Favorite desserts are moong dal ka halwa and ghevar. Moong dal ka halwa is a split green gram lentil paste cooked with ghee and sugar. Ghevar is a crisp cake made with refined wheat, ghee, sugar and milk.
Bajre-ki-roti, which is also known as sogra, is an extremely thick and dense tortilla-like bread that is made with pearl millet flour. Rajasthan is one of the world’s largest producers of pearl millet.
Some Rajasthani foods I have tried are daal-baati-churma, gate-ki-sabzi, papad-ki-sabzi, ker-sangri, laal maas, safed maas, moong dal ka halwa, ghevar and bajre-ki-roti.
I'll describe my experience with three Rajasthani foods. I first tasted daal-baati-churma at my cousin’s home. At the time, I did not realize it was a regional specialty. All I knew was that I loved the combination of the dense yet crunchy, crumbled batti (fried or baked dumplings) moistened with daal (a smooth lentil soup). The spiciness of the lentil soup was complimented by the sweetness of the churma (like crumble on an apple pie) and sourness from a squeeze of lemon. All these flavors and textures were tied together by the smoothness of melted ghee, which was poured on top of everything.
When I lived in the village, sogra was a staple for breakfast at my friend’s home. Because millet does not have gluten, I never felt uncomfortable after eating sogra.
