Sometimes the best food on a trip is not something you plan for. You simply step outside because you are hungry, walk around without expecting much, and find something which makes the entire day better.
I was staying somewhere on the outskirts of Jodhpur. There was not much around the hotel. But me being me, I could not simply sit inside the room and order something online. I had to walk around.
Just adjacent to the hotel, there was a small place serving dal baati churma with desi ghee. And once I saw that, the decision was already made.
The plate arrived with dal, baati, churma, onions, lemon and a little chutney on the side. And then came the desi ghee. Not a careful spoonful. Proper desi ghee, poured generously, because apparently in Rajasthan moderation is only a suggestion.
The baati was warm and slightly crisp. Once broken and mixed with dal and ghee, it became the kind of food which makes you slow down automatically. The churma added sweetness. The onions and lemon balanced everything.
We ended up talking to the locals sitting around us. That is often the best part of eating at smaller places. Nobody is in a hurry to finish and leave. Someone tells you how the food is usually eaten. Someone insists that you need a little more ghee. Slowly, a random meal becomes a small introduction to a place.
It was not a famous restaurant. It was not a planned stop. It was simply adjacent to the hotel. But sometimes the best finds are exactly like that.