Culinary art of the princely state of
Rajasthan is judged as the most majestic and royal by the connoisseurs of
food. But the truth is that the story of Rajasthan's cuisine is a success
story of the grim determination and struggle of the people of Rajasthan
against all odds of nature.
It
is matter worthy of appreciation that when even surviving in the rough
terrains of Rajasthan is difficult, people here have devised recipes (and a
whole lot of them) emulated by all in the country. Ingredients in these
recipes have been carefully selected, more out of hard geographical
compulsion than out of fetish for the taste.
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.
