The domestic cooking of Rajistan is a communal affair. Most things, with the exception of a few complicated sweets made with milk-curds, are prepared in-house. Vegetarian dishes - dals and curries - are made daily in advance by the women of the household under the supervision of the senior matron.
At mealtimes, small bowls of the prepared dishes are set on the table while one of the women rolls and cooks the flatbreads, the only freshly-prepared element of the meal.
Flatbreads - rotis, chappatis, puris - can be made of a variety of milled grains worked into a dough, broken into egg-sized pieces and rolled on a small round board with a rolling pin into thin rounds. After a prelimary gentle baking on the griddle, these are set in an open flame to puff and blister. A new batch is provided for those at table as soon as the previous batch has been eaten.
Women don't usually sit with the men. In the villages when food is limited, this can mean the women go hungry.
