Punjabi Cuisine

Punjabi cuisine (from the Punjab region of Northern India and Eastern Pakistan). Punjabi cuisine can be non-vegetarian or completely vegetarian. The level of spices can vary from minimal to very prevalent. One of the main features of Punjabi cuisine is its diverse range of dishes. Home cooked and restaurant Punjabi cuisine can vary significantly, with restaurant style using large amounts of clarified butter, known locally as desi ghee, with liberal amounts of butter and cream with home cooked concentrating on mainly upon wheat masalas (spice) flavourings. Though wheat varieties form their staple food, Punjabis do cook rice on special occasions. During winter a delicacy, Roh Di Kheer, is cooked using rice. Rice is cooked for a long time in sugar cane juice.

Across Punjab, there are different preferences. People in the area of Amritsar prefer stuffed parathas and milk products. In fact, the area is well known for quality of its milk products. There are certain dishes which are exclusive to Punjab, such as Mah Di Dal and Saron Da Saag (Sarson Ka Saag).

The food is tailor-made for the Punjabi lifestyle in which most of the rural folk burn up a lot of calories while working in the fields.

Where the famous Mirepoix of French cooking is a mixture of onions, carrots, and celery (aromatics), the main masala (lit. mixture, a blend of spices or aromatics) in a Punjabi dish consists of onions, garlic and ginger.

Hallmarks of Punjabi food

Pulse, bean and / or lentil preparations:

   * Dal makhani (ma ki dal)
   * Dal maharani
   * Dal amritsari
   * Lobiya (black eyed bean)
   * Rajmah (Red kidney bean)
   * Punjabi pindi chholey (Whole Bengal gram)
   * Punj ratani dal (mixtures of 5 letils) etc...
   * Saron (sarson) ka saag te makki di roti

These are generally soaked overnight or for at least 8 hours and gently simmered on the embers of a tandoor (A clay oven of the shape of a horizontally sliced pot) along with ginger, garlic and a few other garam masala (whole spices like cardamom, cinnamon, mace, and bay leaf).

These are then combined with a tangy masala base which could include tomato or dried mango (aam choor powder) or even pomegranate seeds (anar dana). The character typical to the bean or whole lentil preparation is that the shape is retained intact, but the gentlest pressure would make it into a paste.

Dollops of cream and butter provide for the rich finishing touch. Garnishing is usually with shredded coriander leaves and juliennes of ginger.

Bread preparations

Punjabi breads are generally flat breads; only a few varieties are raised breads. The breads may be made of different types of flour and can be made in various ways:

  1. Baked in a tandoor; naan, tandoori roti, kulcha, lachha paratha
  2. Baked dry on the tava (a flat skillet or griddle);  chapati or phulka (a chapati puffed  up like a balloon), jowar ki roti, baajre ki roti and the very famous makke ki roti (these are often slathered with butter or ghee (clarified butter)
  3. Shallow fried; aloo or mooli paratha
  4. Deep fried; puri and bhatoora (a fermented dough)
  
  The  Missi Roti of punjab, a combination of wheat and one or more flours such as chickpea, maise, or millet, is particularly delicious.

The tandoor also allows for tasty chicken and meat preparations including seekh kebab, tandoori chicken, reshmi tikka and malai tikka.