Top Three Delicious Rajasthani Starters

In my previous post I have shared my experience of visiting Amer fort of Jaipur. Not only in my previous post, throughout our past one and half month’s journey we have shared our tour experiences of some known and unknown places. And this time I am going to share some of our tongue twisting experiences.

Tongue twisting experiences? Are you amazed? Relax friends, I am talking about food. And who don’t know any short or long tour is incomplete without tasting the local foods. Here I am talking about Rajasthani foods. Like its colorful culture, the food of Rajsthan is also very colorful. The cooking style resembles its war-loving folk and dry region. The insufficiency of water also leaves a deep impact in the cooking style of the state. One can preserve Rajasthani food for several days and it seldom requires heating before eating.

Those who have read this article by this far must be wondering that these all are related to facts of Rajasthani foods. Where are the experiences? Now, I am coming to that part. The most common Rajasthani dishes which almost all of us have enjoyed are bajre ki roti, Gatte ki Sabzi, dal-bati, churma, and various snacks. The main course of Rajasthani cuisine is famous all over India. Here, I’ll share some starter’s recipe that we all loved during our Rajasthan tour. They are not only mouth-watering but also easy to digest at the same time. They are:

Pithore

Ingredients:

1 cup besan or bengal gram flour
1/4 cup chopped methi leaves
1 cup thick buttermilk (mix 1/2 cup low fat curds or dahi and 1/2 cup water)
1/2 tsp turmeric powder or haldi
1/2 tsp chilli powder
1 tbsp ginger paste
1 tsp green chilli paste
salt to taste
1 3/4 tsp oil for greasing , cooking and tempering
1/2 tsp cumin seeds or jeera
1 tsp sesame seeds or til
a pinch of asafoetida or hing

Method:

Mix besan, methi leaves, buttermilk, haldi powder, chilli powder, ginger, green chilli paste, salt and ½ cup of water in a bowl and stire well to make a batter of thick consistency.

Oil a thali with ¼ tsp of oil and set aside.

Heat 1 tsp of oil in a broad non- stick pan or kadai, pour the batter and cook on a low flame, stirring continuously, until it leaves the sides of the pan.

Pour the mixture immediately into the oiled thali and form a uniform layer of it by pressing. Set aside for 15 to 20 minutes and cut into equal pieces, preferably in a diamond shape.

Heat the remaining oil in a small pan and add the jeera seeds.

When the seeds crack, add til and hing and sauté on a medium heat for 30 seconds.

Drizzle the mixture over the pithore pieces.

Serve hot immediately garnished with coriander or Dhaniya Pata

Thandai

Ingredients:

1 Cup full crème milk boiled and then cooled

¼ Cup powder sugar

One pinch Kalimirch or black pepper powder

Make a powder of

1/4 cup almonds

2 tbsp poppy seeds

2 tbsp fennel seeds

1/2 tsp elaichi

20 whole white peppercorns

Method:

Mix well the cooled milk and powdered ingredients and then keep in the refrigerator for 2 hours.

After 2 hours strain the mixture through a strainer and add powdered sugar, Kalimirch. Serve chilled.

Mirchi vada

Ingredients:

8/9 large Green Chilies
Oil for Deep Fry

For batter

1 cup besan

2 pinches Haldi powder

Salt to taste
Water as necessary

For filling:
3 large Potatoes
1 tsp Red chilli powder

½ Tbsp. finely chopped Coriander leaves

Salt to taste

Method:

Cut the green chilies, remove seeds and keep aside.

Boil potatoes with salt. Mash the boiled potatos well. Mix chili powder and coriander leaves with it. Make a thick batter of beasn, haldi powder and salt.

Fill the chilies with the mashed potato mix. Dip the filled chilies in the batter till they are fully covered. Dip fries them in heated oil till golden brown. Serve hot with sweet Imli (tamarind) chutney and curd.