Rajasthani Cuisine
Rarely has the world seen so rich a cuisine from so little that was available from the land. While the eastern region of the state as 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 drought 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 milet and trees with beans that were dried and stored for use when, in the summers, nothing woild grow.
Though the Rajasthani kitchen was able to create much from little, it had also to cater different communities with their own rituals observances. 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.
Daunting tasks for the cooks was to think of recipes which required minimum use of water, could be stored for long period of time without requiring re-heating and did not use great quantities of vegetables. As nothing could be grown in the barren lands facing the hot and stormy sand-dunes and communication was not developed in earlier times. But most of all the pre-requisite was to have food with high nutritional value. One that could provide sufficient aliment to bear not just the hardships imposed by the vast stretches of deserts but also be suitable for the war-like lifestyles of the people.
Greater use of milk, butter milk and other milk products can be seen in Rajasthani cuisine. Crops like millet (bajra) and barley (jowar) is also used as it could be cultivated in parts of Rajasthan. Use of beans from locally grown plants like sangri, ker etc besides dried lentils is also popular here. Gram flour is also a major ingredient of the Rajasthani dishes. Most Rajasthani curries appear red in colour and appear to be very hot but that is not so in taste. Pure ghee or butter is used as a medium of cooking. Chutneys from the locally available spices help to make the food even more interesting.
Khansamas (cooks) working in the kitchens of the royals too generated some exotic recipes. These recipes have been carried forward through the descendants of the khansamas and have helped to add a regal dash to the Rajasthani cuisine.
Though the Rajasthani kitchen was able to create much from little, it had also to cater different communities with their own rituals observances. 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.
Daunting tasks for the cooks was to think of recipes which required minimum use of water, could be stored for long period of time without requiring re-heating and did not use great quantities of vegetables. As nothing could be grown in the barren lands facing the hot and stormy sand-dunes and communication was not developed in earlier times. But most of all the pre-requisite was to have food with high nutritional value. One that could provide sufficient aliment to bear not just the hardships imposed by the vast stretches of deserts but also be suitable for the war-like lifestyles of the people.
Greater use of milk, butter milk and other milk products can be seen in Rajasthani cuisine. Crops like millet (bajra) and barley (jowar) is also used as it could be cultivated in parts of Rajasthan. Use of beans from locally grown plants like sangri, ker etc besides dried lentils is also popular here. Gram flour is also a major ingredient of the Rajasthani dishes. Most Rajasthani curries appear red in colour and appear to be very hot but that is not so in taste. Pure ghee or butter is used as a medium of cooking. Chutneys from the locally available spices help to make the food even more interesting.
Khansamas (cooks) working in the kitchens of the royals too generated some exotic recipes. These recipes have been carried forward through the descendants of the khansamas and have helped to add a regal dash to the Rajasthani cuisine.
Vegetarian
