Jodhpur, the gateway of desert is famous for Mehrangarh Fort, Blue walled streets and architectural relics. Foodies visit the city for the signature dish Laal Maas (Red colour Mutton curry), but the city has a lot of snacks, curries and desserts to titillate anybody’s taste buds. The people of Jodhpur have their own culinary skills to offer exotic dishes for vegetarians and non-vegetarians. During my trip, I visited all the authentic food joints for different dishes. Here are my findings from the rich, rustic and super flavorful Rajasthani cuisine.

Rajasthani Thali:

I bet you will overeat like me but keep asking to refill the bowls. Surprisingly my stomach did not feel heavy. All the items were made by fresh Ghee. Moreover, all of them have enormous food value that a common human being needs to survive in a desert. 

The Thali consists of dal bati churma,makki ki roti, chapati, Paratha, Gatte ki Sabji, Chana Masala, curry, raita, chips, salad, various pickles, aloo choka, dhokla, kheer, gund paak. 

Gypsy Dining Hall at Sadarpura offers the most authentic Rajasthani Thali at the cost of INR 499. 

Curry Items:  

Laal Maas (Jodhpur’s own Mutton Curry):

Every province of the Indian Subcontinent has their own mutton curry. For Rajasthan, the mutton curry is known as Laal Maas. Though known as Rajasthani Dish, the taste is the best in Jodhpur only. Because the main ingredient, Mathania Mirch, is available here only.

Mathania is a village near Jodhpur. The soil of that village produces red chilly that produces the blood red colour after adding it to a curry. Some of the restaurants of the other part of India have tried preparing the dish with Kashmiri Mirch. But that is nothing but a crime. 

Almost all of the restaurants prepare this signature Rajasthani Dish very well. But the best I had tasted was in Jodhpur Zostel and in Gopal Rooftop Restaurant. Both of them are adjacent to Toorji Ka Jhalra. 

Gatte Ki Sabzi:

Gatta or gatte (plural) are gram flour (besan) roundels which are added to a yoghurt based gravy. Gatte ki sabji is a popular gravy based dish for vegetarians. Usually this dish consists of thick gravy and served with roti or chapati.

Gopal Rooftop Restaurant is the most authentic restaurant for Gatte Ki Sabji.

Haldi Ki Sabzi:

Haldi is turmeric. Haldi ki Sabji, the famous veg item in Rajasthani cuisine, is making a yoghurt based thick gravy after tossing haldi stems in Ghee. The dish is not only tasty but also has enormous food value as turmeric is an antioxidant and natural antibiotic.

Gopal Rooftop Restaurant is the most authentic restaurant for Haldi Ki Sabji.

Gulab Jamun ki Sabji:

First I was a bit surprised as Gulab Jamun is probably the most popular sweet dish in India. I was unsure how to make a curry item with this. However, Chanar Dalna and Rasgulla Curry are well known curries. So, I visited Shandaar Sweet Home near the Jodhpur Railway Station. The manager of Zostel suggested that I should visit that food joint Gulab Jamun Ki Sabji.  However, he warned me about the shabby ambience of that restaurant. Apparently, the food joint looked like a place for the subaltern crowd. But I decided to have dinner there. 

The taste of Gulab Jamun Ki Sabji was overwhelming. Fried Gulab Jamun balls are simmered in a savoury onion- tomato gravy. Khoya and paneer paste are added to make the gravy rich in flavour. The entire cooking is done in pure Ghee.  

Dal Bati Churma:

Dal Bati Churma is probably the most common dish in Marwar area of Rajasthan. I tasted it in several places. All of them are more or less the same in taste.

Snacks:

Let’s start from breakfast. I started from Ghanta Ghar. Walking for about a half kilometre towards the station I reached Janta Sweets. I tried:

Pyaj Kachori:

Kande ki Kachori or Pyaj Kachori is a fried pastry stuffed with spicy onion filling. Usually Pyaz Kachori is served with bread and ketchup. Two Kachoris and four loaves of bread were enough for me.

I found people having Chhole Batore and Samosa. I tried samosa there. No doubt about its taste but there is a better snacks corner that I explored in the afternoon. 

Standing in front of Ghanta Ghar or walking along the Nayi Sarak from there, a tangy smell of Indian fried item would ask you to stop. Your saliva will start craving and sniffing deeply you will first see a crowd with different vadas, pakoras and samosas. Heading towards the crowd, you will reach the snacks joint Shahi Samosa.

It was a sinful evening for me.  I tried all of their signature snacks. Let me share one by one. 

Shahi Samosa:

The shop is eponymous to the menu item!!! The samosa (or Singara in Bengali)  was not only big in size but also contained a good amount of potato and vegetable stuffing inside it. Moreover the samosa was fried in pure Ghee and the aroma of hing was just heavenly.

Mirchi Vada:

Next I tried Mirchi Vada, a deep fried pastry stuffed with green chilly and cauliflower. Like Samosa, Mircha Vara is also a common snack in the entire India but this one has a special aroma. First of all, Mircha Vada in Jodhpur is stuffed with local chilly and somehow the stuffing had a different taste probably by the virtue of local cauliflower and herbs in the stuffing. 

Deserts:

Both Rajput and Marwari communities are fond of sweets and lassi. Hence, Jodhpur, the gateway of desert, is famous for desserts. To sweeten my tongue, I was suggested by the locals to check out Shri Mishrilal Hotel at Ghanta Ghar. Almost everyday I visited the shop. Let me share the dishes I tasted.

Makhaniya Lassi:

Though Lassi is a famous dessert in India, Makhaniya Lassi had something different that I could not recognise initially. Later I came to know that the speciality was in the milk. Camel milk is used to prepare the same. Although this shop does not add saffron in Makhaniya Lassi. That makes the taste natural.

Mawa Kachori:

Mawa Kachori, a popular Rajasthani Sweet dish is a crunchy sweet crust filled with sweetened Khoya and lots of nuts.

Gund Paak:

Gund Paak is a famous dry sweet of Jodhpur. It is made of boiled milk, cream, sugar, nuts, and cardamom.

Jalebi:

Like other parts of India, Jalebis are famous in Jodhpur. Obviously frying in pure ghee added more taste in Jalebis.

Travel blog on Jodhpur is coming soon.