Rajasthani cuisine
The flavours of Rajasthan
Hearty desert dishes, royal curries and some of India's best sweets and street snacks.
A desert kitchen
So much from so little.
Few cuisines have created so much from so little. In the dry west, where water was scarce and fresh vegetables were rare, cooks relied on lentils, millet, gram flour, buttermilk and dried desert beans, and created dishes that kept for days without spoiling.
At the same time, the royal kitchens of the Rajput courts developed rich, slow-cooked meat dishes, and the vegetarian traditions of the merchant and Jain communities produced some of India's finest sweets and snacks. The result is hearty, flavourful food cooked in pure ghee, often less spicy than its red colour suggests.
Vegetarian classics
The heart of the thali.
- Dal baati churmaBaked wheat dumplings with lentils and a sweet crumble of wheat, ghee and jaggery. The signature meal of Rajasthan.
- Gatte ki sabziSteamed gram-flour dumplings simmered in a tangy yoghurt curry.
- Ker sangriA tangy desert dish of dried ker berries and sangri beans.
- Papad ki sabziCrisp lentil wafers cooked in a spiced yoghurt gravy.
- Bajre ki rotiHearty millet flatbread, often served with garlic chutney and butter.
- Rajasthani kadhiA yoghurt and gram-flour curry, sometimes served with pakoras.
From the royal kitchens
Rich, slow and smoky.
- Laal maasA fiery red mutton curry coloured by Mathania chillies.
- Safed maasA mild, creamy white mutton curry with cashews and yoghurt.
- Jungli maasA rustic hunters' dish of meat cooked simply with ghee, salt and chillies.
- Mohan maasMeat slow-cooked in milk and spices, a dish of the old courts.
Snacks & sweets
Street food and treats.
- Pyaaz kachoriFlaky pastries stuffed with spiced onion, a Jaipur breakfast favourite.
- Mirchi badaLarge chillies filled with spiced potato and fried in batter, from Jodhpur.
- Bikaneri bhujiaCrisp gram-flour noodles, famous across India.
- GhewarA honeycomb disc soaked in syrup, made for the monsoon festivals.
- Mawa kachoriA sweet pastry filled with milk solids and dipped in syrup.
- MalpuaSweet pancakes fried and soaked in syrup, a Pushkar speciality.
Where to try it
Our suggestions.
- A Rajasthani thaliTry a thali at a heritage hotel or a local restaurant to sample many dishes at once.
- Cooking classesLearn to make dal baati or gatte with a local family in Jaipur, Udaipur or Jodhpur.
- Street food walksExplore Jaipur's old city or Jodhpur's Clock Tower market with a guide.
- [Your favourite places][Add the restaurants you recommend to guests.]
Our tip: Tell us about any food preferences or allergies, and we will make sure every restaurant and hotel knows.
