Today’s kitchens are no longer bound by geography. Across households, people have moved beyond inherited recipes and regional routines, constantly experimenting with flavours from elsewhere. For a while, global cuisines offered that excitement with their new techniques, unfamiliar ingredients, and a break from the everyday plate. But novelty, over time, has a way of wearing off. And in that return to home food, there is now a noticeable shift across kitchens. People are beginning to revisit their regional dishes with fresh eyes, questioning what was once taken for granted and rediscovering the depth within the ordinary.
For Pratibha Jain, that moment of rediscovery was deeply personal. “Being a Rajasthani, I grew up eating Rajasthani food, and I took it for granted… Home food is just something that is ordinary every day. You don’t really see anything very special about it,” she says. Having spent much of her formative years in the south, it was, in fact, South Indian cuisine, with its varieties of rasam and sambar, that felt more fascinating than the food she grew up with.
That perception began to shift years later, following a chance meeting with Chef Sameer Gupta at a wedding. What began as a straightforward documentation project soon evolved into something far more immersive. A visit to his home in Jaipur marked a turning point in the late 2000s. “In a week, I must have eaten around 60 to 80 dishes, and I didn’t know more than 20% of the dishes. That’s how our Indian cuisine is,” she recalls. The experience revealed the vastness and nuance of a cuisine she had once considered familiar.
This rediscovery now finds expression in ‘Relishing Rajasthan’ (Rs 899, Westland Books), a cookbook co-authored by Pratibha and Chef Sameer. The book was unveiled at Savera Hotel as part of a Rajasthan-themed gathering organised by The Duchess Club, where members dressed in vibrant Bandhini and Leheriya ensembles, presented folk performances, and shared cultural narratives. The evening also featured a live cooking demonstration of traditional dishes such as gatte ki sabzi, baati, mirch ke tipore and pyaaz ka achaar, bringing the flavours of Rajasthan directly to the audience.
At the centre of the book is Chef Sameer’s approach that balances authenticity with accessibility. Having trained extensively and worked with royal kitchens across Rajasthan, his understanding of traditional food is rooted in both practice and preservation. “He was particular that the taste should be captured, and retained. Even though he is a creative chef, he knows how to keep the authenticity and also how to be creative,” she notes. Pratibha shares that Chef Sameer was on ground, documenting the recipes for nearly three years since meeting her.
Much of the cuisine documented in the book comes from oral traditions — recipes passed down through generations, often varying subtly from one household to another. This diversity is reflected not only in well-known dishes, but also in lesser-known ingredients that are slowly fading from common use. One such example is fogla, a desert shrub that Pratibha describes as having “a very strange textured shrub; many of the younger generation may not even know the ingredient.” Yet, its inclusion was non-negotiable. “He was very particular that we include it in the book,” she says, pointing to dishes like fogla ka dhokla and fogla ka raita.
At the same time, the book acknowledges the realities of contemporary cooking. “He (Chef Sameer) has demystified a lot of these traditional, complex recipes, retaining the taste,” she explains. This intent is also reflected in the structure of the book. Moving beyond a straightforward compilation of recipes, it weaves in narratives, personal exchanges, and contextual details. “There is no recipe without its story,” she says. Each dish is accompanied by anecdotes, tips, and even conversational segments between the authors, while ingredients are explained in detail — from sourcing to preparation.
The impact of this journey extends beyond the book. For Pratibha, it was not just about documenting the recipes; the process also made her fall “in love with Rajasthani food”. Today, dishes that once felt ordinary have taken on new meanings, with some even becoming staples in her own kitchen. “My go-to dish is guava relish. I make it almost every second day,” she shares. Ultimately, the author hopes that the audience takes away that food is fun to make and eat together. She adds, “I hope that it (the book) nourishes our love for cooking and feeding.”
In revisiting what was once overlooked, ‘Relishing Rajasthan’ is a reminder that sometimes the most unfamiliar journeys begin at home.