Rangilo Rajasthani- Flavors of Rajasthan

 "Kesariya balam aavo ni, padharo mhare desh re", the most beautiful song where a girl is inviting to come to Rajasthan.

Rajasthan the land of deserts and the state of Kings and Queens has a scarce water or shortage of water. But the royalness and richness is in the blood of Rajasthani people. Rajasthan is blessed with the unique cultural heritage which can be seen in Rajasthani families. The respect they give by adding suffix for the word of all relations feels great.

Rajasthani cuisine inculcates the flavors of Punjab, Haryana, Gujarat and Sindh. The warfare Rajputs and Marwari communities dominates the state besides these communities there are Shekhawati and Harauti communities.

In Rajasthan, water is at a premium and hence the food is generally cooked in ghee and milk making it rich like its culture. Gram flour or besan is the foundation of rarity of vegetables in this dry arid lands. They usually have the appetite to eat spicy food.

Rajasthani Rajput dishes still gives the presence of royal culture. Their famous non- vegetarian dishes like safed mass and laal mass is a must eat for all the foreign travelers.

Let's have a look at the most famous Rajasthani Cuisine which are famous all around the world as well:

1. Gatte ki Sabzi

Gatte ki sabzi is a very famous chickpea dumpling poured and mixed in a tangy yoghurt curry. All loves the famous manchurain which is dipped in a spicy curry, you can definitely substitute this gate ki sabzi as the desi (Indian) version of manchurian.

Gatte ki sabzi tastes great with roti or plain rice. A great alternative for those days when you have no veggies in your refrigeratior.

According to studies, gram flour is rich in proteins and fibers. It is also rich in iron, potassium, magnesium and vitamin B6.

2. Daal, Bati, Churma

If you visit Rajasthan and you didn't had this wonderful dish called daal, bati , churma your visit to Rajasthan is worthless. The authentic traditional dal, bati, churma is mouthwatering dish which is made up of baked wheat flour balls, added to panchemal dal (dal made of 5 lentils) followed by churma (bati crushed into small pieces and added with sugar or jaggery). The bati is doused into the ghee to get the authentic dal bati flavor.

The traditional way to eat dal bati is to crush the dal into pieces, put some dal over the crushed bati, add loads of ghee to get the authentic flavor and eat with lehsun ki chutney (garlic chutney) to get spicy flavor and also eat with bare hands to feel the culture of Rajasthan.

Story of Bati

Bati was considered as a wartime meal. It is said that during the time of battles, the Rajput leaders used to leave the chunked dough buried in the sand before leaving the war. By the time they returned, the scorching heat of the sun used to turn them into baked chunks. Then they used to dig out those perfectly baked batis, lathered them with ghee and consumed them along with some curd or buttermilk. The elements of Panchemal Dal and Churma were added later when the civilization set in.

Panchemal Dal

The combination of Panchemal Dal and Bati gained popularity with the settlement of Gupta dynasty in Mewar. Panchemal Dal was the royal delicacy of the Guptas which was prepared with 5 nutritional lentils namely Moong Dal, Chana Dal, Toor dal, Masoor Dal, Urad Dal. These lentils were cooked with the tadka (tempering) of cumin, cloves, other spices and then served with Bati.

Story of Churma

As far as the churma is considered, it was invented by a sheer chance when a chef from Gehlot clan of Mewar, accidentally poured sugarcane juice on the batis. It made people realized that the sweet water of sugarcane softened the batis and after that home makers started using the same method to keep the batis fresh. This sweetened batis when crushed, evolved into churma.

3. Ghewar

One of the most popular Rajasthani dessert is Ghewar. The relation between ghewar and Rajasthan is inviolable. The uniqueness of this dessert is its prepartion. It is prepared by pouring the batter which is made up of all purpose flour into the boiling ghee pan and then dipped into the sugar syrup. This sweet represents the honeycomb structure which makes the dessert eye appealing.

Sadly there is no proper history of ghewar. Some people claim that it found its way to India with Mughals many centuries ago or perhaps came with the artisans who came from the middle east.

Ghewar is mainly associated with the festival of teej, gangaur and Raksha bandhan where ghewar is exchanged between relatives.

So, planning a trip to Rajasthan? Do have these dishes at the top of your food list.