Epicurean Empire

Beginning with the Mughals and re-emerging in fusion cuisine today, the food scene in Jaipur is a regal experience!

I think as an American who had a limited perspective of Indian cuisine, I imagined only one profile for Indian food. When I was growing up, we had very few Indian restaurants near my home and it wasn’t my parent’s preferred cuisine. So before coming to India, I thought I knew what Indian food was- chicken korma, butter paneer and naan bread… Boy was I wrong!

Living in different parts of India has shown me that each area has its own heritage and food etymology. Today though, I want to share in more detail the history of Rajasthani food and focus on how that has affected the food scene in Jaipur.

Without this becoming a full-blown history lesson, let me just mention the origins of Rajasthani cooking techniques. Once upon a time, Rajasthan was not a part of India and was governed in small city-states by a people known as the Mughals. Their food and cooking style was influenced by their traditions and the land from which they came. (More on that in my post: Rajasthan, Land of the Kings.) Today, those traditions still stand and are celebrated by the local people. You can experience authentic Mughal food cooked with traditional methods at restaurants like Handi and Niros. If you are excited to try something you’ve never had and you can stand the heat, I definitely recommend trying laal maas (a rich, spicy mutton dish native to Jaisalmer) or the handi murg (a chicken curry slow cooked for hours in a copper pot). Remember to experience these dishes like a local and dive in fingers first! (Check out my post on Indian Etiquette to boost your confidence before you try eating with your hands!)