What to eat in Jodhpur and where to find it

Jodhpur eats early, eats fried, and eats sweet. This is a food city with a short list of things it does better than anywhere else, so work through them properly rather than trying to eat everything at once.

Mirchi bada, the first thing to try

A whole green chilli, stuffed with spiced potato, dipped in gram flour batter and fried. It sounds brutal and it is not. The chilli used is mild and thick walled, so what you get is heat around the edges and soft potato in the middle. Eat it hot, with the dry garlic chutney, standing at the stall.

Pyaaz kachori and the morning routine

A flaky pastry filled with onion masala, cracked open and covered in chutney. This is breakfast for most of the old city, usually with a small glass of sweet tea. Shops near the clock tower start frying around seven and the early batches are the best.

Mawa kachori, the sweet version

The same shape, filled with sweetened milk solids and nuts, fried and then soaked in sugar syrup. It is very rich. Share one before you commit to your own.

Makhaniya lassi

Thick sweet lassi topped with butter and saffron, served in a heavy glass. Jodhpur claims it and Jodhpur is right. There are famous lassi shops beside the clock tower where the queue moves fast and the glass arrives cold. One is a snack. Two is lunch.

The Rajasthani thali

If you eat one full meal in the city, make it a thali. On a good plate you will find:

• Dal bati churma. Baked wheat balls soaked in ghee, eaten with lentils and a sweet crumble. The dish the state is known for.
• Gatte ki sabzi. Gram flour dumplings in a yoghurt curry, soft and tangy.
• Ker sangri. Desert berries and beans cooked dry with chilli. Salty, sour and unlike anything outside Rajasthan.
• Kadhi. A light yoghurt and gram flour curry that cools everything else down.
• Gulab jamun ki sabzi. Sweet dumplings in a savoury gravy, the dish that surprises everyone.

Thali halls near the old city serve unlimited refills. Say no early and often, because the servers are persuasive.

Laal maas, for meat eaters

Mutton cooked with Mathania red chillies in a fiery gravy. The colour is alarming and the heat is real, though most restaurants will cook it milder if you ask. This was hunting food, so it is best eaten slowly with plain roti and something cold.

Where to eat, roughly

• Around the clock tower. Kachori, samosa, mirchi bada, lassi and sweets, all within a few hundred metres. Best between seven and eleven in the morning, and again after five.
• Rooftops near the fort and the stepwell. Thalis, curries and a view. Come for sunset rather than for speed.
• Thali halls on the newer side of town. Quieter, cleaner tables, unlimited plates, popular with local families.
• Sweet shops. Look for mawa kachori, ghevar during festivals, and fresh ladoo in the evening.

Names change, so ask your host on the day. We keep a current list for guests and will happily send it on WhatsApp.

For vegetarians and for spice

Jodhpur is one of the easiest cities in India for vegetarians. Most kitchens are vegetarian by default and dairy is everywhere. If you avoid chilli, say kam mirchi when you order and ask for extra curd on the side. If you avoid dairy, say so early, because ghee goes into more dishes than you would expect.

What to bring home

Mathania chillies, whole spices from Sardar Market, and a packet of good dry kachori if you are flying out the same week. Buy spices from a shop with a sealed pack rather than an open sack if you are taking them abroad.

Once you have eaten your way through the list, plan the rest of the trip with our guide to what to see in the city.