SECOND YEAR- PUNJABI

PUNJABI CUISINE

Punjab is bounded on the west by Pakistan, on the north by Jammu & Kashmir, on the north-west by Himachal Pradesh & on the south by Haryana and Rajasthan.

Punjab, the land of five rivers. Perhaps, it would be appropriate to call it the land of plenty. The fertility and the field of richness of its dairy have been the envy of the subcontinent.

The cuisine of Punjab has an enormous variety of mouth watering vegetarian dishes and non vegetarian dishes. The food could range from spicy to sour and sweet to tangy. All the gravies of Punjabi dishes are made using ginger, garlic, onion and tomatoes and most of the flavorings are cumin and coriander.

Seasonal availability:

1. Mustard leaves ( sarson ) – found in abundance during winter months. Best eaten with makki ki roti.
2. Amaranth leaves ( bathua)- the leaves of amaranth are combined with mustard leaves to make them creamy and reduce the bitterness of the leaves while cooking.
3. Pomegranate seeds ( anardana )-  these are dried in sun and then sold whole or crushed. It is a tenderizer.
4. Rongi/ lobia ( black eyed beans )- these are light brown kidney beans with a black spot in the centre.
5. Chickpeas ( choley)
6. Kasoori methi ( dried fenugreek leaves )- these come from kasoor in Pakistan and hence named after it. The leaves are lightly toasted over tawa and crushed on top of vegetables.
7. Aamchur ( dried mango powder )- souring agent.

FOOD HABITS

Food of Punjab is wholesome and very rich in taste and texture. The foods of Punjab usually have a thick creamy consistency.

The staple food in Punjab is wholewheat in different forms; rice is also eaten on special occasion. Even when rice is eaten, it is made into a special preparation such as pulao or zeera rice.

Rice is eaten with kadhi pakori or rajma.

Maize flour is often eaten with sarson ka saag. Chicken is the more preferred meat and fish is eaten in from curries and sometimes fried. Lassi is also commonly drunk here as the production of milk is abundant. The breads are mostly cooked in Tandoor and they can range from plain roti to naan and pudina paratha.

They use desi ghee, white butter in almost all the dishes. Milk and milk products are available in abundance like paneer, curd, and cream etc.

Butter is an integral part of this cuisine and a dallop of home churned butter is either spread on the roti or placed on the top of dal or sarson ka saag.

Punjabi desserts are phirnee, gulab jamoon and malpua etc.

As soon as partition occurred, the “restaurization” of the nation began. The Punjabi people introduced tandoori cuisine and pleasure of eating out. This road side dhaba was born to cater to the basic food needs of the uprooted.

It would be no exaggeration to say that the most stylish and elegant eateries in the country are Punjabi.

FAIRS AND FESTIVALS OF PUNJAB

The festivals in Punjab have always been celebrated with much exuberance and fun farce. Punjab being a predominately agricultural state that provides itself on its food grain production. Baisakhi is indication of arrival of harvesting season.

Tika is celebrated in the month of Kartik, one day after Diwali. Lohri is celebrated in the month of December –January. .

SPICES

Various masalas used in Punjabi cuisines are garam masala ( made of cumin seeds , black cardamom seeds , black pepper corn , green cardamom , cinnamon , mace, shahi jeera , bay leaves and dry rose petals , coriander seeds , fennel seeds , cloves and ginger powder , nutmeg ), aromatic garam masala ( made of green cardamom , cumin seeds, black pepper corn , cinnamon , cloves and nutmeg ) chaat masala ( made of cumin seeds , black pepper corn , black salt , dry pudina , hing , tartaric acid , am choor , ajwain , ginger powder , yellow chili powder ), tandoori chaat masala ( made of cumin seeds , black pepper corn , black salt, dry pudina , kasoori methi, green cardamom, cloves , cinnamon , ajwain , hing , tartaric acid , mace , mango powder , ginger powder , yellow chili powder )

It cannot be denied that spices in their new form have certain disadvantages. Whole or ground spices do not always impart their flavors readily and when we use proprietary, pre-ground spices, much of the aromatic quality is lost. This is the result of the volatility of essential oils  which is the life of the spices.

THE TANDOOR

The discovery of fire was a blessing to man. And use of tandoor in Punjabi cuisine is the distinct characteristics. India got its first taste of kebab with the Muslim invasions. The tandoor is a cylindrical clay barrel, dug in the ground and lit with wood, was use to bake breads. it is not only used for making breads and kebabs . The delicacies cooked in the tandoor have a unique flavor. The tandoor shell should be placed on a slightly raised platform. A fire –proof brick wall should be erected around it. The gap is filled with sand. The top covered with either a slab of Kota stone or fire proof tiles. The tandoor should be enclosed on the sides with the same materials. The sand bricks and Kota stone all provide insulation and prevent heat from escaping. An iron ring should be placed on the opening to strengthen the mouth of the tandoor. Punjabis use home made tandoor to make breads like naan, roti and kebabs etc.     

FAMOUS DRINKS

Punjabi cuisine is quite rich in refreshing drinks like kanjee ( fermented carrot and mustard paste drink , served in earthen ware “matka” ), shikanjvi (chilled drink made of chilled water , lemon juice, salt ,sugar black salt powder and black pepper powder ), lassi (sweetened dahi diluted with water and flavored with rose syrup) and mattha/butter milk (made of diluted curd , broiled cumin seed powder , chopped ginger , chopped green chili , fresh coriander leaves with crushed ice and salt )

FAMOUS PUNJABI DISHES

KADHI PAKORA : this dish ismade by simmering sour curd with gram flour and spices. It is then temperade with coriander leaves, cumin seeds, whole red chilli, hing, onion and tomato. Deep fried fritters of onion, potato and spinach called pakora is added

AMRITSHARI KULCHA : kulcha stuffed with paneer, cauliflower, potato etc, cooked in Tandoor.

AMRITSARI MACHHI: Ajwain flavored batter fried fish pieces, served with chutney and lemon wedges.

MULTANI TIKKA: Crispy ajwain flavored paneer and onion tikka, served with tandoor kebab masala.

BHARWAN SHIMLA MIRCH: Tandoori stuffed shimla mirch.

TANDOORI JHEENGA: Tandoori prawn enriched with tandoori masala.

MURG MALAAI KEBAB: Chicken supreme kebabs rich in cream and saffron.

SARSON DA SAAG: fresh mustard leaves are combined with amaranth leaves and braised along with ginger, garlic, onion and tomato until they become creamy. This dish is garnished with white butter and eaten with makki ki roti.

BAINGAN KA BHARTHA: Smoky flavored mashed brinjal preparation served with tandoori paratha.

CHOLLE BHATURE: Cooked spicy chickpeas served with deep-fried yoghurt based bread.

MAKKI KI ROTI: Roti made of maize flour, atta, and Maida.

MISSI ROTI: Roti made of cooked mashed chana dal and mung dal, atta, maida, onion, green chili etc. Cooked on tandoor.

RANNA GOSHT: A rich heavy and thick mutton preparation in which mutton boti and mutton mince is cooked together with onion and masalas till done.

MURGH MAKHNI: Tandoori chicken in tomato based rich gravy which is enriched by addition of cashew nut cream and butter.

PUNJ RATANI DAL : it is prepared by cooking five dals with onion and tomato. The most commonly used lentils are channa, split urad, green mung, kidney beans and masoor dal.

MAA DI DAL : broken black lentils are combined with Bengal gram and simmered with onion and tomato on a slow flame, until it is creamy. It is relished with  chapattis.

GAJAR KA HALWA : the grated carrot  is cooked with ghee and milk for a long duration of time until the milk reduces to thick consistency. The halwa is then sweetened with sugar and garnished with nuts and raisin.