Padharo Mhare Desh, Rajasthan

Welcome to the land of the Rajputs, with all its festive traditions rooted in color, culture and music. One of the things that struck me the most when I first visited Rajasthan as a 9 year old with Mama, Papa and my sister was the fact that each of the cities we visited was devoted to a single color.... well, at least the ones we visited: Jaipur, the pink city (was apparently painted pink to welcome the Prince of Wales & Queen Victoria in the 1800s), Jodhpur with the tones of blue signifying being home to the Brahmins, Udaipur in pristine hues of white, Jaisalmer, the golden city, reflecting the colors of the Thar desert... not only was it the most amazing treat for the eyes, but it boggles the mind, especially now, just thinking about how the architects of yore were able to make this happen in the times centuries ago!

Note: No points for guessing which one is which :). Starting top left, clockwise - Jaisalmer, Udaipur, Jodhpur, Jaipur

A most definite bucket list item for my girls, not only is this state rich in its historical significance for India, but can also boast of some interesting facts that took my girls by surprise:

• Rajasthan is the home state for Pokhran, where India implemented its first official nuclear technology testing

• Jantar Mantar of Jaipur is the largest stone sundial of the world, and one of the 8 UNESCO World Heritage sites in Rajasthan

• The white marble,"Sangemarmar", of the majestic Taj Mahal was mined from this state

• Kalibangan, a place in the state, is the world’s earliest attested ploughed field, thus making this place (and the state) a part of the world’s oldest civilization, the Indus Valley civilization.

• AND, Rajasthan boasts of haunted houses... I think mostly folklore, but I'm not willing to test it out... my girls however, they are a different story!

Note: More color for you! Left to right: Bandhej (tie & dye) fabric in vibrant colors, a stroll across the Thar Desert; Typical Rajasthani embroidered fabrics, this embroidery is also very common on leather products, especially "Jodhpuris", the typical footwear in Rajasthan

We talked about medieval forts and palaces, many of which have now been converted into luxury hotels, and feature (have always featured) royalty, tradition, culture, and flavorsome cuisine, making it a charming experience for wanderers from across the world. These architectural marvels of Rajasthan unfold the story of the bygone golden era, heightened only by the exclusive beliefs and attitudes that make this state what it is today, and the kids now want to encounter the exquisite experience that is Rajasthan!

Our Rajasthani baithak (gathering) around the table included the following morsels:

• For starters, we made Pyaaz ki Kachori (a delicious and crunchy delight, with a fried flaky pastry encasing a spicy onion filling) and Kalmi Vada (a typical tea time snack, made with Bengal gram lentils and flavorful spices);

• Followed by Laal Maas (an iconic Rajasthani meat preparation, made with Mathania chillies and a yogurt based sauce), Marwaari Kadhi (a delicious, thick and tempting kadhi recipe made from spiced curd and other basic indian spices) with Bajre ki Roti (a typical flatbread made of pearl millet flour);

• Topped off with Ghevar (a dessert fit for royalty, this is a Rajasthani sweet traditionally associated with the Teej festival)

Pyaaz ki Kachori

What you'll need for the dough:

• 1 cup all purpose flour; 3 tblsp ghee (clarified butter); 1/2 tsp carom seeds; 1/2 tsp salt

• 1/4 cup (or less) of water

What you'll need for the filling:

• 3 medium onions, finely chopped; 2 small potatoes, boiled and mashed

• Roasted and ground mix of: 2 tsp coriander seeds; 1 tsp cumin seeds; 1 tsp fennel seeds; 1/2 tsp salt

• 1" ginger, grated; 3 green chillies, finely chopped

• 2 tblsp oil; 1/4 tsp asafoetida pd; 1 tsp cumin seeds

• 2 tblsp besan (gram flour); 1/2 tsp salt; 1/2 tsp red chilli pd; 1 tsp lemon juice (fresh); 1/2 tsp dry mango pd; 1/2 cup fresh cilantro, finely chopped

• Oil for frying the kachoris

We'll start with making the dough so we can let it rest for a bit while we make the filling. Mix all the ingredients for the dough, and knead it gently, ensuring that you don't add all the water at once... you want the dough to be somewhat bready, yet smooth. Remember that the dough will become more elastic while its setting, so add the minimum amount of water possible! Set it aside, covered with a slightly wet cheesecloth so the dough doesn't dry out on the surface. This dough will make about 5 kachoris.

Next, for the filling, heat the oil and add in the cumin seeds and asafoetida. Once the seeds start crackling, add in the grated ginger and green chillies, and the onions just about a minute after. Saute the onion mix for a couple minutes before adding the roasted spice mix. Once the oil start separating from the onions, add in the besan - this is typically added to absorb the excess oil and to ensure the filling remains nice and dry. Roast the besan for a few minutes on medium heat, and add in the mashed potatoes along with the remaining salt, chilli pd, lemon juice, dry mango pd and the fresh cilantro. Mix this well - your filling is ready! Let this cool in the fridge for about 30-45 minutes before we make the kachoris.

Divide the dough into 5 balls... take one of these in the palm of your hand, and press it to make a flat disc - take a dollop of the filling and then fold the sides over to cover the filling completely. Then gently flatten this out by patting it between both your hands. Prepare the remaining four kachoris in the same way, while the oil gets heated for frying. We need to fry these on slow-medium heat coz you want the flaky-ness of the kachori, but you don't want the filling or the flakes to get burnt! Serve these with a side of green coriander chutney!

Kalmi Vada

What you'll need:

• 1 cup Bengal Gram lentils (chana daal), soaked for 2-3 hours; 4 green chillies, coarsely chopped; 1" ginger, coarsely chopped

• 1 tsp cumin seeds, coarsely ground; 1/4 tsp asafoetida pd; 1/2 tsp turmeric pd; 1 tsp coriander pd; 1/2 tsp red chilli pd; 1/2 tsp garam masala; 1 tsp salt; 1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

• Oil for frying

Soak the lentils for a couple hours. Drain the water out, and then coarsely grind the lentils along with the ginger and green chillies. Add in the spices and cilantro and mix well to a smooth paste, while heating the oil for frying. Take a generous tblsp of the mix, and make into a disc, about 11/2-2" in diameter. Lower this vada along with 3-4 more into the oil and fry for a few minutes on medium heat - you don't want to brown them completely at this time. Once the first round of frying is done, lay them out on a cutting board and cut each vada into 3 pieces (the step of making the kalmi).... remember to wait until these cool down else these'll crumble and not hold out! Next, fry the cut pieces until they're crispy and browned. Serve nice and hot with your favorite chutneys.

Laal Maas

What you'll need:

• 2 lbs goat meat, preferably shoulder pieces; 1 tsp salt; 1' ginger, grated; 5-6 garlic cloves, crushed

• 2 tblsp ghee (clarified butter); 3 bay leaves; a pinch of asafoetida pd; 3 medium red onions, finely sliced

• Paste of 15-16 Mathania chillies** (alternately, use 5-6 dried chillies, medium spice)

• Roasted and ground mix of: 1 tblsp coriander seeds; 1 tsp cumin seeds; 3 cardamoms; 1" cinnamon stick; 1 star anise

• 11/2 tsp salt; 1 tsp turmeric pd; 1/2 tsp Kashmiri red chilli pd; 3 tblsp mustard oil; 1/2 cup yogurt

• 1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped, for garnish

** Mathania, situated in the Jodhpur District of Rajasthan, is famous for its red chillies, known the world over for it's pungency and colour. ... In Jodhpur, mathania laal mirch is commonly used in preparation of dishes such as Laal Maas and Kair-Sangri.

While Laal Maas take a bit of time to get ready, the recipe is fairly simple... all you need is some patience and the appetite to consume it when it's done! You want to marinate the meat pieces, rubbed with a tsp of salt for 2-3 hours, along with the grated ginger and crushed garlic. Then heat the ghee in a thick based pan (here's where I take out my precious dutch oven!!), add in the bay leaves and asafoetida pd, and a minute later, the sliced red onions. Saute the onions on medium heat until very lightly browned... you don't want to brown these too much coz we're going to slow roast the meat with them next! So add in the marinated meat and roast it with the onions on slow-medium heat until the meat starts to change color, about 15-20 minutes perhaps?

Next, you add in the paste you made with the Mathania chillies... these give the Laal Maas the brilliant red color (Laal=red)... you can make the paste by soaking the chillies in water for about 30 minutes, and then grinding these with minimal water to a thick red paste. So add in the paste, and then the ground spices and mix well with the meat in the pan. You want to let the meat roast with this set of spices for about 30 minutes, remembering to stir it occasionally since you don't want the meat to burn and get stuck to the bottom of the pan... AND, while we're in the roasting process, we will not cover the meat... we'll only cover after the next step to start cooking the meat.

Finally, mix the mustard oil with the final set of spices with the yogurt, and add this to the pan as well... once you've mixed it well, cover the pan with a lid, and slow cook this until the meat is fully cooked - this may take an hour or even a bit more, depending on the quality of the meat! Serve this meat hot, garnished with the fresh cilantro, with a side of bajre ki roti or steamed white rice!

Marwaari Kadhi

What you'll need:

• For the pakoras: 1/4 cup gram flour (besan); 1/2 tsp salt; 1/2 tsp turmeric pd; 1/2 tsp red chilli pd; 1/2 tsp carom seeds; 1 tsp cumin seeds; 2 t-3 tbslp water; Oil for frying

• 1/4 cup gram flour (besan); 3/4 cup yogurt; 1/2 tsp turmeric pd; 1/2 tsp red chilli pd; 1 tsp salt; 1/2 tsp coriander pd; 2+2 cups water

• 2 tblsp ghee; 1 tsp mustard seeds; 1 tsp cumin seeds; 2 green chillies, finely chopped; 1" ginger, grated; 6-7 pepper corns; 3 cloves; 1' cinnamon stick; 2 whole dried chillies; 2 bay leaves; 1 sprig curry leaves; 1/3 tsp red chilli pd

First, we'll make the kadhi ghol (the gravy). For this, sieve the gram flour and add in the yogurt. Mix this to a smooth batter and then add in the turmeric, red chilli, salt and coriander pd. Mix well again before adding in 2 cups of water - you'll have the ghol ready for mixing with the tempered spices.. which is what we'll do next.

So heat the ghee, and add in the mustard and cumin seeds. Once these start crackling, add in the green chillies and ginger and saute for about a minute. Then add in all the whole spices and let these roast for a couple minutes. Finally add in the curry leaves and chilli pd before adding in the ghol. Mix the spices gently with the ghol and lower the heat to the kadhi can cook slowly and add in the remaining 2 cups of water... bring this to a boil and cook for about 20 minutes.

In the meantime, let's get started on the pakoras. Mix all the ingredients for the pakoras, and once the oil is heated, gently drop in a tsp of batter at a time to make the pakoras... keep moving these over so they brown evenly on all sides. Drain out the oil and lay these out on paper towels so the excess oil gets absorbed by the paper. Then add these to the kadhi ghol.

Tip: You can add another round of tempering if you like with a tblsp of ghee, red chilli and asafoetida pd on top, but this is optional!

Bajre ki Roti

What you'll need:

• 2 cups pearl millet flour (bajra flour); 1/4 cup whole wheat flour; 1 tblsp ghee; 1 tsp salt

• Luke warm water, to bind the flour

Confession: I think. my millet flour was a little dated - ideally you should use freshly ground flour for this. So the roti wasn't nice and round, but represented the state of Rajasthan :)... I've got a picture of how it should actually look, and would highly recommend you visit BreadsofHindustan.com, to get an expert's guidance on how to make Bajre ki Roti!

Sift the millet flour, whole wheat flour and salt together in a mixing bowl... knead the dough well with about 1/4 cup of lukewarm water at a time, until it comes together in a smooth ball. You can grease the dough with ghee, cover with a muslin cloth and let it rest for 15 minutes. Next, heat a skillet over medium heat and divide the dough into 6 - 8 equal portions. Roll out a portion of the dough into a round and thick roti - you can shape the roti by pressing out a circle with your fingers as well. Pat one side of the roti with a few drops of water, and place that side of the roti over the pre-heated skillet, and cook it for a few seconds on one side or till a few bubbles appear on top... then turn over the roti and cook the other side for a few more seconds until brown spots appear on both the sides. Serve hot with a tsp of ghee with your Rajasthani food!

Ghevar, Rabri ke Saath

What you'll need:

• For the syrup (chashni): 1 cup sugar; 1/2 cup water; a few strands of saffron; 1/2 tsp cardamom pd; 1 tblsp sliced almond and pistachios

• For the batter: 1/4 cup ghee: 1/4 cup cold water; 1/2 cup milk; 2 cups all purpose flour; additional cold water (about 21/2 cups) to make the batter with a smooth pouring consistency

• Ghee for frying the ghevar

Similar to the patience you needed to make the Laal Maas, this recipe is laborious, but very very simple! For the ghevar batter, add the ghee and cold water in a blender and mix well until a creamy mixture is formed. Then add in the milk, blend, and then add in the flour in small measures at a time, alternating with the additional cold water, also in small measures, to make the batter... this needs to be of a pouring consistency. Heat the ghee in a small frying pan, and using a 6" diameter spring-form pan (preferably 4" high), we'll start making the ghevar. With a spoon pour the batter into the spring-form pan that you've placed in the hot ghee, little by little, making sure you add in the next spoonful of batter only after the cloudiness from the previous batter disappears. Keep adding more and more slowly, until a 11/2" thick nest is formed and becomes crispy to the touch. Drain the oil and remove the ghevar, and place the ghevar on paper towels so the excess oil is absorbed. Repeat the process until the batter has been used.

Next, lets make the syrup: For this, add the sugar and water to a pan, and heat until the sugar dissolves. Then add in the saffron and the cardamom pd, and boil the syrup until it forms a single "thread" when you pinch a drop between 2 fingers. Add in the pistachios and almonds to the syrup.

And finally dressing these up :): Pour a little syrup on the ghevar, and you need to do this super slowly, otherwise the syrup will just go through to the bottom of the plate without getting absorbed. Top it off with a dollop of Rabri, and garnish with sliced almonds and pistachios!