Flavours Of India

Rajasthan the princely state of India is almost 2/3rd desert. Still the place rules with its magnificent palaces made of sandstone, white marbles, and stones along with the elaborate dishes of the place. In spite of being a desert the place is so colorful with brightly colored clothes by people, the pink walls of city of Jaipur, the music, the dance, the fun loving folk and the larger than life style of living. There is to some extend Muslim influence with great history. Therefore you can expect some variety of meat preparations though majority of the population here are vegetarians.

Indeed the place is known for their variety of vegetarian food styles. Whether you talk of Lapsi which is wheat porridge or the ‘bhujia-roti’ combination, you have something to stuff in your mouth without any sort of hesitation. If you wish to learn about the taste of Rajasthan and its vivid culture which is reflected in the dishes, read the book on Rajasthan Cuisin by Maharani Gayatri Devi.

Rajasthani food is mostly known for the cooking in Royal Kitchens. Food here is a serious business because of the tourists flooding the state almost all the year round. The cooking here has its unique flavor and they use the simplest ingredients in them. Gram flour is widely used in some delicacies like Pakoda, Ghatta ki Sabji, Khata and others. They use bajra and corn to make bread (rotis). The place is also known for Khichri a particular dish prepared by ingredients like – rice, vegetables, ginger, spices, and some amount of butter. Rajasthan is also known for richly snacks like – ‘Daal-Moth’, Papad, Chips and Bhujia.

Here are few things which you always find in Rajasthan:

Lassi

This is natural yoghurt which is churned to remove the butter and make Lassi (buttermilk) a cool beverage served in summer.

Rajasthani Dal-Bati-Churma

This is a common food of Rajasthani people. Daal-Bati is cooked lentils and roasted balls of dough which is accompanies by pickle berries cooked in different methods. The Churma is a sweet dish made of jaggery or sugar in ghee. For taste and variety some ingredients like coconut, khoya and resins are also used.

Frying Puris and Chola

This is also a Punjabi favorite snack. Grams are soaked in water and later on cooked to a delicious stuffy recipe called chola masala which is served with fried white thin breads that puff like balloons when they are put on hot boiling oil in big pans.

The other common things which you would be able to taste in Rajasthan are – sweets having some spicy flavors, jalebis, mithais, faldas and glass of milk served with thick cream.

Try out these exotic and tantalizing soups recipes for yourself and your family and I am sure you all would never forget its scrumptious taste ever. So what are you all lovers of soups waiting for? Get into your kitchen and start preparing these exciting and tempting recipes.

Winter soup with rice and cheese balls

Ingredients:
For cheese balls:
2 tbsp cooked rice;2 tbsp grated cheese;2 tbsp chopped parsley;2 level tbsp plain flour;2 pinches chili powder;2 pinch salt; ghee to fry

For soup:
2 onions; 2 potatoes; 4 carrots; 200gm pumpkin; 1/2 teacup fresh cream; 1 teacup milk; cheese balls; salt and pepper to salt; chopped parsley to serve

Method:

For cheese balls:
Mix all the ingredients. Shape into small round balls. Fry them deep in ghee. Serve hot with soup.

For soup:
Cut all the vegetables into big pieces. Wash; add 8 teacups of water and put to cook in a pressure cooker. Blend the mixture in a liquidizer and strain the soup. Add the butter and boil for 10 minutes. Warm the milk. When you want to serve, add the warmed milk, cream, salt and pepper. Add the cheese balls and decorate with chopped parsley.

Fruit and nut soup

Ingredients:
2 sliced potatoes;1 chopped onion;4 chopped spring onions with leaves;4 sticks celery,chopped;200 gm fresh cream;1 tbsp butter; salt and pepper to taste; grated cheese; toasted almonds and grapes to serve

Method:

Heat the butter and fry the onions, spring onions and celery for 5 minutes. Add the potatoes and fry again for a little while. Add 4 teacups of water and cook. When cooked, blend in a liquidizer and strain. Boil the soup for a few minutes. Beat the cream and add three-quarters to the soup. Add salt and pepper and mix well. Serve hot topped with the balance cream, grated cheese, almonds and grapes.

Spaghetti and vegetable soup

Ingredients:
100gm spaghetti;4 tomatoes;1 carrot;1 potao;1 tbsp grated cheese;1 bay leaf;1 tbsp cornflour;1 tbsp butter; salt to taste

Method:

Break the spaghetti into pieces and place into a container with water. In another container, place tomatoes with 1 cup of water. Place both containers in pressure cooker and cook for 10 minutes. Extract puree of tomatoes. Drain spaghetti, chop vegetables. Heat the butter in a saucepan; add the vegetables and bay leaf. Fry until vegetables are tender. Add tomato pieces, boiled spaghetti, salt to taste and water. Allow to simmer on a low fire. Add grated cheese just serving.