A Royal Platter From Rangeelo Rajasthan

Rajasthan is the land of kings and queens. Its rich and vibrant culture, colourful traditions, heritage, everything spells majestic in the land of Rajasthan. And the Rajasthani wedding cuisine is no exception. Like the customs and traditions, the Marwari wedding spread is sumptuous, elaborate and full of mouth-watering vegetarian dishes. The people of Marwar love their food and put in tremendous effort and attention in preparing the meals.

Every item on the Rajasthani food menu has a distinct and delicious taste. The Dal Baati Churma is a traditional round-shaped food served with Rajasthani spicy dal (lentils) and sweet churma prepared with wheat flour, ghee sugar and dry fruits. Ker Sangri is a fusion of ker berry and sangri beans and other spices, and is an important part of the wedding food menu. Rajasthani Kadhi is a light and healthy dish prepared with chickpeas flour and yoghurt and goes well with rice. Raj Kachori is another popular dish with stuffing of beans, spices, hing, etc. Gatte ka Pulao is a delicious and popular Marwari dish made from besan and added to rice with select seasonings; it tastes best with yoghurt. Methi Bajra Poori is deep-fried puffed bread made with fenugreek leaves and millet flour. It doesn’t absorb much oil and is healthy too. To top it there is Ghevar, a festive Rajasthani sweet dish comprising a disc-shaped sweet cake soaked in sugar syrup. Balushahi is a doughnut-shaped crunchy and deep-fried dessert made from white flour, and coated in sugar syrup along with select toppings.

Tickle your palate and mood by exploring the vibrant food culture of Rajasthani as Maharaj Bhawar Singh, Corporate Chef of Khandani Rajdhani, a Marwar food restaurant in Mumbai, takes you on a journey of traditional wedding platter.

Gajar ka Halwa

Ingredients

• 1 kg carrot, grated
• 200 gm desi ghee
• 200 gm khoya (mawa)
• 200 gm sugar
• 10 gm green cardamom, powdered
• 25 gm raisins, chopped
• 25 gm cashewnuts, slivered
• 20 gm pistachios, slivered

Method

• Cook the carrot on slow heat in a kadhai stirring occasionally to remove the moisture.
• Add ghee and sauté for 10 minutes.
• In a separate kadhai, roast khoya on medium heat. Add it to the sautéed carrot mix evenly.
• Then add sugar and cook till the consistency becomes thick.
• Added cardamom powder and chopped raisins and set aside.
• Garnish with pistachio and cashew silvers and serve warm.

Gajar Ka Halwa

Fruit Shrikhand

Ingredients

• 1 kg curd
• 300 gm sugar powder
• 1 gm saffron strands
• 1 tbsp hot milk
• ½ tbsp cardamom powder
• 200 g, fresh fruits (apples, papaya, grapes, chikoo), chopped
• 1 tbsp pistachios, chopped
• 1 tbsp almonds, chopped

Method

• Hang the curd in a muslin cloth in cool place for three hours.
• Add saffron strands to warm milk to form saffron colour mixture.
• Mix together hung curd, powdered sugar, saffron mixture and cardamom powder.
• Whip all the ingredients to form an even mixture.
• Add freshly cut fruits.
• Garnish with pistachios and almonds and serve.

Rajwadi Khichdi

Ingredients

• 500 gm rice
• 100 gm potatoes (cut into chips)
• 100 gm onions, sliced
• 2 tbsp garlic paste
• 1 pinch hing
• 50 gm green peas
• 20 gm green chilli, chopped
• 1 tbsp whole cumin seeds
• 1 tbsp mustard seeds
• ½ tbsp clove
• 6 pieces bay leaf
• Salt to taste
• 2 tbsp desi ghee
• 1 tbsp pistachio, chopped
• 1 tbsp almond, chopped

Method

1. Soak the rice in water for 30 minutes and drain water.
2. Heat ghee and oil in a pan for tempering. Then add jeera, mustard seeds, bay leaf, garlic, onion and hing.
3. Add potatoes and sauté.
4. Add green peas, dry fruits and green chillies.
5. Add rice and cook on a slow heat till done.
6. Serve hot with Rajasthani Kadhi.

Rajwadi Khitchdi

Dal Baati Churma

For the dal

• 200 gm green moong dal
• 50 gm chana dal
• 1 tbsp garlic, chopped
• 1 medium-sized onion, finely chopped
• 1 medium-sized tomato, finely chopped
• 2 tsp chilli powder
• 1tsp coriander powder
• ½ tsp turmeric powder
• ½ tsp garam masala powder
• 2 tsp coriander leaves, finely chopped
• Salt to taste
• For the tempering
• 1 tbsp ghee
• ½ tsp cloves
• 3 pieces of bay leaf
• 2 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 tbsp green chilli, chopped
• 1 pinch hing
• For the baati
• 2 cup whole-wheat flour
• ½ cup ghee, melted
• ¼ tsp ajwain
• Salt to taste
• For the churma
• 1 cup whole-wheat flour
• 4 tsp ghee, melted
• 2 tbsp almonds, slivered
• ¼ tsp cardamom powder
• 4 tbsp sugar, powdered
• Melted ghee, for deep frying
• For serving
• 1 lemon
• 1 raw onion, chopped

Method

For the dal

• Soak chana dal and moong dal, add pinch of turmeric and salt and boil dal in cooker.
• Temper cloves, bay leaf, cumin seeds, chopped green chilli and hing in ghee.
• Add chopped onion, garlic and sauté.
• Add tomatoes and sauté along with red chilli, turmeric, coriander and garam masala powder.
• Add cooked dal mix and let it boil, add water and salt as per taste.
• Garnish with coriander leaves.

For the baati

• In a mixing bowl, take all the ingredients, mix well to form stiff dough.
• Roll the dough into small balls.
• Add ghee in a pan and cook the baati on medium heat for 10 minutes until the baati turns golden in colour.

For the churma

• Take wheat flour and ghee in a mixing bowl; add water to form stiff dough.
• Make patties with your palms with an indentation at the centre.
• Heat ghee and deep fry the patties (kharma) in hot oil till they turn golden brown.
• Turnover and cook evenly on low-medium heat. Drain on tissue paper and set aside to cool down.
• Once it is completely cool, break them into small pieces and grind it coarsely using a mixer.
• Add powdered sugar and cardamom powder and mix well.
• Add chopped almonds along with ghee and give a quick mix.

To serve: Break the baatis on a serving plate, pour hot dal and ghee, and sprinkle chopped onion and lemon juice on top. Serve with churma.

Malabari Mango Kadhi

Ingredients

• 1 ripe mango, cut into pieces
• 1 tsp cumin seeds, roasted
• 1 cup shallot onion, chopped
• 1 cup yogurt
• ½ tsp red chilli powder
• ½ tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tsp coconut oil
• ½ tsp mustard seeds
• ½ tsp fenugreek seeds
• ½ cup coconut, grated
• 1 red chilli, split
• Curry leaves
• Salt to taste
• A pinch of sugar
• 1 tsp coriander leaves, choppe

Method

• Cook the mango in half cup water for a few minutes
• Grind the coconut, cumin, shallot onion, turmeric, chilli powder to a smooth paste adding a little water.
• Add the ground coconut paste to the mango and simmer for 3-4 minutes.
• Beat the curd with half cup water until smooth, when the mango-coconut mixture has simmered for about few minutes, switch off the heat and add beaten curd and mix well.
• Heat oil in a small pan, for the tempering. Add mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds, red chillies and curry leaves.
• Add the tempered ingredients to the curry, mix well and add salt.

Mango Malabari Kadhi

Mango Thandai

Ingredients

• 200 gm aamras
• 150 thandai syrup
• 1lt milk
• 150 sugar
• 10 m almonds
• 10 m pistachios

Few strands of saffron

Method

• Boil the milk and keep aside to cool; then place it in the refrigerator.
• Add sugar to the cold milk, stir and dissolve.
• Add the remaining ingredients and stir well.
• Garnish with saffron strands. Serve chilled.

Rajasthani Thandai