Regions of India.

Welcome to Gujarat

The birthplace of Gandhi and Lord Krishna, Gujarat is also one of the richest states in India both economically as well as culturally. It is a state where festivals are celebrated with fasts to bring consciousness, control and discipline to the body with the objective of bringing one's soul closer to the divine, followed by extensive feasting. A Hindu vegetarian state with a cuisine that is unique from any other, Gujarat is a state that was formed in 1960 after the end of the British rule. It went from being a part of the Bombay Presidency with Bombay as its capital to being a state in its own right with Bombay being replaced by Ahmedabad.

Gujarat is the only vegetarian state in the country and Gujaratis earn their main livelihood from farming. An abundance of peanuts, millet, wheat, sugarcane, coriander, fennel and above all, the world famous red chillies are grown here.

Gujarati cuisine is generally drier than those of other regions of India and favourite dishes include a variety of vegetables stir-fried in light oils with the region's traditional spices. Unleavened breads made from chickpea flour, wholemeal flour and millet form a staple for most meals and are typically served paper-thin with mango chutney - a regional speciality. Winter delicacies here include rotlo (millet roti), eaten with ghee and freshly made jaggery, and undhiu (vegetables stuffed with a spicy dhal and baked in earthenware pots buried in the earth).

A typical Gujarati thali is the most balanced, light and nutritious meal in Indian cuisine and the locals have them for lunch and dinner. These thalis consist of two vegetable shaaks (vegetable curries), one of which will be dry, one dhal, which is normally sweet and sour, bhaat (rice) and raita (a cool, creamy yoghurt and cucumber dip) with chapattis or puris, pickles, fresh chutney, bhajias and a sweet or dessert. Essentially, a lot more than the renowned "dhal bhaat shaak roti".