Bhujia Love In Bikaner
Bikaner is a city in Rajasthan and it is very famous for its Bhujia! Legit call it The Bhujia Capital. It would not be an exaggeration to say that it is an art owing to the various combinations it has come up with! Despite the unavailability of many resources, Rajasthan has never stopped exploring with what it could do with what it already has on the table!
The result is loud and clear. Now that it is ruling the hearts of many many people in and around India, we would like to take you for a food walk in Bikaner. Let’s go!
Bikaneri Papad- Papad is a lentil based snack. It has various spices in it along with salt and activated charcoal. The proportions are carefully looked after at Papadmalji’s factory outlet where everything is made from scratch.
We were fortunate enough to witness how the machine system in the factory worked! We have linked a video below for you to enjoy the same.
Venue- Papadmalji
Bikaneri Bhujia- Bikaneri Bhujia is a crispy snack which is made from moth beans, besan and spices. It initially looks like thin twigs weaved into a nest when fried but later it is cut into very very small pieces. Think of a crisp deep fried noodle strand being cut many times.
According to Rajasthani folks, if Bikaneri Bhujia is made even slightly 25 to 40 kilometres away from Bikaner, it would not have the same taste. It probably all narrows down to the water and the climate of Bikaner. It even has acquired the GI for it!
The famous Bhujia also has varieties like the spicy varieties, there’s also a no spice kind. So, definitely a good number of options!
One of the outlets where we tried it, was in the old city and the historical fragrance along with the fresh, hot bhujia truly stirred our mind!
Venue- Gurukripa Namkeen Bhandar, Bhishanlal Babulal Namkeen
Bhujia Sandwich- Bhujia Sandwich was very buttery and crisp from the outside and on the inside it had the filling of chopped capsicums, tomatoes, onions, some masalas (spices) and the celebrity bhujia!
It was served to us with three types of mayonnaise and with a hot cup of tea.
Venue- Ragini’s Kitchen (Medical College Circle)
Bikaneri Bhujia Paratha- Paratha is a pan fried flatbread. The paratha’s surface was glittering with melted butter and the inside of it had a very gooey texture. The filling was of a few spices, chopped onions, coriander and bhujia.
Next, we tried Monn ka Paratha. It also had a gooey texture on the inside.
Venue- Jeetu Bhai Paratha Vala (Medical College Circle)
Bhujia Sabzi- If you are ever short of vegetables at home and want to make a sabzi (curry), open a packet of Bhujia and toss it in a garlicky, onion, tomato gravy.
The sabzi served to us here was that simple of a preparation! It was spicy, tangy and the Bhujia flavour stood out in it.
Venue- Mitra Da Dhaba
Food and conversations in Bikaner were amazing for us! We got ourselves enlightened with a lot of history and all in all it was a pleasing experience. Do watch the videos linked below!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3Yy-HfqWuw&list=PLDs8Vu-e-HxJRRNqvyH11oPi4_U-KoReF&index=1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNLMar6gnp0&list=PLDs8Vu-e-HxJRRNqvyH11oPi4_U-KoReF&index=2
