On my recent trip to Rajasthan, I explored the Rajasthani cuisine to my heart’s content. A five-day stay in Udaipur was sufficient to experience the flavours of the Land of Deserts. During my stay in the City of Lakes, I had jotted down a list of foods that I wanted to try. From the famous Dal baati churma and Laal Maas to some underrated dishes of the region, the cuisine had a surprise at every step of the way. However, by far, the best meal I had there has to be the authentic combination of sev tamatar ki subzi and tikkad roti. This unleavened flatbread is made from wheat and maize flour and cooked in a special way to give a tandoori effect. This roti can be paired with any spicy subzi and dal or simply with the traditional lehsun ki chutney.
The taste of this thick roti along with a tangy sev tamatar subzi and lehsun chutney on the side, was truly heaven. While I didn’t get a chance to try but I discovered that there is yet another Rajasthani creation which has been known far and wide, the Khoba Roti. This quirky-named flatbread has a history that can be traced back to the time when Rajasthan was a zone of wars and hunting. The rich and filling khoba roti has been known to serve as a wholesome meal since those times.
Roti For The Rajputs
The origins of this traditional flatbread can be located in and around the City Of Maharajas i.e. Jodhpur. The Khoba roti proved to have a longer-shelf life and was not one of the perishable food items because it was loaded with salt and ghee which catered to the preservation of the flatbread for longer duration. This made the roti a feasible food item to be carried by the Rajputs when they went out for war. While travelling distances far and wide, this Khoba roti served as a convenient way to satiate hunger without much hassle of plates or cutlery. In fact, you could simply eat it with onions or pickle also and no subzi was necessary to accompany it.
Since Rajasthan boasts of a large Marwari community, the khoba roti could not be limited to the Rajputs only. One sect of this Marwari community were the Jains who abstained from eating not just meat, but also onion, garlic and root vegetables. Home-cooked food was the only thing they could consume so the Khoba roti was a blessing for them in times of travel. This flatbread became such an intrinsic part of the cuisine that they started celebrating Roth Teej wherein the Jains ate Khoba roti made with one type of flour.
Khoba Ki Khoobiyat
A thicker and harder version of regular roti, this Khoba roti was traditionally made in clay pot ovens that were wood-fired. Later, gas was used to make these rotis but they are nowhere near the ordinary tawa rotis. Despite being made on a tawa (flat griddle), the roti is pressed with the thumb to create multiple cavities or depressions which makes it unique. The word khoba is Marwari for cavity and the purpose of creating such impressions on the roti is that it allows the flatbread to hold the ghee or subzi that is poured over it. This makes the eating process of the roti fuss-free as the roti itself acts as a plate for holding the accompaniments.
Pairing The Khoba
From something as simple as ghee and salt to spicy dals and tangy subzis, almost anything can be paired with this delicious hardy roti. Since the Marwari community has a largely pure vegetarian fare, meaty dishes rarely make an appearance with this kind of roti. Another reason to avoid eating non-vegetarian foods with this flatbread is that it is inherently heavy and doesn’t complement the rich and meaty dishes so well. From the vegetarian angle, panchkuta or kair sangri is often eaten with Khoba roti. This dry subzi is made of ker berries and sangria beans which are spruced up in Rajasthani spices.
Another interesting dish is rabori ki subzi which has a crunchy papad taste and a thick curry. The famous Rajasthani gatte ki subzi that is made of gram flour balls dunked in yoghurt curry also fares well with this Khoba roti and if you’ve got nothing else, there are pickles and chutneys to your rescue. Load up the khoba with oodles of ghee and relish it with a tangy condiment.
What makes this roti so unique is the fact that not just women, who are usually deemed fit for housework, but men too participate actively in making this Khoba roti. Given the hot weather conditions and climatic conditions of this particular region, the roti not only serves as a great social equalizer but a wholesome meal for nomadic tribes on foot.