Rajasthani food to feast like kings
Rajasthani food is unique in the sense that for a region that traditionally grows few vegetables, its cuisine — mainly based on pulses and meat — is simply delicious. In no other part of the country will one find so many uses for pulses and of course, so many types of chillies.
Today, thanks to chain- stores like Haldirams and Bikaner Bhujiawala, most of us are aware of rudimentary Rajasthani cuisine, but to delve deeper, one needs to understand the long heritage of Ranas and Maharajas of Rajasthan and their penchant for food which often went from the rustic (junglee Maas, to be cooked while out on a hunt with the minimum of ingredients) to the opulent.
Laal Maas (Lamb cooked in a red, hot curry)
Like most things in Rajasthan, its food traditionally has to be showy and rich. The palace cooks would go to great lengths to ensure that the food looked good enough, else it would be sent back without being tasted. So while cooking laal maas (red meat), Rajasthani cooks ensure that it looks fiery hot, though the actual heat of the dish is much lesser than expected.
Ingredients
1 kg lamb, cubed
6 tsp Kashmiri red chilli powder
50 gm coriander powder
3 onions, sliced
1 cup yoghurt, whisked
1 tsp turmeric powder
2 tbsp garlic paste
2 cups warm water
2 tbsp coriander leaves
1 cup oil
Salt, to taste
Method
Mix all ingredients except oil, garlic paste, water and coriander leaves with the meat and marinate for 1 hour. Heat the oil in a heavy-bottomed pan, add the marinated lamb and cook over a slow fire for 45 minutes or till the meat is tender. Add garlic paste and cook till the oil separates.
Add water and bring to a boil. Sprinkle coriander leaves and serve hot with tandoori rotis.
Kadhi (gram flour cooked in yoghurt gravy)
The North Indian Kadhi is very different from the Gujarati version. While the latter is thin and mildly spiced, the Rajasthani version is thick, full bodied and full of flavour. Many cooks add besan pakoras in their kadhi to give it more body, but it is delicious as it is.
Ingredients
3 tbsp gram flour (besan)
1 ½ cup yoghurt
1 tbsp garlic paste
Paste of green chillies
½ tsp red chilli powder
¼ tsp turmeric powder
2 tbsp oil
½ tsp hing (asafoetida)
½ tsp mustard seeds
½ tsp cumin seeds
1 onion, chopped
Salt, to taste
8-10 curry leaves
2 cups water
Method
Whisk the yoghurt with the garlic, red chilli powder, green chilli paste, turmeric, gram flour and salt. Add water and stir.
Heat oil in a kadhai and add hing, mustard seeds and cumin seeds. As soon as they start to crackle, add chopped onions and fry till brown.
Add the yoghurt paste and bring it to a boil. Add curry leaves and cook for another 10 minutes on low heat.
Serve with plain rice.
Post new comment