About Rajasthan
A complete travel guide for Rajasthan (one of the most popular travel
destinations in India) offers information on Rajasthan climate, history,
culture, dance, music and the local transportation. Detailed information
is available on various tourist spots in Rajasthan, hotels in those
destinations, wildlife in Rajasthan, forts & palaces of Rajasthan
and various festivals of Rajasthan.
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.
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, fresh 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) sautéed 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 is powdered 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.
Desserts :
Delectable Desserts
Besides spicy flavours, each region is distinguished by its popular sweets. Most people from Rajasthan have a natural liking for sweets or 'Mithai' as it is locally called. People residing in Rajasthan prefer 'Jalebis' and 'Fafda' with a large glass of hot milk in the morning.
Each region has its own specialty. Laddoos 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, Mawa Katchori from Jodhpur, Sohan Halwa from Ajmer, Mawa from Alwar, the list is unending.
Serving Or Eating Style / Traditions :
Eating Habits
The personal preferences of the people about food are very much varied. The Rajput warrior was not averse to hunting, killing game to put in his pot at night. The Vaishnavas, 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 were cooked.
The Marwaris 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, who were not only vegetarians, but also the ones 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.
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