Chapter outline and page reference:
Introduction 289
Gujarati Thali Restaurants 292
Punjabi Food Restaurants 294
Chapatti and Shaak/Subji Restaurants 294
Masala Dosa Restaurants 295
Pau Bhaji and Puri Bhaji Restaurants 295
Ghatia Restaurants 296
Other Fried Snack Food Restaurants 296
Dhokla, Farsan and Nasto Shops 297
Sweet Shops 298
Cold Drinks, Juice and Lassi Shops 299
Milk Shops 301
Ice-cream Shops 301
Flavoured Soda Water Shops 302
Chai Stalls, and Chai Shops or Tea Hotels 303
Fruit Stalls 303
Chapter preview (first three pages only):
Introduction
Junagadh is a city large enough to offer the visitor a very diverse range of food, both fresh, from its many markets, shops and ubiquitous street carts, and cooked, from its abundant and varied restaurants, eating houses and take-away snack food shops. Junagadh is a great place for vegetarian Kathiawadi cuisine, which is served in addition to the standard Gujarati thali at many of its restaurants. Eating out in Junagadh is all about savouring scrumptious Gujarati cuisine for which the city is famous.
Even as long ago as 1838 Mrs Postans found the evening bazaars of Junagadh to be busy with tasty food stalls: ‘Cooks had established themselves in the centre of the streets, and the air was redolent of well-spiced currys, kabobs, and other Indu-gastronomic delicacies; a hungry stranger might enjoy an excellent feast amongst the itinerants of Junaghar’ (Postans 1839). Even nearly four centuries before Mrs Postans visited Junagadh the markets of Junagadh were described in glowing terms in the poem called the Mandalika-nrpa-carita or Mandalika Kavya by Gangadhara (1472 AD) (Velankar 1953): ‘There are heaps of grains of rice and wheat, of beans both black and green, in its markets and large vessels filled upto the brim with ghee, milk and curds are lined up together. There are wonderful and rich varieties of clothes and garments while pearls as big as stars are exhibited in its shops.’ Gantzer and Gantzer (1983) were very pleased with the food of Junagadh: ‘The food…is just what a traveller wants: delicately flavoured, vegetarian, with a piquant sweet-and-salt Gujarati touch, and served piping hot. Gujaratis would do well to sell their easily-digestible cuisine as vigorously as the Punjabis have done theirs.’
The famous Indian British cookbook writer Madhur Jaffrey has termed Gujarati cuisine as ‘the haute cuisine of vegetarianism’. Gujarati food is regarded as unique and particularly distinctive within India, and Kathiawadi food is somewhat similar but has its own peculiar characteristics. Some have suggested that in Gujarat people have perfected the art of vegetarian cooking due to the influence of the Jains, whereas others suggest it’s the influence of the Vaishnav Hindus. Christian (2006) indicated that: ‘Gujarati cuisine is delightfully delicious, almost fully vegetarian, served traditionally on large silver or stainless steel platters, with the accompaniment of rice and a variety of wheat breads. So varied is the choice that one turns to vegetarian out of preference! A wide range of seasonal vegetables, a judicious use of spices and herbs, and a light touch make authentic Gujarati cuisine a gourmet’s delight. Gujarati snacks or ‘farsans’ are delicious. These crisp, spicy fried snacks can be bought in shops and wayside stalls everywhere. Gujarati vegetarian restaurants (lodges) serve traditional meals in most towns and western style food is available in larger cities.’
Yagnik and Sheth (2005, page 13) noted some early references to local foods: ‘In daily food, the preference for millets—bajra and jowar—has continued since the Indus era: in both the arid areas of Kutch and Saurashtra and the fertile area of central Gujarat, the preference for bajra is still widespread…After the Indus era, Gujarat must have continued to receive new crops, grains, fruits and vegetables but no definite record is available for the Mauryan and Gupta periods. From AD 1000 onwards numerous literary works directly or indirectly throw light on the history of agriculture and food. Dwayashray by the Jain savant Hemachandracharya (1084–1173) has scattered references to modak (laddu), shashkuli (sankli), khaja, urnayu (sutarfeni) and vadi, sweets and savouries which are popular in Gujarat even today. The Varnaksamuchchaya of the sixteenth century is a mine of information and lists about 900 food preparations which include thirty-six types of laddhus. It also mentions the names of famous Gujarati savouries like dhokla and khandavi. Idli is mentioned as idari, and idada, its adaptation in south Gujarat, is also referred to in this interesting Gujarati text written in the Devnagari script…We find references to jalebi in the Varnaksamuchchaya too… among common fruits, khadbuj and tadbuj (watermelon), narangi and ananas are local adaptations of Persian words. Following the arrival of the Portuguese in coastal Gujarat, New World crops like potato, tomato, tobacco and maize made their entry in the sixteenth century. The Portuguese words for potato—batata and bataka—have been assimilated into Gujarati…Though the cultivation of groundnut (another contribution from the New World) as a cash crop began only in the early twentieth century, today Gujarat produses two-thirds of the total groundnut production in India and the crop plays a vital role in the political economy of Saurashtra. In fact, in the past fifty or sixty years, groundnut oil has become the most popular cooking medium throughout Gujarat, replacing the sesame of Indus times.’
Dubey (2011, page 180) said that Kathiawad: ‘…with its vast stretches of dry earth has sugarcane, wheat, millet, peanuts and sesame offering some mouthwatering dishes to the world. Pulses dominate in Kathiawadi cooking along with gur (jaggery). Favourites include debras made with wheat flour mixed with spinach, green chillies, a dollop of yoghurt and a pinch of salt and sugar. These are eaten with chhundo (a hot and sweet shredded mango pickle). Yet another specialty of this region is methia masala, a dry powder made from fenugreek seeds, chilli powder and salt. This is liberally sprinkled over raw vegetables and salads and gives the food an especially piquant flavour. Phafda, an omum flavoured assorted flour puri is another Kathiawadi favourite.’ Omum is a seed also called ajwain (Trachyspermum ammi: carom, ajowan or bishop’s weed).
As the Kathiawadi food is made spicy and hot, ingredients such as green chillies, red chillies, chilli powder, garlic, and ginger are commonly used. Everyday Kathiawadi foods include thick rotis called bhakri, wheat flour rotis called thepla (spiced parathas made with curds, and often with methi or fenugreek and lasan or garlic), and rotlis or phulka. The bhakri is made with wheat flour, onion, garlic, and buttermilk. Side dishes for rotis are made with dal, beans, or vegetables. The dal dhokadi is a popular side dish made with toor dal, flour, nuts, and spices. Ringan nu olo which is a spicy eggplant dish, stuffed potatoes, and stuffed jalepeno peppers known as bharela marcha are also served with roti.
Anonymous (2015) noted that: ‘the cuisine of Saurashtra or the Kathiawad peninsula is strong on garlic, onions and chillies. Some of the key Kathiawadi dishes are sev tamata (dough slivers sprinkled over a spicy tomato puree), lasania bataka (potatoes cooked in a spicy garlic paste), raseela shaak (potatoes and other vegetables cooked in a tomato curry), kadhi – khichdi (yogurt-based curry served with softened rice) and baigan bartha (mashed aubergine), usually eaten with bajra rotla. Dairy products like curds are abundantly used in the cuisine of Kutch and Kathiawad peninsulas, which are arid grassland regions with a large population of livestock… also Saurashtra’s garlic spice mixture – a combination of garlic, red chillies and salt pounded together, which adds extra peps to lot of Gujarati foods. Many Gujarati dishes are distinctively sweet, salty, and spicy at the same time’.
Known for its prime quality milk-yielding cattle, ghee and curd are an important part of Kathiawad cuisine. Desai (2007, page 366) suggested that: ‘Kathiawad…is a semi-arid region that grows excellent chillies – one reason for the extra spice in its cuisine. Green leafy vegetables are scarce, so staple shaaks often use ingredients that are not strictly vegetables, as in ganthiya nu shaak (a crisp fried flour snack cooked in a curry), sev-tamata nu shaak (tomato curry with sev), paanchkutiya shaak (a curry with five ingredients) and panch dal (a mixture of lentils).’ Other traditional Kathiawadi foods include khichdi (a hodge-podge dish of rice and lentils), sabudana khichdi (made from spicy tapioca), adadiya (a sweet dish made with black gram flour, nuts, sugar, and