GUJRATI CUISINE

Gujarati cuisine is in many ways unique compared to other culinary traditions in India. It is
one of the few cultures where majority of the people are vegetarian. This vegetarianism may
have originally sprung from religions, ideologies and beliefs of the region. Gujarat is a land
of all the religions like Jainism, Islam, Buddhism, and Zoroastrianism (Parsees)
In Gujarat the staple food is millet. Geographically Gujarat is divided into three main
regions.
REGI!NS !" GUJRAT
Western Gujarat, kathiawari is a dry region where fresh green produce is scarce. ut
production of dairy products is huge. !ome of the best pickles "athanas# come from here.
$entral Gujarat, %hmedabad, &heda, and aroda regions are hailed for their food grains and
are known collectively as the 'granary of Gujarat '. % majority of the people are farmers who
grow store and market grains. #ho$las, %adas, &ha$ar%adis, the'las and other such items
are contribution of the region.
!outhern Gujarat, !urat is a region with heavy rainfall( hence the vegetation is lush green
with vegetables growing plentifully.
)or a taste of traditional Gujarat cuisine, one has to try the typical Gujarati thali that consists
of variety of dal, kadhi, two or three vegetables and pulses, puri*chapatti*rice, chutney,
pickles and papad.
GUJRATI CU(TURE
There are certain customs that are followed by the people here, which are uniquely their own.
)or e+ample, the tradition of preparing and storin) *arsan at home. These are then offered to
welcome guests.
!urtis also famous for their %a)har, which is the tempering of food .The %a)har, gives food
a distinctive flavor. ,ore over the ingredients used aid digestion. -ing is used in all vaghars.
"!!# +ABITS
)arsan or snacks from essential part of the gujrati diet those snacks prepared once in ten
days and stored in air.tight container. The first category of snacks is usually deep fried or
shallow fried. The other variety is either steamed. ,ethi /a ,oothia is spiced fenugreek leaf
dumpling with a touch of sweet 0 sour to counter the bitter taste of the fenugreek.
,o&i Na -oothia is delicious steamed and spice cabbage 'farsan 'is one of the delightful
ways gujrati1s eat their leafy vegetables.
Bha$as%adi is a deep fried farsan which is the specialty of aroda. It combines fennel and
grate potatoes filling. It is deep fried long pastry case with a stuffing of potato and fennel.
,hand%i is a rolled savory farsan, made of besan( buttermilk etc. served with grated coconut
and coriander leaves.
Pota.a is fried papad( paper thin gram flour farsan 2a specialty of &utch.

GUJRATI CU(TURE
&utchis, jains and vaisnavs are some of the many found in Gujarat. They have different tastes
and choice in food depending not only on the climate they live in but also their religious
believes.
The 3ain retain from eating any Root %e)eta&le. !o it1s no 'otato, )arli/ and onion for
them.
4n the other hand, the vaishnavs and &utch1s follow no such belief.
4ondhiu is a vegetable medley with fenugreek leaf dumpling. &arela hinda /u !hak is a
bitter gourd and lady finger vegetable dish. This is favorite in &utch. harelu !hak is a
delicious shak of various stuffed vegetables.
% typical gujrati meal is inconceivable without either dal or kadhi or even yoghurt for that
matter. The gujrati dal is associated with sweet taste. Gujrati cuisine offers an array of
different dal preparation. Gujrati dals obtain their flavor from the %a)har.
GUJRATI PREPARATI!NS
5oghurt too plays a very important role in the Gujarat diet. It is eaten in number of ways in
its unflavored natural form or in its derivative kadhi or buttermilk. ,adhi may be defined as
cooked and spiced form of buttermilk. -eethi dal is sweet and sour dal using using jaggery.
!saman is tempered dal water. -eethi $adhi is, sweet yoghurt curry pleasantly spiced and
prepared in all gujrati homes, hindani kadhi, kadhi with lady fingers.
hat and kichdi form an essential part of any gujrati meal and are relished wit the vast range
of dal this cuisine offers. The kichdis are usually had with a kadhi or plain yoghurt. 6apads,
athaanas or pickles, chutneys and ghee are perfect accompaniments to any khichdi.kadhi
combination. Sha$ %ala &hat is a mildly vegetable pulao( tuver ni dal khichdi is rice and tur
dal khichdi, best eaten with meethi kadhi.
"ESTI0A(S !" GUJRAT
3ains do not eat anything grown below the ground. !o it1s no roots or tubers for them. The
holy festival of 3ain sector is 'PAR1US+AN7. 8uring the festival period, 3ain consumes
pulses, legumes, kadhis or flour preparation. 8al dhokli is thick, spiced dough slices in a
sweet and sour dal. "8hokli is made of atta, besan and bajri flour, made into dough and cut
into stripes, cooked in dal#
-aa) is a moong preparation, delicately spiced with ginger and garnished with coriander
leaves.
Chola is a sweet and sour preparation made of chick peas, eaten with gheewali rotis.
S2EET #IS+ES
"arsan "snacks# and mishtan "sweet meats# are offered together to guests. ,oreover, they
don1t form the last item of the meal but are served during the meal itself.
,ost gujrati sweet meats are flavored with cardamom and contain almonds or pistachios. The
main ingredients of the sweet may vary from thickened milk to engal gram flour. Channi 0
sugar syrup made to a specified stiff consistency.
Shri$hand9 sweetened hung curd, flavored with saffron, garnished with almond slivers.
Gol'a'di is wheat flour sweet that is very easy to prepare and forms a barfi, when cooled.
(a'si is broken wheat "daliya# sweet. Boondi Na ladoo refers the drops of gram of which
this ladoo is made.
/ormally, fruits or vegetables 0 grated, chopped or slice and immersed in besan and seasoned
yoghurt, make a raita.
$hutney on the other hand, consists of fresh herbs or condiments, ground to a fine paste or
pureed and eaten in small quantities with a snack or a meal.
6ickles and murabbas form an intrinsic part of Indian cuisine. Gol $esi is a sweet and sour
mango pickle flavored with dry coriander powder, mustard and fenugreek. $hhundu is
shredded mango pickle, hot and sweet. -ura&&o is a sweet preserve, a pickle prepared and
eaten by almost all Indian communities.
,hamam dho$la is a salty, steamed cake made from chick pea1s flour, is very famous
throughout Gujarat. %nd the best gujrati bread is methi thepla, made of dough of jowar and
wheat flour, mi+ed with coriander, green chili and chopped fenugreek.
I-P!RTANT #IS+ES "R!- GUJARAT3
:. ,+A-AN #+!,(A9 It1s a savory dish made of steamed lentil, chana and urad dal
"; 9 l# are soaked then ground, mi+ed with ginger, green chilly paste with soda hing,
salt etc. then left overnight mi+ed with lime juice and steamed in tray. To season
mustard seeds, hing and curry leaves are tempered and poured on top. Garnished with
grated coconut and greed coriander.
<. #A( #+!,(I9 Is dumpling of lentil curry. 8umplings are made of whole meal
flour, turmeric, chilly powder etc. the dough is rolled and cut into fancy shape and
cooked in toovar dal.
=. A-IRI ,+A-AN9 It is a savory dish made of ground chana dal. The soaked dal is
ground with little water. The mi+ture is then cooked in oil with mustard seeds, hing,
green chilly, ginger, garlic, etc. with the addition of little milk till the mi+ture doesn1t
stick to the pan. The mi+ture is spread on thali and garnished with coconut, coriander
and sev.
>. -ET+I NA -UT+IA9 % steamed dish made from whole meal flour, besan and
chopped fresh fenugreek etc. the dough is rolled and steamed then cut into slices. %nd
saut?ed in mustard seeds and asafetida.
@. ,+AN#0I9 % smooth mi+ture of besan, water and curd ":9<9:*<# is mi+ed with green
chilli, ginger salt etc. steamed for :@.<A mins. Then spread on oiled surface and cut
into long strips. Bach strip is rolled out and finally a tempering of mustard seeds and
hing is poured on top. Garnished with coconut and coriander.
C. S+RI,+AN#9 8ehydrated yoghurt whisked with castor sugar and small cardamom
powder, saffron may be added. Garnished with silvers of almond and pista
refrigerated and served chilled.
D. #!!#+ PA,9 It is made by cooking rice in milk till soft then sweetened and
flavoured, garnished with almond and cardamom.
;. BASUN#I9 It is made by reducing milk till it thickens( granular te+ture is obtained,
sweetened and garnished with almond and chironji.
E. PURAN,!(I9 !mall balls of dough which is made of whole meal flour and ghee
"<9:# is stuffed with mi+ture made of arhar dal. To make stuffing dal is cooked till soft
sugar is added and then cook till it dry. This is called puran. The volume of puran and
dough is same, Folled and shallow fried in ghee.
:A. -!+AN T+A(9 % desert made by cooking besan in ghee :
st
then in milk till reddish
brown in color. Gastly cooked with sugar syrup, cardamom powder, nutmeg powder
etc. till the mi+ture leaves the pan smoothly. !preaded on greased thal, garnished with
almonds and chironji. When set cut in small squares.
::. T+EP(A9 Gujrati bread made of whole wheat flour, boiled rice, besan, curd,
chopped green chillies, green coriander, methi leaves etc. Folled in thin circles and
shallow fried in ghee.