PUNJABI FOOD

By Omesh Verma

Punjabi food is so popular in whole India with its world famous delicious, tangy and very fragrant energetic dishes. Punjabis are very fond of eating vegetarian and non-vegetarian mind boggling food.

Punjabi cuisine is cooked with large amounts of Deshi Ghee (Butter) while at home people apply spices flavoring in from minimal to very high. Punjabi food contains a lot of forms of  tandoori dishes like Tandoori Rotis, Malai Tikka, Tandoori Chiken, Naan etc. You  can enjoy Paranthas, Bread (Rotis), Kulchas which are very popular and tasty. Tandoor or oven are customary in the rural side of this colorful state. Commonly, a Punjabi will take roti, sabji, chunk of butter of ghee, onions, green chilies, lime, and plenty of luscious creamy Lassi. Punjabis take milk products in various forms of recipes. Kheer (Rice cooked in milk) is widely taken in whole state.

Punjabi philosophy is well known to eat, drink and make merry. They don’t like confusion in anything and often put it aside by saying-‘Ki farak painda, take this or that.’ (No worry, do this one or that!.)

We will know here about some popular recipes  of Punjab:

Sarson ka saag: 

Its is cooked with mastard leaves and Indian corn and is very popular in Punjabi culture. A lot of Punjabi songs on ‘Sarson ka saag’ can be often heard on many occasions. This green gravy type dish is very nutritious and tasty containing iron and protein using green mustard and spinach,

Makke di Roti:

It’s a popular and nutritious cuisine cooked of Indian corn on tava. Sarson ka saag is must with make di roti and this combination has been in use for centuries in this state.

Tandoori Chiken : This cuisine is prepared of chicken, yoghurt and spices and cooked in a tandoor or barbecue grill. 

Prantha: 

Pranthas are cooked in two ways: Aloo Da Prantha filled with potatoes and species while stuffed prantha filled with cheese-cauliflower-potatoes combination. They are taken commonly in break-fast with Lassi or tea. Pranthas are also cooked with other stuffs filling by cooks in this state and in rest part of north India.

Other popular cuisines of Punjab are:

Vegetarian cuisine are: Amritsari Dal Makhani, Rajma, rice, rongi, chholey with naan or kulcha, aloo puri, Khichadi, Sahi Paneer, Khoya Paneer, Paneer Kofta, Amritsari Paneer, Matar Paneer, Paneer Parantha etc. Panjiri or Dabra, Pulse, bean Saag, Baingan Da Bharta, Punj Ratni Dal (containing 5 lentils), Punjabi Kadhi Pakora or curry with pakoras or rice, Punjabi Lassi Paneer, Zeera Rice,

Punjabi Snacks: Pakoda ith Pudina chutney, Samosa with chutney, Sattu etc

Raita and chutney  are commoney served with snacks and meal. Chutney is  made of imli, pudina, dhaniya, pudina, anar and mango etc. while Raita is made of yoghurt , onions and a little addition of spices. 

Sweets and desserts: 

Seviyan (Vermicelli), Halwa, Gajar Ka Halwa, Jalebi, laddu, Khoya Barfi, Katli Barfi,  Besan, Gulab Jamun, kala Jamun, Khoya Jamun, Besan Laddu, Petha, Badana, Gajrela, Khoya gajrela, Kalakand, Peda, Balu shahi, malpua, Sheer Korma, Kulfi and ice-cream like dessert, Rabri etc. 

Types of Bread: 

We find a variety of Punjabi breads like flatbreads and raised breads in common. Raised bread is called Khamiri roti. Breads are also baked with sunflower and flax seed some times. Bread which are baked in Tandoor are called Tandoori roti, naan, kulcha or lachcha Parantha. Breads baked on tava or griddle are phulka or chapatti, jowar ki roti, bajre ki roti and makke ki roti etc. These are various forms or roti famous in whole India. You can take other forms of Bread like paranthas, keema parantha, aloo parantha, Mooli parantha, Paneer prantha, palak parantha, aloo paneer parantha etc and deep fried breads as puri, bhatoora etc.

Punjabi Beverages are sweet and salted lassi, mango lassi, neembu paani, tamrind juice, tea or chaay, mango milkshake, shikanji, jal jeera and sattu.