Gujarati cuisine

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This article is part of the series Indian cuisine

Regional cuisines

North India Awadhi - Punjabi – Mughlai Kashmiri – Sindhi Rajasthani – Uttar Pradeshi more..

South India Andhra – Karnataka – Kerala – Tamil Hyderabadi – Udupi – Mangalorean more..

East India Bengali – Oriya Bihari – Bhojpuri - Assamese

North-East India Meghalayan - Manipuri - Mizo Naga – Sikkimese – Tripuri Arunachalese

West India Goan – Gujarati – Marathi – Malvani & Konkani – Parsi

Other Indian Chinese - Nepali Jain (Satvika) – Anglo-Indian Chettinad – Fast food

Ingredients and types of food

Main dishes – Desserts – Bread Drinks – Snacks – Spices – Condiments

Preparation and cooking

Handi – Karahi – Tava – Uruli – Other

See also:

History – Etiquette Indian chefs – Cookbook: Cuisine of India

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Gujarati cuisine refers to the cuisine of the Gujaratis from India, who are predominant in western-India. It is primarily vegetarian. The typical Gujarati Thali consists of Roti (a flat bread made from wheat flour), daal or kadhi, rice, and sabzi/shaak (a dish made up of different combinations of vegetables and spices, which may be stir fried, spicy or sweet). Cuisine can vary widely in flavor and heat, depending on a given family's tastes as well as the region of Gujarat they are from. North Gujarat, Kathiawad, Kachchh, and South Gujarat are the four major regions of Gujarat that all bring their own style to Gujarati food. Many Gujarati dishes are distinctively sweet, salty, and spicy at the same time. They can also be very oily.

Staples include homemade pickles, Khichdi (rice and lentil or rice and mung bean daal), and chhaas (buttermilk). Main dishes are based on steamed vegetables and daals that are added to a vaghaar, which is a mixture of spices sterilized in hot oil that varies depending on the main ingredient. Salt, sugar, lemon, lime, and tomato are used frequently to prevent dehydration in an area where temperatures reach 50C (120F) under the shade. It is common to add a little sugar or jaggery to some of the sabzi/shaak and daal. The sweet flavour of these dishes is believed to neutralize the slightly salty taste of the water.

The cuisine changes with the seasonal availability of vegetables. The spices used also change depending on the season. Garam Masala and its constituent spices are used less in summer. Regular fasting, with diets limited to milk and dried fruits, and nuts, are commonplace.

In modern times, some Gujaratis have become increasingly fond of very spicy and fried dishes. There are many chefs who have come up with fusions of Western and Gujarati food.

A very healthy^{[citation needed]} meal popular in the villages near Saurashtra during the cold winters consists of thick Rotis, termed Bhakhri, made of Wheat flour, garlic chutney, onion pieces and Buttermilk. It is a good^{[citation needed]} source of energy which suits low-income villagers working on their fields in the cold days.

Sweets (desserts) made from such ingredients as local sugar cane, jaggery (a solid made from unrefined cane sugar), milk, almonds, and pistachios were originally served at weddings and family occasions as an instant energy booster for relations travelling long distances to attend.^{[citation needed]}

With so much variety in vegetarian food, the Indian British cookbook writer Madhur Jaffrey has termed Gujarati cuisine as "the haute cuisine of vegetarianism" in 'Flavours of India', one of her TV shows about Indian food.

Some of the more popular Gujarati dishes are mentioned below.

List of Gujarati dishes

Breads

• Fulka rotli, also called Rotli or Chapati, made with whole wheat flour, rolled thin
• Puri, made with whole wheat flour, deep fried
• Thepla, also called Dhebara, made with a mixture of flours, mildly spiced, usually contains shredded vegetables
• Bhakhri, made with whole wheat flour, thicker than Rotli, crispy
• Bajri no rotlo, thick millet flour flatbread usually grilled over coals
• Juvar no rotlo, thick sorghum flatbread
• Parotha, similar to the North Indian paratha
• Puran Poli(Vedmi), whole wheat bread with sweet moong dal filling usually made for special occasions

Shaak (Subzi/Vegetables/Curries)

• Undhiyun, a combination of eggplant, tubers, slow cooked with special spices traditionally in a clay pot
• Sev Tametanu Shaak (Sev Tomato Curry)
• Bateta nu Shaak (Potato Curry)^[1]
• Bateta Sukhi Bhaji (Dry Potato Curry)
• Ringan nu Shaak (Eggplant Curry)
• Dudhi nu Shaak (Bottle Gourd or Squash Curry)
• Ganthiya nu Shaak
• Guavar nu shaak
• Tindola nu shaak
• Bhinda nu shaak (Okra Curry)

Farsan (Side Dishes)

• Bhajiya
• Dhokla
• Khaman
• Khandvi
• Patra
• Khichu
• Sev Khamani
• Lilva Kachori
• Chaat
• Methi na Gota
• Soonvali
• Kachori
• Muthia

"Nasto" (Deep fried snack foods made with besan/gram or a similar type of flour)

• Sev
• Ghanthia
• Chakri
• Khakhra
• Cholafali
• Mathia

Daal (Soups)

• Moong Daal
• Meethi (Sweet) Kadhi

Mithai (Sweets)

• Sutarfeni
• Halvasan
• Malpua
• Keri no ras
• Basundi
• Ghari (sweet from Surat)
• Ghebar or Ghevar (sweet from Surat)
• Son Papdi
• Magas (or Magaj)
• Sukhadi
• Mohanthal
• Gud papdi
• Penda
• Barfi
• Ladu
• Shiro, roasted semolina with milk, butter, sugar, nuts and raisins
• Ghooghra
• Jalebi
• Shrikhand, a thick yogurt-based sweet dessert garnished with ground nuts, cardamom, and saffron
• Laapsi, ground whole oats cooked with butter and sugar
• Doodhpak, a milk-based sweet dessert with nuts
• Shakkarpara, a deep fried snack made out of sugar and wheat
• Topra paak - Coconut halwa
• Gajar Halwo - Carrot Halwa
• Gur - unrefined brown sugar sold in blocks^[2]
• Pani Puri
• Daal Dhokli
• Haandwoh
• Rasya Muthia, a spicy yogurt dumpling soup

References

External links

• Gujarati recipes - Indian Food Kitchen
• Gujarati cuisine
• Excellent Gujarati Cuisine Page by Tourism Department of Gujarat