Rajasthan Tourism

Rajasthan has a very rich tradition of cuisines and had some of the finest cooks in the palaces. Appropriately it has been said that the royal kitchens of Rajasthan raised the preparation of food to the level of a sublime art. It is not surprising therefore that the 'Khansamas' who worked in the State palaces kept their most prized 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.

One special feature of the Rajasthani cooking is that it has its roots in the lifestyle of the medieval Rajasthan when the soldiers and captains were mainly at war. The focus was on edible items that could last for several days and could also be eaten without heating. Food was also prepared out of necessity rather than choice. It depended on the items available in particular regions. Furthermore, the scarcity of water as well as fresh green vegetables has had some impact on their art of cooking.
In the desert belt of Jaisalmer, Barmer and Bikaner, cooks use a minimum of water and prefer to use more milk, buttermilk and clarified butter.

Generally, Rajasthani curries are too red and spicy. Most Rajasthani cuisine uses pure butter as a means of cooking. A favorite sweet dish called lapsi is prepared with broken wheat sautéed in ghee and sweetened.
Perhaps the best known Rajasthani food is Dal Bati Churma, but for the adventurous traveler, willing to experiment, there is much variety available. In addition, each region is distinguished by its popular sweet - Mawa Kachori from Jodhpur, Alwar ka Mawa, Malpuas of Pushkar, Rasogullas of Bikaner, Jaipur Ghevar just to name a few.

The personal recipes of the royal Khansama still rotate around their generations and are the highlights of regal gatherings. Each princely State of Rajasthan had its own style of the recipes, and is still continued in the Rajput households. It was mainly the men folk of the family who prepared the non-vegetarian food. 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 successive generations.