This Rajasthani cookbook revives culinary memories and connections

The Duchess Club at the Savera Hotel was filled with the aroma of fennel, chilli, and caramelised sugar, for the launch of Rajasthani cookbook Relishing Rajasthan by Pratibha Jain and Chef Sameer Gupta. The launch, hosted by members of the Duchess Club, was an afternoon of performance, conversation, and a meal inspired by the book.

Pratibha Jain admitted that Relishing Rajasthan, published by Westland books, in many ways, long overdue. Growing up with the cuisine, she said, had made it feel ordinary; something so familiar it barely registered as special. “For me, Rajasthani food was comfort food. I never really paid attention to it, and never saw how special it was. I was more excited exploring other cuisines because they felt new. It was only when I started working on this book, and spent time with Sameer ji, that I realised how little I actually knew. Even the dishes I thought I knew were different from how they were being made. It felt like rediscovering home,” said Pratibha . 

For chef Sameer, the journey into Rajasthani food came from the other direction. Not a native of the region, he learnt about the cuisine from home kitchens rather than professional ones. The foundation of the book, he emphasised, lay in everyday ingenuity of how simple pantry staples like papad, badi, or even leftover bhujia could be transformed into something inventive and precise. The intent was not to reinvent the cuisine, but to extend it while keeping its character intact and opening up new possibilities. 

“I met Pratibha ji in Bangkok while catering for a destination wedding. I have always wanted to write a cookbook, but I’m not an author. When I met her, she said we should collaborate and we have done multiple R&Ds to develop and test recipes for the book since,” says Sameer adding that this book has been in the works for over three years. 

The book draws deeply from Rajasthan’s vegetarian traditions, particularly the Oswali Jain cuisine of Shekhawati, shaped by community knowledge, home kitchens, and Chef Sameer’s travels across regions and tribal food cultures.

Chef Sameer then walked the audience through a quick baati, a crisp bhujiya pakoda, and an angoor ki launji that balanced sweet and sharp with precision. The room leaned in. Some members of the Duchess Club followed closely, asking questions, exchanging notes, and testing each step against their own kitchen instincts. Others indulged in shopping for textiles and accessories from the State from stalls set up at the venue. 

The sit-down lunch, a four-course affair was chaotic and delicious.  

The meal began with small bites of jhol ki pakodi, and tanatan kofta, paired with green chutney. The first couse was dal baati churma. Panchmel dal, home-style gatta, crisp baati, spicy mirch ke tipore, and a fresh kachumbar salad, with the sweet churma rounding it off. Pratibha walked around the dining area, explaining how to best enjoy these. An assortment of three chutneys – kachri mirch ki chutney, kathodi (woodapple) ki chutney, and angoor ki launji, were set on the table as an accompaniment for everything. 

The second couse was the Bikaneri course which had gehun ka kheech (wheat porridge), imliana (tamarind spiced water) and aakhi badi ki sabzi, made from ground lentils. Everything was generously drizzled with ghee. 

A palette cleanser of guava salad, called amrood ki dilawari was served between the courses. 

The third course was makki ka dhokla with lahsun tamatar ki chutney and fogla ka raita. The steamed corn dhoklas were also drenched in ghee and the spicy garlic chutney and the native grain raita paired perfectly together. The final couse was Mewadi, which brought in gauri moth ka pulav made with another native grain, rajwadi pakoda kadhi, and dhungari papad choori. The crisp papad and rice, mixed with the spicy tangy kadhi was filling and aromatic. 

To round off the experience, dessert featured jhajhariya, a coarse, ghee-roasted sweet with a nutty, crumbly texture, and diljani, small deep-fried dough rounds soaked in sugar syrup.

By the time lunch wound down, the book had already done its job of moving from page to plate, and into conversation. 

Relishing Rajasthan: Time-honoured Vegetarian Recipes from a Chef’s Home Kitchen, published by Westland books, is available on amazon at ₹699.

Published – March 19, 2026 07:00 am IST