RAJASTHANI CUISINE

LOCATION:
Situated in the northwestern region of India, colorful Rajasthan has the
neighboring country of Pakistan as its northwestern boundary, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and
Haryana as its northeastern and northern frontiers, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh
manning its east and southeastern fronts and its southwestern borders being manned by
ujarat!
"he main geogra#hic features of Rajasthan are the "har $esert and the %ra&alli Range,
which runs through the state from southwest to northeast, almost from one end to the other,
for more than '() km! Mount %bu is at the southwestern end of the range!
CLIMATE:
Summers are hot and winters are cold! Ma*imum tem#erature is about +' degree
centigrade and minimum is a##ro* ' degree centigrade! %&erage annual rainfall is between
,)- +) cm!
IMPORTANT FESTIVALS:
.hen we talk about Rajasthan we cannot forget fairs and festi&als which add
color to the deserted land of Rajasthan! /amel festi&al is organi0ed by Rajasthan tourism and
de&elo#ment cor#oration in 1ikaner in month of 2anuary e&ery year! Pushkar is 33 kms from
%jmer and also famous for its camel fair! Pushkar fair is well-known for its camel trading and
other religious acti&ities! 4ite festi&al is organi0ed in %jmer!
FOOD HABIT:
1ecause of less color in landsca#e, the dresses and cuisine of rajasthan is colorful,
red chilli powder and !r"eric powder# are &ery common ingredients! 5ach region in
India has its own traditional dishes and s#ecialities! In the royal kitchens of Rajasthan, as well
as most other states, food is a &ery serious business and raised to the le&el of an art-form!
Rajasthani cooking was influenced by the war -like lifestyle of its inhabitants and the
a&ailability of ingredients in this region! 6o&e for #hi$%r has made game, #articular fa&orite
with royality! .ild boar, &enison and #heasant etc! all offer e*otic delicacies! "here are many
ways of cooking game, S!le & S!l%- the smoked Rajasthani kebab, for e*am#le is barbecued
in different ways! ames are also #ickled for future, #ickled rind of wild boar is a &ery
s#ecial dish!
'EO'RAPHICAL IMPACT ON FOOD:

7ood that could last for se&eral days and could be eaten without heating was
#referred, more out of necessity than choice! Scarcity of water and fresh green &egetables has
all had their effect on the cooking! In the desert belt of 2aisalmer, 1armer and 1ikaner, cooks
make minimum use of water and #refer, instead, to use more milk, buttermilk and clarified
butter! $ried lentils, beans from indigenous #lants like Sangri, 4er etc are liberally used!
6entils in different forms- moong dal khilma, mongodi ki sabji, besan ke gatte 8 are the
#rinci#al source of #rotein! %s a substitute of tomato, mango #owder is used, asafetida is used
to enhance the taste in the absence of garlic and onion!
B%(r% %)d cor) is used all o&er the state for #re#arations of Raabdi,
khichdi, and rotis! 9arious chutneys are made from locally a&ailable s#ices like turmeric,
coriander, mint and garlic!
Rajasthani cuisine is #redominantly &egetarian and da00ling in its &ariety
because of M%rw%ri# who does not take e&en ginger and garlic! "hough the su##ly of
&egetable is limited there are many &arieties of dishes! Myriad delicacies are made with
lentils, s#iced imaginati&ely and then made #alate- worthy by incor#orating generous dollo#s
of ghee, D%l *%%i ch!r"% :which are s#icy lentils with baked balls of wheat with lots of
ghee; may ha&e been the sta#le in the #ast but today #aneer, mawa, and dried fruits and nuts
embellish the reci#es! "he s#ice content is on the higher side, e&en by Indian standards!
Rajasthanis also relish ghee which is an integral #art of many of the #re#arations! "he most
famous dish would #robably be dal-bati! "he &ariety of sweet dishes is also immense and
sweets are relished as much as the s#icy curries in Rajasthan!
%#art from s#icy dishes, you will find an e*clusi&e range of delecacies
from each regions of Rajasthan like the ladoos of 2aisalmer, mawa kachori of 2odh#ur,
mal#uas of Pushkar, dil jani of Udai#ur, mishri mawa and ghe&ar of 2ai#ur, sohan halwa of
%jmer, mawa of %lwar are to name a few! 1ikaner also has a whole range of other sa&ories
and snacks like the world famous 1ikaner ki bhujia!
MOST IMPORTANT DISHES:
MAAS +E SULE: 4ebab made of game lamb, chicken or fish! 1oti is marinated,
then arranged on skewer and cooked o&er charcoal grill! "hen finished by smoking
in a container with lid! .hile smoking clo&e is also gi&en on li&e charcoal with butter!
"his #rocess is known as $huannaar method!
SAFED MAAS: It is a white colored lamb delicacy cooked in yoghurt with white
#aste made of almond and coconut, finished with cream!
LAL MAAS: % &ery hot lamb dish ser&ed with #hulka!
MA++I +A SO,ETA: % s#icy dish made of lamb and corn!
+HAD: % layered sa&oury cake made of layers of lamb mince cooked with #hulka,
then wra##ed with sil&er foil, then baked! /ut into wedges and ser&ed with
kachumber, mint chutney and lemon wedges! <riginally cooked in whole :khad; in
the ground with charcoal and hot sand!
BESAN +E 'ATTE: ram flour dum#lings cooked in a shar# cumin and asafetida
fla&ored yoghurt based gra&y! atte or dum#ling is made u# of gram flour, yoghurt,
warm water, sha#ed into a cylinder, boiled for 3(-,) minutes, then cut into slices and
dee# fried in ghee!
MAN'ODI +I SABJI: Small dum#lings of moong dal sundries and before cooking,
dee# fried and cooked in rich gra&y!
MA,AE +I +ACHURI: 4achuri stuffed with mawa, cardamom, mace,nutmeg etc!
fried, before eating a hole is made and sugar syru# is #oured ! Mawa is made by
cooking besan with ghee!
+AIR SAN'RI +A AACHAR: 4air : small fruit like green #eas;, sangri:&eg green
in colour, grow in bunches, looks like small s#aghetti; 4umatia: looks like chocolate
gems;, dry whole red chilli soaked o&ernight, then tem#ered in oil with dried mango
#eel!
+HEECH: .hole wheat grain boiled with little salt taken with a thick sauce made of
sagari, hot water and flour or with mangodi ki sabji!
CHURMA: is the most #o#ular delicacy usually ser&ed with baatis and dal! It is
coarsely ground wheat crushed and cooked with ghee and sugar! "raditionally it is
made by mashing u# wheat flour baatis or left o&er rotis in ghee and jaggery!
'HEVAR: is a honeycomb sha#ed delicacy made using #lain flour and ghee! he&ars
are usually large in si0e a##ro*! ,)) mm! or ,() mm! :'= or 3)=; s>uares or rounds
and are either sweetened with syru# or ser&ed to##ed with sweet raabdi or thickened
milk!