Gujarati Cuisine - Overview

Overview

Staples include homemade Khichdi (rice and lentil or rice and mung bean), and chaas (buttermilk) and pickles as side. Main dishes are based on steamed cooked vegetables with different spices and dals that are added to a vaghar, 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 50°C (122°F) in the shade. It is common to add a little sugar or jaggery to some of the sabzi/shaak and dal. The sweet flavor of these dishes is believed to neutralize the slightly bland taste of the vegetables.

The cuisine changes with the seasonal availability of vegetables. In summer, when mangoes are ripe and widely available in market, for example, Keri no Ras (fresh mango pulp) is often an integral part of the meal. 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, 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 meal popular in the villages near Saurashtra during the cold winters consists of thick Rotis, termed Bhakri, made of wheat flour, garlic chutney, onion, and chaas. It is a good source of energy which suits low-income villagers working their fields on cold days.

Sweets (desserts) made from such ingredients as local sugarcane, 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 relatives traveling long distances to attend. These days, sweets served as part of a thali are more typically made from milk, sugar, and nuts. "Dry" sweets such as Magas and Ghooghra are typically made around celebrations, such as weddings, or at Diwali.

Gujarati cuisine is also distinctive in its wide variety of farsan — side dishes that complement the main meal and are served alongside it. Some farsan are eaten as snacks or light meals in their own right.

Gujaratis will often refer to Dal-Bhat-Rotli-Shaak as their standard, no-frills, everyday fare. For special occasions, this basic quartet is supplemented with additional shaak, sweet dishes, and farsan. A festive Gujarati thali can easily contain a dozen or more separate items. Dietary rules dictate the acceptable combination of dishes. For example, if kadhi is to be served, then a lentil preparation such as chutti dal, vaal, or mug ni dal will also be included. The sweet dish accompanying kadhi will likely be milk or yogurt–based, like doodhpak or shrikhand. However, a yogurt-based raita would not be served with such a meal. Festive meals based on dal will typically have a wheat-based sweet dish like lapsi or ladoo as the sweet accompaniment. Many Gujarati families make and consume moong dal in their diet on Wednesdays. Similarly, there are established combinations of spices, thought to facilitate digestion, that are used with different foods.

With so much variety in vegetarian food, 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. Yet, Gujarati food remains relatively unknown outside Gujarat, despite Gujaratis being "one of the important regional Indian diasporic communities."

In coastal Gujarat, the Kharwa community has developed a cuisine consisting of fresh and dried fish. The most widely relished varieties of seafood are pomfrets, khandwas, gedadas, surmai, prawns, crabs, lobster. and narsinga (calamari).