Typically Gujarati

A typical Gujarati ‘thali’ consists of “roti”, “dal” or pulses, “kadhi”, rice, and “shaak” or cooked vegetable dish. It is accompanied with “chhaas” or butter milk and “papads”. You will also find “athanus” or pickles along side of the plate.

Your taste buds can make a trip from spicy to pungent to a bit sweet to sour to the bland or salty buttermilk all in one meal

Gujaratis are foodies. One of the qualities that have maintained the culture of Gujarat is that the people here hold on to their traditional cuisine recipes. Of course, they may try cross-cultural cooking and even alter their recipes to cater to the intermingling crowd, yet certain dishes stick to their classic style of flavoring and cooking. Gujaratis don’t intend to uproot the unique flavor that is so typical to this land.

Rice on a Gujarati Platter

The “dal-bhaat” is a famous dish here. It consists of a mixture of cooked rice and cooked pulses. They are cooked separately, but are eaten after mixing the two in the plate. This makes for a yummy meal that not only fills the stomach, but spreads its warmth and flavor through all your senses.

Gujarati “masala bhaat” is yet another famous recipe that uses rice. Although it’s a Maharashtrian dish, Gujaratis have added their own unique flavor to it to create a different recipe. This is spicy and scrumptious dish perfect for a cold day or rainy day. It is a version of vegetable “pulao”. In this recipe, the rice is cooked together with several different vegetables. A dallop of ghee is added on top of steaming “masala bhaat” and you have a hearty meal to remember.

Gujaratis can do more to rice than just toss it into a “bhaat”. This grain holds an important position in Gujarati cuisine.

For example, you can have yummy plate of steamed rice flavored with sugar, saffron and dried fruits. Then, there is the “khatta-mittha bhaat” or sour and sweet rice dish, which consists of rice cooked with potatoes and spices done yellow in color and garnished with lemon peels.

“Khichdi” is a staple food, especially if you go towards Surat. It is a dish made by cooking rice and lentils or mung beans together. It is accompanied with buttermilk and pickles. “Oondhiyu” is yet another savory dish made of mixed vegetables and cooked in earthen pots to give it a distinct taste.

If you visit Saurashtra, be ready for sizzling “kathiyavad” taste. You can relish the hottest spicy meal, completely vegetarian, here. This may put your taste buds on fire, but it is worth trying. People here use ghee, oil, sugar, salt, jaggery, garlic, green chilies and ginger in ample amounts in their dishes. To completely enjoy this cuisine, you must shed your dietary inhibitions and just go for it.

While in Gujarat you cannot miss “mumra” puffed rice preparations. They are everywhere in the state. End your spicy journey with a nice helping of “doodhpak” which is a rice pudding. It’s a popular Gujarati dessert made by cooking rice with milk and sugar and flavoring it with raisins, cardamom, cashews, almonds, pistachios and saffron. You can already feel the richness and the flavor of the variety of dishes offered here.