but also their fiery,
scalding flavour.
• A distinct feature of the Maheshwari cooking is the use of mango
powder, a suitable substitute for tomatoes, scarce in the desert, and asafoetida,
to enhance the taste in the absence of garlic and onions.
• The meat prepared was mainly of hare
or rabbit, wild boar or deer or game birds.
• The meat dishes were classified into Lal
Maas (red meat) or Safed Maas (white meat). The Lal Mans was prepared
in rich gravy of tomatoes and spices such as the scalding red chillies. The
white meat was however was stuffed with dry fruits such as raisins and
pistachio and slow cooked in a gravy of cashew, cream, coconut and blanched
almonds and laced with powdered spices such as cardamom and cinnamon.
• Goat and camel milk form the basis of the various diary
products used in Rajasthani cuisine. Camel’s milk is thicker and richer and
produces excellent yoghurt (dahi), butter, ghee, malai, khoa and soft cheeses
such as paneer.
• The cuisine of Rajasthan is primarily
vegetarian and offers a fabulous variety of mouthwatering dishes. The
spice content is quite high in comparison to other Indian cuisines, but
the food is absolutely scrumptious.
• Rajasthanis use ghee for cooking most of
the dishes..
• In the desert belts of Rajasthan, it
is preferred to use milk, butter milk and butter in larger quantities to minimize the
amount of water while cooking food.
• Bread rather than rice forms the
staple food of the Rajasthanis.
This is because rice does not grow well in these dry sandy soils. Wheat breads
such as rotis are indeed the staple food. Wheat products such as atta (wheat flour), dalia (cracked wheat)
and maida (refined flour) are commonly used to make the bread. Chapattis and Parathas are unleavened
flat bread that are cooked on the direct flame and served dry or shallow fried.
Puri and Kachauri too are smaller pieces of bread and these deep fried till
they are crisp, golden and fluffy. Laapsi,
made of dalia is an all time favorite. Missi
Roti and Tikadia are shallow fried rotis stuffed with an assortment of
spices. Due to the natural habitat of the region, jowar (sorghum), bajra (pearl millet) and makai (corn) grow well.
The flour of these are used very often to make rotis and make nutritious
substitutes to the ordinary roti such as Jowar
ki Roti, Bajre ki Roti, Chane ki Roti etc are common household variations
of the wheat rotis.
• Rice finds limited use in the pulaos and such preparations
in the Rajput households but it does not form the staple main course of most
households in the state.
• Pickles and chutneys of Rajasthan are famous
accompaniments to their main fare. Tamatar
ki Launji, Lehsun ki Chutney, Imly ki Chutney Aam Launji and Pudina Chutney
are common titbits that give a bland meal the tang required and have excellent
digestive properties. Moong Dal Papads,
Masala Papads, Mangodis, Pakodis and Badis are used instead of vegetables
in many dishes.
• Native Rajasthanis have a unique
style of coupling the sweet dishes with the main (bread/roti/puri) course
instead of or in addition to vegetables or meat. Halwa - Puri for example makes
a famous combination. Here again we find a great use of pulses, legumes, diary
products etc and a unique style of rustling up the desserts. A great use of
clarified butter (ghee) characterizes the sweets.
• Snacks of different types form an intergral
pert of the cuisine. Bhujia, Boondis,
Sohali, and crisp Nimkis are the classic recipes of Rajasthani snacks.
These can be stored and used over a long period of time. Chillas, Dahi Badas, Dahi Kachauris and Kanji Badas make for
lighter meals and need to be consumed soon after preparation.
Cooking Equipment Used In Rajasthan
• Tikra : This is a clay pot that is
typically used for the preparation odd al called tikri ki dal. The much desired
earthly flavour of the dal is obtained in this manner.
• Chulah : In the olden days, stoves were made
out of mud and cow dung cakes were the most commonly used fuel. The low flame
of the chulah would cook the food slowly allowing better infusion of the
flavour of the spices.
• Sigri : This is an open bar – be – qued
griller used for grilling kebabs such as maas
ke sooley.
Very
little ‘special’ equipment would be needed to prepare your Rajasthani cuisine.
Pots and pans those are non-sticky of course as they make the best utensils for
simply any type of cooking, so try getting a hold of a few of those if you do
not have them already. Moreover, using wooden stirrers in place of stainless
steel ones is the best choice always. Even so, it is always exciting to know
about and if you wish to cook with specialized Rajasthani equipment. If you are
a creative and innovative cook and want to prepare your Indian meal in the true
traditional Rajasthani Indian style then it will not be a bad idea to invest
into getting a ‘Tawa’. The traditional Rajasthani breads such as chapattis,
parathas and rotis are all made using the tawa. Karahi is another deep frying
pot which looks quite like a Chinese wok but it is heavier and deeper than the
former. The karahi makes a great alternative for ordinary deep frying recipes.
Commonly the meat dishes are prepared in the karahi. Other than the traditional
Indian tawa and karahi, spice grinders, food processors or electric blenders
are always useful to make your cooking easy and joyful. Getting a hold of a few
metal skewers for meat and vegetable threading is also a handy utensil. Other
than that, electric spice grinder or a simple pestle and mortar are invaluable
for grinding small quantities of spices. Food processors or electric blenders
usually save a lot of your cooking hours and make your preparation of the
Rajasthani cooking even easier.
A Note On The Cooking Methods:
Although
no specific method which is ‘special’ is used while preparing your Rajasthani
cuisine, nevertheless there are various methods used in the preparation process
of the Rajasthan cooking. If you are looking for perfect results to stem out
then it is better to stick to the old traditional manner of preparing your
Rajasthani cuisine. Some of the few cooking methods and styles applied in
Rajasthani cooking are the many and highly distinctive in their nature. The
preparation methods applied in the Rajasthani cooking were first used when man
discovered fire. A lamb or chicken which is usually prepared with rice, spices
and water is prepared in a highly simple manner. Another type of method that
involves the preparation of the Rajasthani cooking is grilling the seasoned
lamb or chicken on flat stones that are usually placed on top of burning
embers. There is also a quick cooking preparation form of the whole wheat in
the Rajasthani cuisine that is cleaned and parboiled, dried, ground into
particles and sifted into distinct sizes. It usually comes in four particular
forms of grind sizes which further provide different textures and cooking
properties for a range of food applications.
Rajasthani Eating Customs
MARWARIS
are the business communities of Rajasthan and are also known as banias. These
people are mostly vegetarian and some of them even do not include onion and
garlic in the food. The kitchen of a Marwari household is considered to be a
very sacred place and entry is limited. Only the ladies of the house or a
professional cook called Maharaja are
allowed to enter it. The cook is also responsible to serve the food from the
pots to the plates (thali). A thali is a large metal plate and has an
arrangement of many small bowls called katoris which consist of vegetables and
accompaniments. Some of the large thalis
served for the royal families contained as many as 56 items on the thali and
such a lavish fare is often referred to as chappan bhog.
Non
vegetarian food is also consumed, specially by the Rajputs.
The
daily food in Rajasthan generally includes roti (bread) made of wheat, millet,
barley or maize with gatte-ki-sabzi, pickles, and curries. Curries generally
are made from Besan and curds.
Some Common Dishes In This Cuisine:
• Laal Maas : These red meat are made using lamb,
yoghurt, onions, and garlic. This dish uses a typical chilli called manthania chilli that is indigenous to
Rajasthan. This dish is uniquely smoked with cloves to give an enriched flavour
to the meat.
• Safed Maas : It is a signature lamb preparation from Rajasthan. Its white curry is made from the use of fresh coconut kernel paste, white pepper, cashew nuts, poppy seeds, almond, etc. along with yoghurt and onion paste laced with powdered spices such as cardamom and cinnamon. Safed Maas is favorite dish of the Kachchwaha family of Jaipur.
• Khud Khargosh : Khud Khargosh (Hare or rabbit meat
cooked in a pit) is a Rajput specialty during summer in Rajasthan, when the
hare is lean. The hare is skinned and stuffed with spices, wrapped in dough and
finally in layers of mud-soaked cloth. The ambrosial result is meat perfectly blended
with the spices and dough.
• Sooley : In Rajput cuisine, sooley refers to tender morsels of meat,
the most prized being wild boar spare ribs (bhanslas), marinated in a mixture
of dry yogurt, browned onions, garlic, ginger, coriander, red chilli, and kachri(a
small pod which tenderizes meat) and lends a particular sharp-sour flavour to
many dishes. The marinated meat is smoked, spitted on skewers, and grilled over
hot coals. Sooley are made of
chicken, pheasant, mutton, or fish. Example of sooley: Maas Ke Sooley:
This dish is normally eaten as an appetizer. Thin slices of lamb are first
marinated overnight in buttermilk and salt. Next day the buttermilk is
discarded and the meat is marinated in mustard oil, red chilli powder, cloves,
and black pepper. The meat is skewered into thick iron rods and cooked on a
charcoal grill.
• Ker Sangri : KER
( unripe fruits of " Capparis decidua" tree), SANGRI ( Sangri refers
to the beans from the tree "Prosopis cineraria", which has very deep
roots, enabling it to store water for up to 7 months). This is a
preparation which is almost similar to a pickle and can be eaten cold or warm.
They are soaked in turmeric water and then mixed with mustard oil and pickling
spices.
• Dal Baati Churma : This is a classical combination of
three dishes eaten together. Dal is also known as panchmel dal, as it is a
combination of five types of lentils cooked with garlic and desi ghee. The Baatis are dumplings of wholewheat
flour, baked on dry cow dung cakes called kandas.
Churma is a sweetened cereal powder
made by frying wholewheat flour and desi ghee.
• Gatte : Rajasthani gatte are made by kneading gram flour with yoghurt, mustard oil,
dried fenugreek leaves, turmeric, and salt into a dough. The dough is rolled
into long cylindrical shapes and poached in salt water. The gattes are then cut
into 1 inch long pieces and deep fried. This is now simmered in yoghurt – based
yellow gravy.
• Mangodi Ki Subji : Mongodis
are made by soaking lentils in water until they are soft. They are then ground
without addition of water and combined with red chilli powder, turmeric and
coriander powder. These are then pinched into cherry size and dried in the sun
for a couple of days. These mongodis
can be stored upto a few months. It is often deep fried and combined with
vegetables to make dry preparation and curries.
• Makki Ka Soweta : The Soweta is a spicy combination of lamb and corn. The meat is
marinated with yoghurt, a paste of garlic, deseeded green chillies, onions
along with coriander powder, red chilli powder, turmeric and salt. The corn is
roughly chopped. These are made to bhunao
till brown, little moisture added
and cooked till the meat is tender.
• Amrud Ki Sabji : This is an exquisite delicacy of guava simmered in a tangy tomato and yoghurt masala.
• Khad : A multi – tiered cake of lamb mince
and phulka – a magnificent meal in itself. Khad
means a hole in the ground. Originally, the ‘cake’ was baked in a hole in the
ground with charcoals and hot sand providing the heat.
• Mongidi Chawal : It is prepared with rice and fried lentil dumplings known as mongodis. It is preparing by putting whole hot spices in the ghee followed by some sliced onions, ginger juliennes, and other spices. The soaked rice is added and cooked along with fried mongodis.
• Gatte Ki Tahiri : This is a contemporary Rajasthani
preparation of besan gate that are
layered with basmati rice along with flavoured spices and saffron cooked on
dum.
• Missi Roti : This is avery famous bread prepared by kneading gram flour, wholewheat flour, chopped onions, and green chillies into a dough. The chapattis are rolled out from this dough and cooked on a tawa.
• Chilla : Besan ka chilla is a very common street food from Rajasthan. It can be made from besan or moong dal. This moong dal is soaked and then made into a coarse paste. It is then mixed with salt, chopped onions, green chillies, and chopped green coriander and left to ferment for an hour. It is then spread like a dosa on a hot plate and stuffed with grated paneer and folded over to a half moon. It is served hot with garlic chutney.
Rajasthani Desserts:
Native
Rajasthanis have a unique style of coupling the sweet dishes with the main
(bread/roti/puri) course instead of or in addition to vegetables or meat. Halwa
- Puri for example makes a famous combination. Here again we find a great use
of pulses, legumes, diary products
etc and a unique style of rustling up the desserts. A great use of clarified butter (ghee) characterizes
the sweets. These are over cooked and often chashni
(caramel) based. Halwas and Chakkis are a must on most festive occasion. A
variety of dal ka halwas are made using lentils such as Moong Dal ka Halwa, made of green gram (split) or semoina (Sooji ka
Halwa). Ajmer is famous for its Sohan
Halwa. Chakkis are also similar
to halwa- Besan ki Chakki is an all time favorite. The state is also known for
the many varieties of laddus (sweet balls) prepared commonly in the households.
Motichur ka Laddu, Besan ka Laddu, Dal ka
Laddu and the unique Gaund ka Laddu eaten mostly in winter months due to
the heat it imparts to the system are the state’s specialties. A number of
diary products are also effectively used in making desserts. Kheer is a
milk-based sweet dish. Kheer is
cooked in variations such as with the more common rice or with Vermicelli
(Seviyan Kheer). Makhane ka Kheer and
Jhajharia are also diary based
recipes cooked only by the natives of the state. Ghevar (a specialty of Jaipur) of is probably the most intriguing
of sweets prepared in the state. It is a must have on Makar Shankaranti, a
festival that usually falls around the 14th of January every year. The Rabri topped Jalebi of Rajasthan is
legendary. Malpuas of Pushkar, Dil
Jani of Udaipur, Mishri Mawa of Ajmer have claimed the hearts of
international tourists. Firni, Kalakand, Kaju Katli and Mawa Kachori are other
all time favourites.
Regional Specialties Of Rajasthan In India
Each
region has its own special food item that is identified with the town or city.
• Jaipur in Rajasthan has its specialty of
Mishri Mawa, Kalakand and Ghevar. The Kachchwaaha
family of Jaipur in Rajasthan is the originator of the delicacy called Safed Maas or white meat. The
preparation is white in colour and is prepared from white mutton. The curry is
prepared from cashew nuts, almonds, fresh coconut kernel paste, white pepper
and poppy seeds.
• Bikaner has its savouries, especially bhujiya, which has accounted for
its fame, and the quality of its papads and badi remains unrivalled. The lean
mutton of the desert goats of this region too is considered the most
favourable.
• In Bharatpur, milk sweets, rarely commercially available, occupy a
niche by themselves. A Rajasthani delicacy, linked with the monsoon festival of
Teej, is called ghevar, consisting of
round cakes of white flour over which sweetened syrup is poured. Today,
variations include lacings with cream and khoya, making it a delightful
concoction.
• Muslim food has also occupied a place in the overall cuisine of
Rajasthan, not just in pockets such as Tonk
and Loharu, but also in Jaipur,
Rajasthan.
• The region of Mewar or Udaipur in Rajasthan is
believed to have come up the form of barbecue called Sooley and Dil Jani.
• The region of Jodhpur in Rajasthan is famous for
Makhaniya Lassi, Kachoris, hot green masala chilies and Laddoos.
• The region of Jaisalmer in Rajasthan is famous for
Laddoos
• Pushkar is famous for Malpua,
• Ajmer in Rajasthan is famous for Sohan Halwa
• Alwar is well known for Mawa and Hot jalebies are available in most
town and cities of Rajasthan.
• 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
