India has consisted of mixed culture, heritage, occupations, religions, etc. Similarly, food is another thing that varied from place to place in India. Gujarat is one of the Indian places that attracts tourist in a large number. It’s Shoreline and
The Great Rann of Kutch allures the people very much. Another best thing of Gujarat is its food. Gujarat’s cuisine is very much different from other states of India. Despite being located on the coast of the sea, seafood is less served there as Jainism and traditional Hinduism are available in large number. So, primarily it is a pure vegetarian cuisine state.
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| A Vegetarian Gujarati Thali |
The orthodox Gujarati food is mainly vegetarian and is of high nutritional value. The typical Gujarati Thali consists of different kinds of lip plumbing dishes. Each dish of Gujarat has absolutely different cooking style. Some of the dishes are stir fried, while others are boiled. Gujarati food is mostly served on a silver platter. Guajarati’s use a combination of different spices and flavors to cook their meals and this is what makes their food truly exotic.
The traditional Gujarati Thali mostly contains roti, deal or Kadhi, Sabzi or also known as shark and rice. Gujarati dishes usually have a very ingenious taste that makes it purely distinct from other Indian Cuisines. A lot of priority is laid on maintaining hygiene while cooking. Almost, all the Gujarati dishes are sweet, while others have a quite larger concentration of sugar as compared to salt and spices. Jaggery is used sometimes as an alternative to sugar.
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| Traditional Gujarathi Thali |
Gujarati food is highly energy providing and thus do not waste much fuel. The staple food of Gujarat consists of homemade Khichdi, pickles, chhaas, salad, etc. and main course includes vegetables which are usually steamed and dal. Vaghaar is another thing used in dal, it is a blend of spices, which is purified in hot oil and then added to the dal. As the temperature in Gujarat soars up to 50 degrees Celsius, so to prevent the dehydration, lot of salt, sugar, tomato and lemon is used.
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| Gujarat Staple Food (Khichdi) |
Some of the most popular Gujarati foods are undhiyu, thepla, bhajja, gathiya and other farsans (snack items). As we discussed above, the typical meal of Gujarati meal is a thali (which means “meal” in Gujarati), so in restaurants as well as in home, it is often served and consist of roti, dal, rice and shaak (cooked vegetables, sometimes with curry), with adjuncts of pickles and roasted papads. Main beverages of the state include buttermilk and tea. Gujarat cuisine is also distinctive in its wide variety of farsan- side dishes that complement the main meal and are served alongside it.
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| Gujarati Undhiyu Dish |
Desserts made from such ingredients as local sugar cane, jiggery, milk, almonds, and pistachios were originally served at weddings and family occasions as an energy booster for relatives traveling long distances to attend. Now-a-days, sweets served as part of a Thali are more typically made from milk, sugar, and nuts. Magas and Ghooghra are Dry Sweets that typically made around celebrations, such as weddings, or at Diwali. Popular sweets include Basundi, Ghari Ghebar, Halvasan, Keri no ras, Malpura, Puran Poli, etc.
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| Basundi Sweet Dish (Gujarat) |
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Cuisine of this state also differs from season to season depending on the availability of vegetables. During the summer season, spices such as black pepper and its constituent spices are used in lesser quantities. There, people also fast on a regular basis and limit their diet to milk, nuts and dried fruits. Also, people residing in the urban area are starting some new eating trends.
Many youngsters have started developing a taste for oily spicy food. Also, the modern chefs are coming up with the amalgam food concept by combining Gujarati food and Western food.
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| Dhokla |
Dhokla is a vegetarian food item made with a fermented batter derived from rice and chickpeas. This is also one of the famous dis of gujarat.
In coastal areas of Gujarat, the Kharwa community has developed a cuisine consisting of fresh and dried fish. Common seafood of the coastal area includes pomfrets, khandwas, gedadas, surmai, prawns, crabs, lobster and narsinga.
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| Gujarat Malai Prawns | |
So, one can find variety of luscious food in Gujarat and never forget it in one’s whole life. You will surely remember the culture,
tourist places and cuisine of this state and want to visit again and again.
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