The cuisine of Rajasthan is primarily vegetarian and offers a fabulous variety of mouthwatering dishes. The spice content is quite high in comparison to other Indian cuisines, but the food is absolutely scrumptious.
The cooking style followed in Rajasthan is based on the natural climatic conditions of this desert land. There is scarcity of water and fresh green veggies in the state of Rajasthan, which has an adverse impact on its cooking. In the desert belts of Rajasthan, it is preferred to use milk, butter milk and butter in larger quantities to minimize the amount of water while cooking food.
Dried lentils and beans obtained from native plants like sangria are used extensively in the preparation of Rajasthani dishes. Gram flour is the major ingredient in the making of a couple of delicacies such as "pakodi" and "gatte ki sabzi". Powdered lentils are liberally used in the preparation of papad. Rajasthanis are quite fond of chutneys, which are prepared using different spices such as coriander, turmeric, garlic and mint.
I was tempted to try many of the Rajasthani recipes, I found googling. I tried Gatte Ka pulao and the famous Rajasthani Daal-Baati. Here is the recipe for the pulao. The gattes can be used to prepare kadhi and other sabzis. Should try other recipes using gattes.
On first reading the recipe (Source: Tarla Dalal), I thought it is not a very easy one, with too many steps involved. Keeping the RCI event in mind, I decided to go ahead. But once I made, I found it very easy. First prepare the gattes, then the masala to be mixed with. Finally set the pulao with the cooked rice, gattes and the masala. Its so simple.
Gatte Ka Pulao
Besan - 1 cup
Chilli powder - 1 tspn
Fennel seeds (Perinjeerakam) - 1tspn
Ajwain(omam) - 1/2 tspn
Curds - 1 tblspn
Oil - 2 tblspn
salt
Oil for deep frying
Combine all ingredients and knead to make a stiff dough. You may require few
drops of water or no water at all.
Divide into 8 equal portions and shape each portion into 4'' long and 5 mm diameter
cylindrical roll.
Boil plenty of water and drop the strands and cook for 12 minutes.
Drain and keep aside.
Cut in small pieces of 1'' length and deep fry them.
Preparing the Pulao
Rice - 1 cup
Onion - 1 (sliced)
Cardamon - 1
Cloves - 2
Cumin -1/2 tspn
Mustard -1/2 tspn
Hing - 1/4 tspn
Chilli powder -1 tspn
Turmeric - 1/2 tspn
Garam masala - 1/2 tspn
Oil -1 tblspn
To make paste
Garlic - 4 cloves
Green chilly - 2
Ginger - 2'' piece
onion - 1 (small)
Make a paste of the above ingredients and keep it aside
Method
Cook rice separately. Spread it on a plate and leave it to cool.
Deep fry the sliced onions.
Heat oil in a pan. Add cardamom,cloves, cumin, mustard and hing.
Add prepared paste and saute for 5 minutes.
Add cooked rice, deep fried onions, gattes, chilli powder, turmeric, garam masala and
salt.
Serve with onion raita or plain yogurt.
I am sending this across to Padmaja of Spicy Andhra, who is the guest host for RCI.
Mocha chocolate chips loaf was my first bread making follow by the pizza bread, curry bun and custard bun (I changed the recipe to roti boy lately) which are all free workshop from Mayer. The most I like is the curry bun
because it's just the same as the one sold at those bakery shops and the bread of custard buns are very soft and fluffy. Lately I found Happy Home Baking, she is very professional in baking that I shall learn more from her. I like the way of Sam teaching during the worshop too! He is willing to answer all the questions and shares about the chemistry of those ingredients through email. I did try making those bread that I learn from him, it really works and this again has inspired me to start my bread making journey.
