Desert cooking is the art of making something delicious from very little. With scarce water and fresh vegetables, the people of the Thar learned to cook with dried beans, berries, gram flour, millet, ghee and buttermilk — and the result is some of the most flavourful food in India. Here's what to try while you're in Jaisalmer.
Main dishes
1. Dal Baati Churma
Rajasthan's signature meal: hard wheat dumplings (baati) baked and dipped in ghee, served with spicy dal and churma, a sweet crumble of wheat, ghee and jaggery.
2. Ker Sangri
The true taste of the desert — dried ker berries and sangri beans cooked with spices and oil. Tangy, earthy and unique to Rajasthan.
3. Gatte ki Sabzi
Gram-flour dumplings simmered in a spiced yogurt gravy — a staple created for a land where fresh vegetables were rare.
4. Kadhi and Bajra Roti
Rajasthani kadhi is thin, tangy and comforting, perfect with bajra (pearl millet) roti, the traditional bread of the desert.
5. Panchkuta
A mix of five desert ingredients — ker, sangri, kumatiya, dried chillies and gunda — cooked together into a festive dish.
6. Laal Maas (for non-vegetarians)
A fiery red mutton curry made with Mathania chillies — Rajasthan's most famous non-vegetarian dish.
Snacks
7. Pyaaz Kachori
Flaky fried pastry stuffed with spicy onion filling. Best eaten hot in the morning with chutney.
8. Mirchi Vada
A large green chilli stuffed with spiced potato, dipped in gram-flour batter and fried. Spicy, crunchy and addictive.
Sweets
9. Ghotua Laddoo
Jaisalmer's own sweet. Small, round laddoos made from gram flour and ghee, flavoured with cardamom. Pick up a box to take home.
10. Mawa Kachori
A rich kachori stuffed with sweetened mawa (milk solids) and dipped in sugar syrup — a Jodhpur speciality that's popular across the region.
11. Malpua
Sweet, syrupy pancakes often served during festivals.
Drinks
12. Makhaniya Lassi
Thick, creamy lassi topped with butter, saffron and cardamom. The perfect way to cool down after a morning at the fort.
Where to eat
- Rooftop restaurants around the fort for food with a view.
- Local sweet shops in the old city for ghotua laddoo and kachoris.
- Your desert camp — dinner at our camp is a Rajasthani vegetarian buffet, so you can try several dishes in one evening. Read what to expect at a desert camp.
Food tips for travellers
- Spice levels are high — ask for "kam teekha" (less spicy) if needed.
- Drink bottled or filtered water.
- Try thalis — they're the best way to sample many dishes at once.
- Ask your driver or guide — locals always know the best kachori stall in town.
Want a food stop added to your itinerary? Just tell us when you book any of our Jaisalmer tour packages.
