Experience the best of Harji

Harji is a village in the Ahore area of Jalore district in south-western Rajasthan, on the road between the towns of Jalore and Sirohi. The land is flat and dry, about 200 metres above sea level, dotted with thorny khejri trees and fields of millet and cumin, with low rocky hills not far off.

Jalore, a short way to the west, has a hill fort above the town and is known for its granite. Sirohi lies to the south, and beyond it rises Mount Abu, Rajasthan's only hill station, with its marble Dilwara Jain temples. Further east in the Aravalli hills are the Jain temple of Ranakpur and the fort of Kumbhalgarh, and Jodhpur lies to the north.

Marwari cooking suits the dry country, with bajra flatbread eaten with ghee and garlic chutney, dal baati churma, and ker sangri, a dish of desert beans and berries. Summer temperatures climb very high on these plains, and the short monsoon from July to September greens the scrub for a few weeks.