Rajasthani cooking was influenced by the war-like lifestyle of its inhabitants and the availability of ingredients in this region. Food that could last for several days and could be eaten without heating was preferred, more out of necessity than choice. Scarcity of water, fresh green vegetables have had their effect on cooking. In the desert belt of Jaisalmer, Barmer and Bikaner, cooks use a minimum of water and prefer, instead, to use more milk, buttermilk and clarified butter.
Dried lentils, beans from indigenous plants like sangri, ker etc. are liberally used. Gram flour is a major ingredient here and is used to make some of the delicacies like gatta ki sabzi, pakodi; powdered lentils are used for mangodi, papad. Bajra and corn are used all over the state for preparations of rabdi, khichdi and rotis. Various chutneys are made from locally available spices like turmeric, coriander, mint and garlic.
Perhaps the best known Rajasthani food is the combination of dal, bati and churma but for the adventurous traveller, willing to experiment, there is a lot of variety available. Besides, each region is distinguished by its popular sweet - Mawa Kachori from Jodhpur, Malpuas from Pushkar, Rasogullas from Bikaner, Ghevar from Jaipur..to name a few.
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