Rajasthani Cuisine - Rajasthan Food Festival

Travel to Rajasthan to savour the delectable Rajasthani cuisine. The Land of Princes, as Rajasthan is called, boasts of many a fine kitchen - both within the palaces and outside. In the royal kitchens of Rajasthan, the preparation of food was a very serious matter and was raised to the level of an art form. Hundreds of cooks worked in the stately palaces and kept their recipes very closely guarded. Some recipes were passed on to their sons and the rest were lost forever. Rajasthan Food Festival attracts food lovers from far and away.

Rajasthani cooking was influenced by both the war-like lifestyles of its inhabitants and the availability of ingredients in the desert 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 and lack of fresh green vegetables also had their effect on Rajasthani cooking. Rajasthan Food Festival is the perfect time to treat your taste buds.

The Maharajas, with their obsessive love for shikar (hunting) have been largely responsible for shaping the culinary art in Rajasthan. In the world of good eating, game cooking is easily the most respected art form, largely because the skills required to clean, cut and cook game are not easily acquired. Rajasthan Food Festival carries with it, its long royal legacy.

With the Pathani invasions, filtered in the art of barbecuing which has now been honed to perfection and the quintessential sula-smoked kebabs or skewered boneless lamb - can be prepared in 11 different ways.

At the other end of the spectrum, is the vegetarian cooking of the Maheshwaris of Marwar or Jodhpur, who do not use even garlic and onions, as these are said to excite the blood.

Perhaps the best-known Rajasthani food is the combination of dal, bati and churma but there is a wide variety to choose from in Rajasthani cuisine during your Rajasthan travel. It is a permanent feature of the Rajasthan Food Festival. The bati, lachhedar paratha and besan ki missi puri are types of bread peculiar to Rajasthan. Two meat specialties - lal maans (red meat), a fiery heavily spiced dish, and safed mass (white meat) cooked with almonds, cashew nuts and coconut -should not be missed if you are planning to travel to Rajasthan. These delicacies are also avialable at the Rajasthan Food Festival. You can also make your vacation in Rajasthan spicy by trying out the various chutneys that are made from locally available spices like turmeric, coriander, mint and garlic.

Apart from the spicy delicacies, each of the regions of Rajasthan is distinguished by its popular sweet - ladoos of Jaisalmer, mawa kachori of Jodhpur, malpuas of Pushkar, dil jani of Udaipur, mishri mawa and ghevar of Jaipur, sohan halwa of Ajmer, mawa of Alwar, and rasgullas of Bikaner to name a few. Bikaner also has a whole range of other savories and snacks like the world famous Bikaner ki bhujia. At the Rajasthan Food Festival do not forget to treat your sweet tooth.