Crisp, thin threads of moth-bean and gram-flour dough, spiced with black pepper and ajwain and fried in oil.
What makes it bikaneri bhujia
Moth-bean flour with gram flour.
Pressed into thin threads straight into hot oil.
Black pepper, ajwain and red chilli.
Where it comes from
Bikaner's own, and a protected name: true Bikaneri bhujia is made in and around the city from moth beans — a drought-hardy bean of the Thar — and gram flour. The soft dough is pressed through a perforated ladle straight into hot oil.
It was made in Bikaner's homes and sweet shops long before it went into packets, and Marwari families across India helped make it a fixture of the snack shelf everywhere.