Vinni Mishra

Popular Mouthwatering Delicacies Famous in Rajasthan

Belonging to the traditional and beautiful region of Rajasthan, gave me the luxury to relish the distinctive cuisine the state offered. The cuisine which has become an inseparable part of my life.

Rajasthan as known by many experiences extreme weather conditions and includes vast dry hot deserts. These extreme climatic conditions, scarcity of water and vegetation has led to unique cooking style and food habits of the natives which are noticeably different from other Indian cuisines.

The Rajasthani culinary style is molded in a manner wherein the dishes can be shelved for longer periods and usually do not require reheating. The Royal Heritage of the region as well as the gastronomic enthusiasm among the locals have led to a wide variety of delectable and exquisite Rajasthani dishes including main course to snacks to sweet dishes. Some item like Dal-Baati-Churma and Bikaneri Bhujia have garnered both national and international popularity amongst foodies.

Paucity of water in the region has witnessed extensive use of dairy products by the inhabitants like milk, butter, buttermilk so as to compensate or reduce the water content while cooking. Beans, dried lentils and legumes like gram, coarse grains like Bajra (millet) and Jowar (pearl millet) form the main ingredients of many of the Rajasthani dishes. Ghee (clarified butter) is liberally used in preparing different Rajasthani dishes which are rich in flavor and spice.

Rajasthan is predominantly a vegetarian region but the influence of Rajput warrior clans who savored non-vegetarian dishes lead to the evolution of several luscious non-vegetarian dishes such as Laal Maas, Jungle Maas, Khad Khargosh and Safed Maas.

[bctt tweet=”Rajasthan predominantly vegetarian but the influence of Rajput warriors lead to the evolution of scrumptious non-vegetarian dishes.” username=”contactrwc”]

Rajasthani breads are made out of the conventional staples of the region like corn, barley and millet which are grounded into flour. Breads are generally roasted on a flat pan and served after adding a generous dollop of ghee to every piece. Off late wheat has replaced the traditional grains to some extent.

Rajasthani cuisine offers some exotic and scrumptious combo meals and dishes that are sure to delight the taste buds of the foodies.

Dal-Baati-Churma

This is one of the signature dishes of Rajasthan which has earned popularity across the globe. The dish includes three main items, a spicy Dal, Baati and Churma. The dish usually includes many sides as well, which are also main dishes by themselves like Khata (a preparation of buttermilk and gram flour), gatte (preparation of yogurt and gram flour) with mirchi (chillies) and Karonde ki Sabzi.

Baati here can be of many types, but mainly 3 types of Baati are famous. First is the baked form of Baati which are round hard breads made of wheat flour and are typically served after being dipped into ghee for a few hours. Second is masala Baati which includes a delicious stuffing of potatoes and dry fruits which are than deep fried in ghee. Third is mawa Baati is the sweet version of masala Baati with a stuffing of sweetened reduced and condensed milk.

Dal is prepared of 5 different lentils split gram, toovar dal, moong dal, Urad dal and whole moong dal. This dal is also known as panchkutti dal or panchmel dal.

Bajre ki Roti and Lehsun ki Chutney

Bajre ki roti made with Bajra flour (millet) is very popular all through rajasthan. It is a healthy flat bread which can be relished with almost every vegetable or Kadhi but is generally savoured with onions and lehsun chutney which is a saucy preparation made with garlic. This combination has remained a staple with locals.

Gatte ki Sabzi

This is an easy to digest and a popular curry of Rajasthan which include spicy gram flour balls in the gravy of buttermilk and different spices.

Shahi Gatte

Shahi Gatte or Govind Gatte is a rich and popular dish incorporating fried gram flour dumplings in a gravy and the dumplings are stuffed with nuts.

Rajsthani Kadhi

Unlike the Kadhi preparations of many other states like Punjab and Maharashtra, the Rajasthani Kadhi does not contain Pakoras or gram flour dumplings. It is a quick and easy preparation that id made by spiced yogurt based gravy that is thickened by adding gram flour.

Laal Maas

This is one of the most popular and mouth-watering meat preparations of Rajasthan which is relished best with Bajre ki roti. The unique feature of this hot, spicy and rich preparation is its fiery red color which is acquired by the liberal use of red chilies in this dish.

Mohan Maas

This royal meat preparation is among the most delectable and mouth-watering Rajasthani non-vegetarian dishes which makes a foodie crave for more. The juicy and tender meat prepared with mild spices and milk comes with a rich gravy seasoned with cardamom, lemon and khus-khus (poppy seeds) among other ingredients making the dish even more luscious.

RAJASTHANI SNACKS

Bikaneri Bhujia

This crispy snack originated from the Bikaner region of Rajasthan. It is made by spiced gram flour and then deep fried. Bikaneri Bhujia has become a household snack not only in India but has gained fame internationally.

Pyaaz Kachori

Pyaaz Kachori is a popular spicy deep fried puff pastry stuffed with spicy onion mixture. It is usually relished with sweet and sour tamarind chutney. Pyaaz kachori originated from and around Jodhpur but has found place in not only in rest of Rajasthan but most of the northern India.

Kalmi Vada

This crispy and crunchy snack delicacy is made by the batter of chana dal, onions, coriander seeds, chillies and other ingredients is usually savoured with chilli or mint chutney.

Mirchi Vada

The Jodhpuri mirchi vada is a spicy chilli cutlet made of chilli with potato stuffing which is coated with gram flour paste and deep fried. It is usually savored with tamarind chutney or coriander chutney.

Sweet Dishes

People of Rajasthan are also known for their sweet tooth. There are variety of sweets are both dairy based and non-dairy based. Unlike in the case of most other traditional regional meals where sweets are served after the meal, in Rajasthan they are savored prior, during and after the meal. Some of the famous sweet dishes from different parts of Rajasthan are Malpuas from Pushkar, Mawa (milk cake) from Alwar, and Mawa kachori from Jodhpur.

Balushahi

Balushahi is a deep fried donut made of refined flour, ghee, sugar and milk which is soaked in sugar syrup.

Ghevar

A round shaped created sweet dish made of flour, Indian cheese and sugar syrup finds its place during the occasion Gangaur and teej in Rajasthan. Variety of Ghevars are available in the market during these festivals like plain ghevar, mawa ghevar, malai ghevar, rabdi ghevar etc.

Imarti

A delectable non-dairy based sweet dish made by Urad dal (lentil) batter and then deep fried in the shape of a flower and dipped in sugar syrup.

Alwar ka Mawa

A very famous sweet dish that originated from the Alwar region of Rajasthan is prepared by thickened and solidified milk, paneer, sugar and dry fruits that has made its way to almost every sweet shop across northern India.

It is accurately said that a happy stomach makes a happy man. Rajasthan is not only a state that represents colors and traditions of India but it is also a food paradise for many.

Have you visited Rajasthan? Which of these have you had? If do you visit, do not hesitate to try the beautiful and scrumptious delicacies the region offers.

Vinni Mishra is a corporate professional presently residing in Glen Allen, Virginia. She originally belongs to Jaipur, Rajasthan (India). She completed her masters degree in geography from Rajasthan University. She started her career as a corporate professional pretty early around the age of 18 with GE Capital and was until very recently working with Suntrust Mortgage in Glen Allen. She is an expectant mother and is enjoying her time off from work awaiting the new member to her family. She has a passion for writing and her writing is influenced by the rich culture of Rajasthan which is famous for its traditions and heritage that have been passed along generations.

The Thought Process Behind Indian Moral Policing

February 2017 came as shock to many youth in india when a young man from kerela was forced to commit suicide after days of harassment followed by his Valentine’s Day meeting with his girlfriend at Kollam beach.

The meeting that was meant to celebrate their love came to a sad ending when the unfortunate couple ran into a group of drunk moral police who allegedly taped the entire incident and posted it online. In spite of the police complaints when no action was taken the young man was pressurized to end his life. Stating this incident most of us would tend to think moral policing is wrong but how do you define wrong here.

And more importantly what is moral policing?

Moral police is a blanket term used for vigilante groups in India which act to enforce a code of morality. But as we understand from the incident above it is highly misused and mostly politically driven.

Difference in Generational Thinking

After speaking to lot of people from various age groups I could understand the difference in psychology around moral policing. The younger crowd or teenagers to be specific think any kind of moral policing is not only wrong but offensive. They themselves and no one else should decide what is right or wrong for them. They must be allowed to self police and no one else should have the right to poke them or stop them.

We understand from this that the youth today not only welcomes new traditions but also wants to enjoy the freedom Indian constitution has bestowed upon every individual of India.

The second group was the middle aged group which surprisingly gave me a far more diversified view towards moral policing. Most of them believed it’s wrong and specially how the extremist groups tend to act under the mask of moral police but some believed that obscenity in public is not okay and would definitely correct a couple if according to their opinion an act is compromising the environment or being obscene. Which brings another question over the surface how do we define obscenity specially in a culturally inclined Indian society.

The same age group had some more interesting ways to look at moral policing some strongly contempt moral policing and believe everyone has the right to live the way they want to and some believed that moral policing should rather be done on corruption and other evils of the society, if the society can close its eyes over these far more important issues than it can easily close its eyes on what couples do on Valentine’s Day or any other day for that matter.

What I could understand from this group’s point of view was that moral policing is wrong but the couples should also think before becoming too intimate in a public forum.

Third group included the older age group people with more life experience and stronger influence of Indian culture. They strongly opposed goons in the mask of policing but supported moral policing as a whole. They do not support couples meeting in public and specially expressing love and affection in public. Their psychology comes from the traditions that have been set by ancestors and a strong bonding to the traditional Indian values that has never been open to romantic relationships.

I being middle aged myself tend to be inclined towards the opinion of the middle age group and elaborating on the same I believe that moral policing is not right, specially the group of goons who are not only are politically driven but consider themselves as protectors of society and commit heinous crimes in the wake of it.

I also believe couples should be more careful how they act while being in public which again was the point made by the younger generation. I truly believe in today’s time ‘self policing’ rather than ‘moral policing’ is required to respect both our Indian cultural values and for accepting newer traditions.

And most definitely moral policing if exists should be driven towards correcting far more important issues like Eve teasing, rapes and endless number of crimes that are committed everyday towards the weaker section of the society.

School Shootings : Stop The Negligence Already!

Yet another school shooting, scrolling through the news lying next to my peacefully sleeping baby I read this horrific news!

A chill ran down my spine and I felt the pain that I had never felt before for the parents who lost their precious children. I could feel holding my baby close to myself as if trying to secure him from an evil that may jump out of this news piece.

Growing up I was taught that school is my second home. Like my home I not only learn new things at school but also can feel completely safe. Reading through this news and all the other news about school shootings or stabbing be it US, or India or Pakistan or any other country for that matter has made me realize, what I was taught, what I always believed in is not true anymore.

A school might have been safe for me but it is not a safe haven for my child anymore.

Right before I started writing this article I was listening to the interview of a mother who lost her 14 year old daughter in the Parkland Florida school shootout. She was crying and pleading to the president to make the guns rule stricter in US and making schools more secure for children.

She said she spent last 2 hours preparing for the funeral of her beloved daughter. Daughter who she gave birth to, daughter she nurtured for 14 years, daughter she loved to pieces, daughter who will never come back again.

Get To The Root of The School Shootings

Since 2010 there have been 146 different incidents of gun use within school premises alone in US, some of them were open fires and included not only students but teachers too. Out of these 146, 8 incidents have been notified only in 2018 and we are sitting in February the entire year is left to be seen.

Everyone seems to ask the same question why doesn’t government of the strongest country on this planet passes a simple law so that guns do not reach just anybody and everybody. And everyone also knows the answer to the same question that is NRA’s spending power in every election campaign is enormous. Every government throughout the world is overpowered by some or the lobby which is understandable as money matters but is it more important than lives of our little children.

Every time I think of the shootings inside a school campus the first thing that comes to mind is what if it was someone I knew what if it was someone of my own, and that makes me wonder have our politicians become so ruthless that they have lost the power of questioning, what if?

Keeping this thought aside I also tend to wonder that America being the strongest economy of the world doesn’t spend enough money to secure the school campuses, why? If the gun lobby is strong enough and it’s not easy to pass a law against it than that same gun lobby that spends millions towards helping a person winning an election or voting against a bill can be forced to secure the school and college campuses.

But than I thought to myself would that solve the issue, the answer was obvious ‘NO’. The constitution exists to empower the government to give a better life to a country’s citizens not a better life to a select few. All because a select few have spent money to help you win the election does not give you or them a right to play with the lives of those who believed in you and voted for you expecting better life for themselves. The basis of The constitution is right to life, how can monetary benefit take that away.

What makes this tragedy exponentially sad is that it is born of negligence and ignorance.

No one is asking the government to shut down gun manufacturers.

The only demand everyone has, every concerned parent has to please make sales of guns more responsible, make and make school campuses safer by putting up adequate measures. For strict background and mental health checks.

Not only our children deserve the best education but also safe education. Please stop sacrificing our innocent children for a few bucks.

We talk about our kids being empowered but first and foremost it is our job as a collective society of adults to protect them. We cannot control the world, but we can take measures to make sure our children are safe. This choice is being taken away from parents as guns are made easy to get. And automatic guns at that!

Children are our future, they are precious. I pray for all the families who lost their children and hope this time at least few from the political class would have a change of heart and wonder ‘what if that was my child in that school…?’

Letting Go Got Me Through Infertility

I grew up in a conservative Indian family with strict rules around girls like being at home before 7:00 PM. I found my solace when I started working at the age of 18. Being the youngest one I was by nature a little rebellious compared to my siblings.

Getting a job made me far more confident and gave me the freedom that my young heart was craving for. I met my husband at work and knew immediately that only he can support my newly found wings.

We got married in 2007. My husband very well supported my free spirit, but he too belonged to a conservative Indian family. The expectations from a daughter in law were to wear a sari and taking care of the household.

It took me several years to make my in laws understand that respecting them was far more important than the attire I wore. Don’t get me wrong! Out of respect, I still do wear conservative Indian clothing in their presence and take care of the entire household when at my in laws visit. But I kept my out of house life separate from the life I lived within.

Expectations Of Motherhood

My in laws often pushed me to have kids but for me the time wasn’t right until I felt it was right.

Years passed by in this fashion, with time I found myself engaged in other responsibilities. My father was diagnosed with cancer and my brother became the only earning member. I took care of the responsibilities that came along with my father’s disease and demise. Having kids had taken a back seat with so much going on.

My best friend in the meantime had conceived and had a beautiful baby boy. Who not only lightened my friends life but also gave me a reason to smile during the tough times I was going through. His single smile would light me up and recharge me for the entire day. And after a long time I felt that I had fallen in love again.

Maan as we call him became one of the most important elements of my life, he became the light I was looking for in the darkness of challenges that surrounded me.

And from Maan, I would say for the first time I had the urge to become a mother. Life took a turn again and we moved to US. And with the loneliness I found here the urge of becoming a mother became even more strong.

I had a chance to visit India soon after I moved to US. I finally decided to see my gynecologist to check if we are in the best shape to become parents. I was advised a complete hormonal profile and I anxiously waited for my results to come in being absolutely sure that nothing could go wrong with things. I felt healthy and perfectly fine. What could go wrong?

Endless Disappointments

The results came in and my dream and hope of becoming a mother came crashing down like house of cards. Doctor broke the most unexpected news to us “ your egg count is very low”. I wasn’t even sure what that meant but I knew one thing it didn’t sound promising.

I tried to ask her what can I do to improve my egg count and she said nothing could be done this is how my body is. She also gave it a term “Early Menopause” that definitely wasn’t something I wanted to hear.

My research reflected that early menopause sets in when a woman is stressed for prolonged periods. I searched long and hard on the internet what were the chances of conception for women with a condition like me. Every search pointed in one direction IVF.

I had heard about IVF but never understood what exactly the procedure was and how successful was it. Every search gave me many success stories and equal number of heart breaks. Every search made me more and more sad.

And every month the disappointment of not being able to conceive overpowered my once happy and free spirit. I got more depressed with every passing day. I couldn’t share this pain with anyone and spent hours locked in closed spaces shedding tears and blaming myself for what seemed to be my life’s biggest defeat. I was scared to share this with my family as I was terrified of being blamed as ignorant towards my responsibilities.

Time went by and I came in terms with the fact that I will have to go with IVF and I might even have to get an egg donor. It’s a well known fact that IVF is very costly so I started saving every penny I earned towards it. Though disappointed I lifted my spirits up and told myself that god will not let this happen to me and I will turn out to be a successful case of IVF.

I honestly did let everything go and then my little miracle happened.

The Beginning of Motherhood

October of 2016 for the first time in 2 years and after 9 years of my marriage without any external help I got a positive pregnancy test. The two stripes on the test made me laugh and cry. I became so paranoid that I took 3 additional test to make sure I had a living being inside of me. I found out a place where I could get an early ultrasound to make sure everything was fine. I started eating and living healthy so that my little one would grow up healthy.

As he grew inside of me I fell more and more in love with him. On 19th of June 2017, I held him in my hands for the first and since then every passing day I fall more and more in love with my miracle baby.

The entire experience taught me one important lesson. “It is important to let go” once you let go and believe that you will get it. Keep working towards it, there is a good chance you may get it. To anyone struggling with the same, I say it is important to keep a positive outlook.

Are you struggling with infertility? What do you use to give yourself hope?