Fruit, veg, and spice markets

Our next stop was at a local fruit and veg market, where I saw gram seeds in their raw state - I think for the first time. These small bright green 'fruits' are dried to become dal or dried and ground as garam flour.

Nothing that we saw at the market is grown in Rajasthan. The state is too dry. So, farmers or their agents from other states come into the city early every morning and sell their produce to the ladies at the market, who then sell on to the public.

At the nearby spice market, we watched mustard being pressed to make mustard oil. The farmers bring their crop to the guy who owns the press who extracts the oil for them at no charge. He then makes his money by keeping the waste product and selling that as animal feed. 

The crisp maker was amazing! He was creating a range of flavours, frying them in a huge wok. He was mainly using potatoes, but was also producing banana and mango varieties. We got a mixed bag to try. They were delicious! I particularly enjoyed the mint flavour.Read more