Food’s Journey

As I travelled across parts of Gujarat and Rajasthan I could feel the type and taste of food slowly change. I saw a broad pattern and this post is about that.

Sweet Gujjus

Most of the items that I got served in Gujarat were sweet in taste. Some were too sweet for me to even enjoy it. That said the popular breakfast items in Gujarat were

1. Dabeli
2. Khaman
3. Fafda
4. Poha

I had my best Dabeli and Fafda in Bhuj. In sweets it was Khova.

Highbred Udaipur

As I travelled a little north to Udaipur, I saw slight variations in the food. Dabeli was forgotten completely. The Poha tasted lot better but the Fafda tasted bad. New items Kachori and Samosa got added to the list. Some shops added Khadi to the Kachori and served it.

1. Khaman
2. Poha
3. Kachori (with Khadi)
4. Samosa (with Khadi/Curd)
5. Fafda

I had my best Poha in Udaipur. Almost all shops served above average Poha. I also loved their Khadi Kachori. In sweets, the fresh Gulab Jamun from old city was kickass.

Spiced Jodhpur

Jodhpur had only three items for their breakfast. Ok four. Kachori (Onion and Dal), Samosa and Mirchi Vada. If you went to a shop and asked for Poha or Khaman, he will point you towards Udaipur. 😁 All the breakfast items are super spicy and are served with plain bread to cut down the spice.

1. Kachori (Dal or Onion)
2. Samosa
3. Mirchi Vada

I had my best Samosa and Mirchi Vada in Jodhpur. In sweets it was freshly made Malai Ghevar from Bikaner.

Accommodating Jaisalmer

Jaisalmer is a lot more accommodating than Jodhpur. While they serve Kachori and Samosa, they also serve Dal Pakwan. Their Kachori and Samosa are not mad spicy like of Jodhpur. If you don’t want to eat fully fried stuff and only want to eat part of the stuff fried, then you can have Dal Pakwan. Again no Poha or Khaman. They have been lost at Jodhpur itself.

1. Kachori (Dal & Onion)
2. Samosa
3. Dal Pakwan

I had my best Dal Pakwan in Jaisalmer.

World Cuisine Pushkar

Pushkar is a place where people from all over the world visit. It is so popular among foreigners that some menus are written in Spanish and in Hebrew. They have all kinds of breakfast from Poha to Muesli to Pancakes to Falafel. They even have Curd rice. Beat that ! There is some strong connection b/w Pushkar and South India I say.

1. Poha
2. Khaman
3. Dal Pakwan
4. Muesli
5. Falafel
6. Pancakes
7. Paratha
8. Kachori (Onion and Dal) (With and without Khadi)
9. Curd rice.

I loved the Dal Pakwan here too. The Muesli bowl was just too good. I had tears of happiness seeing someone serving curd rice in Rajasthan. If you visit Pushkar and miss to taste their Malpua, it’s a huge blunder. It’s so good.

I ate quite a bit of variety in my trip. Thankfully my stomach and health were all fine. While I write this post I remember what Aaloo Baba said.

The more options you give the tongue, the more it will want. Restricting it is a way to restricting other senses and cravings.

–Aaloo Baba