Rajasthani Bharwan Mirch (Green Chillies stuffed with Chickpea flour)

Getting back into my Rajasthani mould 🙂 , this post presents another speciality from the desert state – Bharwan Mirch. Yes, this inadvertently continues to spread the best of Rajasthani cuisine as I simply cannot resist myself to share more and more speciality of my wonderful Rangeelo Rajasthan ;). For the benefit of all, “Bharwan” in Hindi means stuffed and “Mirch” means green chilli; essentially it is a side dish, made up of green chillies stuffed with spicy chickpea flour mix. Do note that the green chillies used are the long, thick green ones as they tend to be less spicy than the regular small,thin green chillies.

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Mawa Malpua

Yes, this is again a speciality from my desert state of Rajasthan (Western India) 🙂 Mawa Malpua is a high calorie dessert which people mostly enjoy in the festivals like Diwali, and Holi in North/West India. So with this one, I am definitely not wearing my healthy/calorie conscious hat. Malpua comes in many different types as per the different regions of India – Malpua is made up with khoya and served with sweetened thick milk (rabri) in Rajasthan, in Maharastra, Malpua is made with banana or coconut. Malpua is also served to Lord Jagannath during Rathyatra in Orissa (an Eastern state in India).

Daal Baati Churma – an ode to the land of Rajasthan

This Rajasthani special is indeed the best of Rajasthan’s cuisine and a real gem from India. Even though we refer it as one dish (of 3 words), it actually is a triple whammy of spicy Daal, crispy Baati and the rich/sweet Churma.

Cucumber Curry (Kheere ki Sabji) – now that’s unheard of

Most people use cucumber in salads and/or in raita (dip).  I was also part of this group till marriage. I was introduced to this curry for the 1st time at my husband’s place. I have to admit it – it was a lovely surprise to see cucumber in curry form; and it was indeed tasty and, a quick one to turnaround when in hurry.

Green Peppers with chickpea flour (Besan wali Shimla Mirch)

For the benefit of everyone, Pepper is also popular as Bell pepper or Capsicum. This Post is based one of my Mumma’s hit dish – she used to cook green peppers with chickpea flour so perfect that whenever she was cooking them, our neighbours would call in to demand some for themselves; they used to state that the aroma was simply irresistible.

Papad Mangodi ki Sabji

I am sure all of you would now be aware that I come from the western part of India – through my multiple mentions in the previous posts. My state in this western part – “Rajasthan” – is an arid, desert region and hence is generally unsuitable for growing vegetables. This is the reason why people from this region have the routine of preserving vegetables and lentils by dehydrating them, and then using them to prepare various dishes.

Small Dry Kachori

Being from Bikaner (in the state of Rajasthan, India), I am a normal “Bikaneri” – in simple words, a complete foodie. I love both sweets and savouries. Some of the usual Bikaneri savouries are Kachori, samosa, paneer kofta, bhujia….the list can go on and on. However living in London doesn’t always help me get the original taste.

My 1st Rajasthani Delicacy – Patod ki Sabji

Being a Rajasthani/Marwadi born and brought up in Bikaner, I have always loved curry/sabjis which are made of Chickpea flour (Gramflour aka Besan). Rajasthani cuisine is famous for using lentils / chickpea flour in their food and making different and delicious vegetables curries. Though there are multiple different types of such curries, all of them are pretty unique in their own taste.