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MOUTH WATERING DISHES FROM
BIKANER
Each region in India has its own
traditional dishes and specialties. In the royal kitchens of Rajasthan,
as well as most offer states, food was very serious business and raised
to the level of an art-form. Hundreds of cooks worked in the stately
palaces and kept their recipes a closely guard ed secret.
Some recipes were passed on to their sons and the rest were lost for
ever. It became a matter of great prestige to serve unusual dishes to
guests and the royal cooks were encouraged to experiment. The tales of
how cooks tried to impress their guests by presenting at least one
unforgettable item on the menu have
now become legends. The food was served in gold and silver utensils and
possible to taste all the delicacies served. The finest cooking in India
was derived from the Mughals and did influence the royal kitchens of
India, as did European cooking. But the common man's kitchen remained
untouched, more so in Bikaner. Cooking here has its own unique flavour
and the simplest, the most basic of ingredients go into the preparation
of most dishes. Bikaner cooking was influenced by the war-like lifestyle
of its inhabitants and the availability of ingredients in this region.
Food that could last for several
days and could be eaten without heating was preferred, more out of
necessity than choice. Scarcity of water, fresh green vegetables have
all had their effect on the cooking.
In this desert belt cooks use minimum of water and prefer, instead, to
use mote milk, buttermilk and clarified butter dried lentils, beans from
indigenous plants like sangri, ker, etc. are liberally used. Gram flour
is a major ingredient here and is used' to make some of the delicacies
like khata, gatta sabzi, pakodi, powdered lentils are used for mangodi,
papad. Bajra and corn is used all over the region for preparations of
rabadi, kheechdi, and rods.
Various chutneys are made from locally available spices like turmeric,
coriander, mint and garlic. Perhaps the best known Rajasthani food is
the combination of dal, bati and churma but for the adventurous
traveller, willing to experiment, there is a lot of variety available.
Besides spicey flavours, S Bikaner is distinguished by its popular sweet
Rasogullas, Raj Bhog, GaundPak, Ghevar, Fini, and Rabri. |
