Rajasthan Cuisine-Rajasthan Rural Food

Land of Princes, as Rajasthan is called,shows off, many a fine gastronomic both within the palaces and outside.The royal kitchens of Rajasthan, 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. Some recipes were passed on to their descendants and the rest were passed on as skills to the chefs of semi states and the branded hotel companies.

The personal recipes of the royal KHANSAMA still rotates around their generations and are the highlights of regal gatherings. Eachstate of Rajasthan had their own style of the recipes, and are continued in the Rajput households. It was mainly the men folks of the family that prepared the non-veg. 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.

Rajasthani cooking was inclined to the war-like lifestyle of the medieval Rajasthan and the availability of ingredients of the 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, freshm green vegetables have had their effect on cooking.

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 favourite sweet dish called lapsi is prepared with broken wheat (dalia) saut?ed in ghee and sweetened.

Perhaps the best-known Rajasthani food is the combination of dal, bati and churma(dal is lentils;bati is baked wheat ball; and churma ispowdered sweetened cereal), but for the adventurous traveller, willing to experiment, there is a lot of variety available. Besides, each region is distinguished by its popular sweet - Mawa Kachori from Jodhpur, Alwar ka Mawa, Malpuas from Pushkar, Rasogullas from Bikaner, Ghevar from Jaipur to name a few. Contrary to popular belief, people of Rajasthan are not all vegetarians.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.However, now this dish has been adapted to the less controversial ingredients like kid/lamb, pork or poultry.

in the desert belt of Jaisalmer, Barmer and Bikaner, cooks use a minimum of water and prefer, instead, to use more milk, buttermilk and clarified butter. 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 cuisine of Rajasthan is a product of its geographical, historical and cultural background. Though the emphasis is more on nutrition than on fuss and ostentation, give the harsh climatic conditions, the people of Rajasthan have produced so much variety from so little. The war like lifestyle of the Rajputs and the unavailability of ingredients in this desert region influenced the eating habits of the people; food that could last for several days and could be eaten without heating war preferred, more out of necessity than choice.

Given the fact that more than half of Rajasthan is made up of desert, there is very little that grows here and fresh vegetables were unheard of in the pre-communication days.Improved means of transportation and communication changed all that and now more fresh vegetables and fruit are available by the day but not less than 30 years ago there were only hardy desert vegetables and cereals.
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.

The desert region comprises Jodhpur, Jaisalmer and Bikaner. The land here is unyielding, rainfall is scanty and vegetation comprisespatches of grassland, dry shrubs and stunted trees. Crops cultivated are hardy cereals like Millet (Bajra) and barley (jowar). Its hostile, harsh and merciless region yet culturally the more interesting side of Rajasthan.

While we eulogise about Rajasthan`s glorious past comprising Maharajas and Maharanis and brave Rajput warriors who spent months away from home conquering unfriendly terrain to establish their kingdoms, there was more to their lives than that.


Their main battle was that of survival against the extreme climate, droughts and the lowering of water tables, the hot sand dunes and dust-laden winds that ensured that cultivation was next to impossible. Yet the people created some of the most sumptuous food from the little that was available.

They conquered the desert with their spirit and built their forts & palaces here. They controlled the caravans on the desert trade routes, levying a tax on the traders for their safe passage. Though these traders came new spices, new ingredients and flavours that enriched the local cuisine. Today the cuisine of the desert is considered unique and among the most interesting in the country.