Rajasthani dishes are a bit different than other Indian cuisine. These dishes are generally very spicy and will prickle your taste buds. Most of these food items can even last for several days in extremely hot weather.
This Indian state lacks green vegetables, which have a distinct impact on the Rajasthani recipe due to availability of ingredients in this region. Rajasthan is widely popular as the land of Maharajas. The royal heritage of this state has definitely influenced the creation of these most appetizing dishes. As you know, this princely state covers large stretches of the desert while bearing perennial water shortage.
Due to this colorful background, Rajasthani cuisine has emerged using really innovative ideas and accessible ingredients. This results in authentic delicacies for the Rajasthani menu, which are unique to this region.
Rajasthani Cuisine
Rajasthan suffers a shortage of conventional vegetables. This fact has caused ascent of a wide range of Rajasthani dishes. Here, you can taste curries and sweets made with besan (Chickpea flour). One can easily see coarse grains like Bajra (Pearl Millet) and Maize on the Rajasthani menu.
Rajasthani people use ingredients like dry fruits, red chilies, spices, milk, yogurt, and other such locally available vegetation while preparing Rajasthani foods.
Some fine examples of Rajasthani food include scrumptious dishes like Gatte ki Sabzi, Dal Baati Choorma, Rajasthani Kadi, Dal Pakode, Ker Sangri, Mangodi, Mawa Kachori, Lahsun ki Chatni, Dal Kachori, Dal Pakode, Pyaaz Kachori, Ghevar, Khasta Puri, Ras Malai, and Moong Dal Halwa, to name a few.
Traditional Rajasthani Recipes
Here, we have listed some of the best Rajasthani foods recipes. So have a look at these fascinating and delicious recipes from theroyal land of India.
1. Dal Baati Choorma
A Rajasthani meal can never be complete without Dal Baati Choorma. It is one of the most savored meals of Rajasthan. This dish is comprised of Dal (Lentils), Baati (Wheat Bread Balls), and Choorma (Sweet-powdered Cereal), and is served with red chilies and spicy garlic chutney. So, let’s dive into the most authentic Rajasthani recipe!
Things you need:
- 200 grams of wheat flour
- 15 grams Ghee
- ½ teaspoon of turmeric powder
- ½ teaspoon of cumin seeds
- ½ teaspoon of ajwain
- 1 cup each of Red Dal, Aahar Dal, Channa Dal, and Moong Dal
- ½ teaspoon of red chili
- 4 cloves of garlic
- ½ teaspoon of sliced ginger
- Salt to taste
How to make Dal Baati Choorma:
- For Dal, mix all dals (lentils) together and add them to a cooker with water, salt, and turmeric powder and bring to a boil. Once cooked, add cooking oil in another pan and add red chili, ginger, garlic, and cumin seeds. Now, add this mixture to the dal and garnish it with fresh coriander leaves.
- For making Baati, put flour, oil, salt, turmeric powder, and ajwain into a bowl. Mix this batter tightly and make small round balls using hands. Heat these balls on a grill. Once done, dip them in Ghee.
- For making Choorma, crush 6-7 baati in a grinder. Take the mixture out and pour some Ghee and sugar over it. Mix everything well and heat it in a pan. Add cardamoms, cashews, or almonds for taste. Now, serve them together.
2. Pyaaz Kachori
This is one of the best Rajasthani vegetarian recipes. One can enjoy these kachoris for breakfast as people used to do in Rajasthan. Meanwhile, you can enjoy this lip-smacking snack any time of the day. This meal is a variation of kachori. Here, kachoris are filled with onions, spices, and potatoes.
You can easily find this puff pastry at every food corner in Rajasthan. These kachoris go well with sour and sweet tamarind sauce.
Things you need:
For dough:
- 2 cups of maida/refined flour
- 1 pinch of ajwain
- 4 tablespoon of oil
- Salt to taste
For Filling:
- 2 tablespoon of oil
- 1 pinch of asafetida/heeng
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 3 tablespoon of besan
- 1 teaspoon of red chili powder
- 1 teaspoon of amchoor powder
- ½ teaspoon of black salt
- ½ teaspoon of garam masala
- 1 medium chopped onion
- 2 small green chilies
- 2 medium boiled, mashed potatoes
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 sliced onion
- Salt to taste
How to make Pyaaz Kachori:
To prepare the filling, heat a pan and add oil to it. Put in other spices, chopped garlic, and heeng. Fry them for a minute on low flame. Add besan, amchoor powder, black salt, garam masala, and red chili powder. Roast them for 2 minutes.
- Next, add onions, green chili, and salt. Once cooked, add mashed potatoes to it. Stir and add sugar to it. Cook this mixture until sugar is dissolved really well. Lastly, add sliced onion and turn the flame OFF.
- To prepare the dough, take a kneading plate and add maida, salt, and ajwain. Pour some oil and mix them well. After this, add water slowly while kneading to form a soft dough. Once done, cover it with a moist cloth and set aside for about 30 minutes.
- Now, work on making kachoris. Take the filling mixture and make small 10-20 round balls. Take the dough and divide it into 9 large portions. Take a portion of dough and flatten its edges using your fingers while keeping the center thick.
- Fill up the center with the other balls for filling. Stick all the sides together by gathering them. Now, roll the ball to make it smooth and follow up with other portions. Keep them aside and after a while, flatten the kachori using your fingers and work out a concave shape.
- To deep fry kachoris, heat some oil in a frying pan and flash fry your kachoris for 5-8 seconds in sections. Add more oil and turn the flame OFF. Fry your kachoris again on medium heat. After a minute, turn the flame ON and deep fry kachoris for about 15-18 minutes. Take them out and serve with chutney!
3. Shahi Gatte
This Rajasthani dish is also called Govind Gatte. Shahi Gatte is a deep fried besan dumpling, which is filled with indigenous nuts. These dumplings are dipped in thick gravy. This delicious gravy is typically made with curd, and you can enjoy it with hot chapattis or rice.
Things you need:
For Gatte:
- 1 cup Besan (Chickpea Flour)
- ½ teaspoon of turmeric powder
1 teaspoon of salt
- 1 tablespoon of Ghee
- ½ teaspoon of red chili powder
- A pinch of heeng (Asafoetida)
For Curry:
- 1 cup of curd
- 2 green chilies
- 4 garlic cloves
- 1” ginger
- 1 teaspoon of cumin seeds
- 1 teaspoon of black mustard seeds
- 1 tablespoon of oil
- 1 teaspoon of salt
- ¼ teaspoon of garam masala
- ½ teaspoon of red chili powder
- ½ teaspoon of turmeric powder
- ½ teaspoon of coriander powder
- A pinch of asafetida/heeng
How to make Shahi Gatte:
- To make Gatte, put Besan in a large bowl and add other ingredients like salt, red chili powder, turmeric powder, and asafetida. Mix everything well.
Add Ghee to the dry mixture and mix it by hand. Now, slowly add a ¼ cup of water to get a stiff and smooth dough. Once done, apply oil on your hands and make long rolls about 3 inches long and ½ inch thick.
- Take a pan and half fill it with water. When water boils, add the rolls to it and cook them for about 4 minutes. Take them out once they start to float on the water surface and allow them to cool on a plate. After a while, cut these rolls into 1” pieces.
- To make curry, heat oil in a pan and add spices like mustard seeds, cumin seeds, asafetida, and the paste of ginger, garlic, and green chilies. Cook them for a minute on low flame and then, add a ½ cup of water to it.
- Add curd and mix it well. Adjust the gravy consistency by adding more water. Once oil comes up on the surface, add Gattas. Cook on simmer for 5 minutes and you are done!
4. Lal Maas
When it comes to non-vegetarian recipes, one cannot leave behind Lal Mass. This authentic dish from Rajasthan has a mouth-watering and spicy tanginess. This spicy and red meat curry comes straight out of the Rajasthani royal kitchens.
Lal Mass is made with major portions of mutton, which are marinated in spices and curd. Its innovative preparation style helps in preserving it well. On the other hand, spices improve one’s metabolism and immunity. You can relish this non-vegetarian dish with rice and chapattis.
Things you need:
- 2 chopped small onions
- 2 chopped green chilies
- 20 red chilies
- 2 teaspoon coriander seeds
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 cup mustard oil
- 10 chopped garlic cloves
- 1 piece chopped ginger
- ½ kilograms lamb
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup kachri powder
- 4 pods cardamom
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 pod black cardamom water
- Handful of chopped coriander leaves
How to make Lal Maas:
- Firstly, roast the red chilies and add cumin seeds and coriander seeds to it. Once done, grind this mixture to a fine powder.
- Heat oil in a pan and put in ginger and garlic. Upon turning slightly brown, put in the lamb pieces. Mix everything well and add salt and kachri powder. It will add a tangy flavor to the meat.
- Add onions and roast them well. Once done, add black pepper, mace, cinnamon, cardamom, black cardamom, and red chili powder. Stir and roast for a while.
- Now, cook the lamb by adding adequate water. Once cooked, take out all the lamb pieces and strain the gravy to get rid of the whole spices.
Put the meat pieces back into the strained gravy and cook on low heat. Add a ½ cup of water and coriander leaves. Upon reaching a good consistency, turn the flame OFF. Serve it hot!
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5. Safed Maas
Mohan Maas is one of the authentic Rajasthani chicken recipes. This is a perfect dish for the Maharajas. It is prepared with mild spices and milk that makes it really juicy and tender. Safed Maas comes with gravy infused with the succulence of onion, ginger, and cardamom. All of these authentic seasonings bring out the rich flavor of the dish.
Things you need:
- 200 grams meat
- 1 cinnamon sticks
- 2 tablespoon clarified butter
- ¼ teaspoon of cumin seeds
- 4 cardamom
- 1 cassia leaf
- 4 tablespoon of onion paste
- 2 teaspoon of ginger-garlic paste
- 2 teaspoon of yogurt
- 1 teaspoon of cream
- 2 tablespoon of milk
- 2 tablespoon of almond-cashew paste
- Salt to taste
How to make Safed Maas:
- Firstly, grind onions to a nice fine paste and add salt to it. Now, blanch cashew nuts and almonds and grind to a smooth paste.
- Boil the meat and keep it aside. Heat butter in a pan and add cassia leaf, cumin seeds, cinnamon, and cardamom.
- Cook them well and then add ginger-garlic paste, onion paste, semi-boiled meat, almond-cashew paste, cream, milk, curd, and salt. Stir and mix it well.
- Garnish the dish with coriander leaves and white cream. Serve it hot with rice!
Conclusion
So, all you need to do is try these authentic Rajasthani recipes at home. That’s the best way to bring the rich flavors of Rajasthan to your life. What are you waiting for?! Try every Rajasthani recipe you can to get a taste of the royal land!