GUJARATI CUISINE
Gujarati food is vegetarian- ancient, traditional foods with astounding flavours and textures, all based on sound nutritional principles. Part of this state which runs along Indian’s upper west coast is desert and part is semi-desert, making water valuable. Most of this valuable water has been used to grow staples – grains and pulses. It is with these staples and a smattering of fresh vegetables or fruits and nutritious seasonings such as sesame seeds and peanuts that most vegetarian Gujaratis make their delicacies.
Western Gujarat that is Saurashtra is dry and green vegetables, hard to come by. But the peninsula’s mixed farming provides abundant dairy produce. The food is simple and nutritious and wholesome. The scarcity of greens has also encouraged pickling and preparing foods from dehydrated vegetables. Saurashtra also prepares an all – important spice mixture – lehson masala or garlic red chillies and salt pounded together used in a lot of its food.
Central Gujarat – Ahmedabad and Kheda is the granary of Gujarat. A majority of the people are farmers and the food grains they grow are often stored at home. Grains broken during cleaning is never sold but used in the home to prepare dhokla, vada, etc.
In the South is Surat, the rainfall is heavier here and there are plenty of green vegetables and fruits – mangoes, bananas, kchickoos. The people are connoisseurs of good food, enjoy eating and equal care is lavished on appearance and presentation.
Gujarat has a variety of savoury dishes and a tradition of making and storing snacks. In a Gujarati home, sweets and snacks are always waiting to be offered to a welcome guest.
1. Shaak – general term for a dry, stir fried vegetable preparation such as batata nu shaak, (potatoes cooked with tomatoes); kobi vatana nu shaak (cabbage and green peas); tuvar ringan nu shaak (brinjal and fresh tuvar beans).
2. Vagharelu Bhaat – rice fried along with a ‘Vegar’ or ‘baghar’ tempering of mustard seeds, red chillies, curry leaves and turmeric.
3. Kitchi – a moist, soft cooked mixture of rice and moongdal.
4. Poories – deep fried puffy breads
5. Khakra – very thin, crisp wheat bread
6. Theplas – thin, crisp wheat flour and gram flour, bread flavoured with methi leaves or spinach.
7. Bajra –no-rotlo- bread made from millet dough.
Kdada dhokla – made with a batter of ground rice and urad dal, fermented overnight, steamed with coarsely crushed black pepper.
Khandvi – gram flour batter, cooked spread out by hand until it is paper thin, cooked and rolled up tightly, topped with a tampering and coconut and green coriander.
1. Kadhi – curd and gram flour curry
Savouries generally termed as ‘Farsan’ include Cheewra – a spicy mixture of puffed rice, nuts split gram, dried fruit.
Papri – crinkled ribbons made by pushing gram flour dough through any slitted griddle. Pafra – long, flat ribbons made by dragging from flour dough by the reel of a practiced hand. Sev – crisp, fried noodles prepared from gram flour.
2. Chhundo – sweet chutney made with green mangoes, cardamom and cloves.
3. Anthanu (pickles, made from raw mangoes and lime.
4. Basundi and Shrikhand are the most common sweets besides doodh
Pak and doodhi halwa: sheera made from wheat flour, jaggery and ghee is common on festive occasions. Other sweets include sweet sev and boondi, crisp poories coated with sugar syrup – mewa wadi.
KUTCH
The Kutch region is covered by the desert. Because of scanty rainfall the people of Kutch are hardy, industrious and lead an austere life. Their food is simple and so is their art of cooking. Milk and milk products abound. A simple Kutch breakfast consists of bajra roti and milk along with Khakharas – which are paper thin, crisp roasted chappaties with home made butter and curds. Lunch consists of bajra roti or double roti commonly known as ‘Dabeli’ a vegetable usually potato, curds, onions while dinner is the main meal comprising of Kitchedi with kadhi.
- Kutch Dabeli – pav (breads cut into half; apply sweet chutney and garlic chutney; stuff with a potato mixture spiced and sautéed with salt, sugar, garam masala and, pan fried and served.
- Kitchdi – made of equal parts of rice and moongdal flavoured with salt and turmeric.
- Godia Ladoos usually prepared in winter with wheat flour, semolina, jaggery, ghee, dry ginger powder and eating gum.
- Gud papdi – made from wheat flour, roasted in ghee to a golden brown colour, mixed with jaggery; flattened in a thali, sprinkled with poppy seeds, cut into square pieces and served.
- Khajoor pak – mixture of dates; dry fruits cooked together in little ghee, flattened in a thali, cut into squares, garnished.
Gujarati food is vegetarian- ancient, traditional foods with astounding flavours and textures, all based on sound nutritional principles. Part of this state which runs along Indian’s upper west coast is desert and part is semi-desert, making water valuable. Most of this valuable water has been used to grow staples – grains and pulses. It is with these staples and a smattering of fresh vegetables or fruits and nutritious seasonings such as sesame seeds and peanuts that most vegetarian Gujaratis make their delicacies.
Western Gujarat that is Saurashtra is dry and green vegetables, hard to come by. But the peninsula’s mixed farming provides abundant dairy produce. The food is simple and nutritious and wholesome. The scarcity of greens has also encouraged pickling and preparing foods from dehydrated vegetables. Saurashtra also prepares an all – important spice mixture – lehson masala or garlic red chillies and salt pounded together used in a lot of its food.
Central Gujarat – Ahmedabad and Kheda is the granary of Gujarat. A majority of the people are farmers and the food grains they grow are often stored at home. Grains broken during cleaning is never sold but used in the home to prepare dhokla, vada, etc.
In the South is Surat, the rainfall is heavier here and there are plenty of green vegetables and fruits – mangoes, bananas, kchickoos. The people are connoisseurs of good food, enjoy eating and equal care is lavished on appearance and presentation.
Gujarat has a variety of savoury dishes and a tradition of making and storing snacks. In a Gujarati home, sweets and snacks are always waiting to be offered to a welcome guest.
1. Shaak – general term for a dry, stir fried vegetable preparation such as batata nu shaak, (potatoes cooked with tomatoes); kobi vatana nu shaak (cabbage and green peas); tuvar ringan nu shaak (brinjal and fresh tuvar beans).
2. Vagharelu Bhaat – rice fried along with a ‘Vegar’ or ‘baghar’ tempering of mustard seeds, red chillies, curry leaves and turmeric.
3. Kitchi – a moist, soft cooked mixture of rice and moongdal.
4. Poories – deep fried puffy breads
5. Khakra – very thin, crisp wheat bread
6. Theplas – thin, crisp wheat flour and gram flour, bread flavoured with methi leaves or spinach.
7. Bajra –no-rotlo- bread made from millet dough.
Kdada dhokla – made with a batter of ground rice and urad dal, fermented overnight, steamed with coarsely crushed black pepper.
Khandvi – gram flour batter, cooked spread out by hand until it is paper thin, cooked and rolled up tightly, topped with a tampering and coconut and green coriander.
1. Kadhi – curd and gram flour curry
Savouries generally termed as ‘Farsan’ include Cheewra – a spicy mixture of puffed rice, nuts split gram, dried fruit.
Papri – crinkled ribbons made by pushing gram flour dough through any slitted griddle. Pafra – long, flat ribbons made by dragging from flour dough by the reel of a practiced hand. Sev – crisp, fried noodles prepared from gram flour.
2. Chhundo – sweet chutney made with green mangoes, cardamom and cloves.
3. Anthanu (pickles, made from raw mangoes and lime.
4. Basundi and Shrikhand are the most common sweets besides doodh
Pak and doodhi halwa: sheera made from wheat flour, jaggery and ghee is common on festive occasions. Other sweets include sweet sev and boondi, crisp poories coated with sugar syrup – mewa wadi.
KUTCH
The Kutch region is covered by the desert. Because of scanty rainfall the people of Kutch are hardy, industrious and lead an austere life. Their food is simple and so is their art of cooking. Milk and milk products abound. A simple Kutch breakfast consists of bajra roti and milk along with Khakharas – which are paper thin, crisp roasted chappaties with home made butter and curds. Lunch consists of bajra roti or double roti commonly known as ‘Dabeli’ a vegetable usually potato, curds, onions while dinner is the main meal comprising of Kitchedi with kadhi.
- Kutch Dabeli – pav (breads cut into half; apply sweet chutney and garlic chutney; stuff with a potato mixture spiced and sautéed with salt, sugar, garam masala and, pan fried and served.
- Kitchdi – made of equal parts of rice and moongdal flavoured with salt and turmeric.
- Godia Ladoos usually prepared in winter with wheat flour, semolina, jaggery, ghee, dry ginger powder and eating gum.
- Gud papdi – made from wheat flour, roasted in ghee to a golden brown colour, mixed with jaggery; flattened in a thali, sprinkled with poppy seeds, cut into square pieces and served.
- Khajoor pak – mixture of dates; dry fruits cooked together in little ghee, flattened in a thali, cut into squares, garnished.
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