Punjabi cuisine
Encyclopedia
Punjab region
The Punjab , also spelled Panjab |water]]s"), is a geographical region straddling the border between Pakistan and India which includes Punjab province in Pakistan and the states of the Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh and some northern parts of the National Capital Territory of Delhi...
of northwestern India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
and eastern Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
. It can be non-vegetarian or completely vegetarian. 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 ghee
Ghee
Ghee is a class of clarified butter that originated in South Asia and is commonly used in South Asian cuisine....
, clarified butter, with liberal amounts of butter
Butter
Butter is a dairy product made by churning fresh or fermented cream or milk. It is generally used as a spread and a condiment, as well as in cooking applications, such as baking, sauce making, and pan frying...
and cream
Cream
Cream is a dairy product that is composed of the higher-butterfat layer skimmed from the top of milk before homogenization. In un-homogenized milk, over time, the lighter fat rises to the top. In the industrial production of cream this process is accelerated by using centrifuges called "separators"...
, with home cooking concentrating on mainly upon preparations with Whole Wheat
Wheat
Wheat is a cereal grain, originally from the Levant region of the Near East, but now cultivated worldwide. In 2007 world production of wheat was 607 million tons, making it the third most-produced cereal after maize and rice...
, rice
Rice
Rice is the seed of the monocot plants Oryza sativa or Oryza glaberrima . As a cereal grain, it is the most important staple food for a large part of the world's human population, especially in East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and the West Indies...
and other ingredients flavored with masala
Masala
Masala or massala is a term used in South Asian cuisines to mostly describe a mixture of spices. A masala can either be a combination of dried spices, or a paste made from a mixture of spices and other ingredients—often garlic, ginger, onions and chilli paste...
.
For example, Roh Di Kheer, is cooked using rice. Rice is cooked for a long time in sugar cane juice.
Within the Punjab region, there are different preferences. People in the area of Amritsar
Amritsar
Amritsar is a city in the northern part of India and is the administrative headquarters of Amritsar district in the state of Punjab, India. The 2001 Indian census reported the population of the city to be over 1,500,000, with that of the entire district numbering 3,695,077...
prefer stuffed paratha
Paratha
A paratha/parantha/parauntha is an Indian flat-bread that originated in the Indian subcontinent. Paratha is an amalgamation of the words parat and atta which literally means layers of cooked dough...
s and milk
Milk
Milk is a white liquid produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals before they are able to digest other types of food. Early-lactation milk contains colostrum, which carries the mother's antibodies to the baby and can reduce the risk of many...
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
Saag
Saag or sag is a spinach and/or mustard leaf-based dish eaten in South Asia with bread such as roti or naan, or rice . Saag can be made from spinach, mustard leaves, or other greens, along with added spices and sometimes other ingredients such as paneer...
.
The food is tailor-made for the Punjabi lifestyle in which most of the rural
Rural
Rural areas or the country or countryside are areas that are not urbanized, though when large areas are described, country towns and smaller cities will be included. They have a low population density, and typically much of the land is devoted to agriculture...
folk burn a lot of calories while working in the fields. The main masala in a Punjabi dish consists of onion
Onion
The onion , also known as the bulb onion, common onion and garden onion, is the most widely cultivated species of the genus Allium. The genus Allium also contains a number of other species variously referred to as onions and cultivated for food, such as the Japanese bunching onion The onion...
, garlic
Garlic
Allium sativum, commonly known as garlic, is a species in the onion genus, Allium. Its close relatives include the onion, shallot, leek, chive, and rakkyo. Dating back over 6,000 years, garlic is native to central Asia, and has long been a staple in the Mediterranean region, as well as a frequent...
and ginger
Ginger
Ginger is the rhizome of the plant Zingiber officinale, consumed as a delicacy, medicine, or spice. It lends its name to its genus and family . Other notable members of this plant family are turmeric, cardamom, and galangal....
. Tandoori food is a Punjabi speciality especially for non-vegetarian dishes.
Many of the most popular elements of Anglo-Indian cuisine
Anglo-Indian cuisine
Anglo-Indian cuisine is the often distinct cuisine of the Anglo-Indian community in both Britain and India, as well as in America and Australia....
- such as Tandoor, Naan, Pakoras and vegetable dishes with paneer - derive from the Punjab.
Meat (Standard English) or Non-Vegetarian (Indian English)
- ChickenChicken (food)Chicken is the most common type of poultry in the world, and is prepared as food in a wide variety of ways, varying by region and culture.- History :...
- Tandoori ChickenTandoori chickenTandoori chicken is highly popular Indian and Pakistani dish consisting of roasted chicken, yogurt, and spices.-Preparation:The chicken is marinated in Yoghurt and seasoned with tandoori masala. It is moderately piquant in India and Pakistan, but the heat is reduced in most Western nations...
, Butter ChickenButter chickenButter chicken is part of the Indian cuisine, popular in countries all over the world. The origins of butter chicken can be traced back to Kundan Lal Gujral, a Hindu Punjabi, who ran a restaurant called Moti Mahal in Delhi. Butter Chicken is regarded to have been first introduced by Moti Mahal in...
, Chicken TikkaChicken TikkaChicken tikka is a chicken dish served in Indian and Pakistani cuisine. It is popular in countries all over the world. It is traditionally small pieces of boneless chicken baked using skewers, in a clay-based oven called a tandoor, after marinating in spices and yogurt.The word tikka means "bits,...
, etc. - Lamb - Rogan JoshRogan JoshRogan josh is an aromatic lamb dish hailing from Kashmir. Rogan means "oil" in Persian, while josh means "heat, hot, boiling, or passionate". Rogan josh thus means cooked in oil at intense heat. Another interpretation of the name rogan josh is derived from the word rogan meaning color and josh...
, Bhuna Ghosht, Kadhai Ghost, Raan Gosht, Dal Gosht, Saag Gosht, Nihari Gosht, Rara Gosht, Paye da Shorba, etc. - BeefBeefBeef is the culinary name for meat from bovines, especially domestic cattle. Beef can be harvested from cows, bulls, heifers or steers. It is one of the principal meats used in the cuisine of the Middle East , Australia, Argentina, Brazil, Europe and the United States, and is also important in...
- Nihari Beef, Beef Pasanda, Kadhai Beef, etc. - FishFish (food)Fish is a food consumed by many species, including humans. The word "fish" refers to both the animal and to the food prepared from it. Fish has been an important source of protein for humans throughout recorded history.-Terminology:...
- These are all freshwater fishFreshwater fishFreshwater fish are fish that spend some or all of their lives in freshwater, such as rivers and lakes, with a salinity of less than 0.05%. These environments differ from marine conditions in many ways, the most obvious being the difference in levels of salinity...
dishes like Amritsari Fish, Tandoori Fish, Fish TikkaTikka (food)Tikka is a type of Indian and Pakistani food.-Food:The word that is pronounced in Hindi and Urdu refers to a piece of meat, such as a cutlet, and the popular dish chicken tikka is made of chicken cutlets in a marinade. A westernised version, chicken tikka masala, a curry, is a widely popular...
, Fish PakoraPakoraPakora is a fried snack found across South Asia. Pakoras are created by taking one or two ingredients such as onion, eggplant, potato, spinach, plantain, cauliflower, tomato, chilli, or occasionally bread or chicken and dipping them in a batter of gram flour and then deep-frying them...
, etc. - KebabKebabKebab is a wide variety of meat dishes originating in Middle East and later on adopted by the Middle East, and Asia Minor, and now found worldwide. In English, kebab with no qualification generally refers more specifically to shish kebab served on the skewer...
s - Various lamb, chicken and beef kebabs. - BiryaniBiryaniBiryani, biriani, or beriani is a set of rice-based foods made with spices, rice and meat, fish, eggs or vegetables. The name is derived from the Persian word beryā which means "fried" or "roasted"....
s - Chicken Biryani and Lamb Biryani. - Keema Naan - Chicken mince and lamb mince stuffed NaanNaanNaan is a leavened, oven-baked flatbread. It is typical of and popular in South and Central Asia, in Iran, and in South Asian restaurants abroad. Influenced by the large influx of South Asian labour, naan has also become popular in Saudi Arabia and other Persian Gulf states.Originally, naan is a...
. - Pickles - Lamb PicklePicklingPickling, also known as brining or corning is the process of preserving food by anaerobic fermentation in brine to produce lactic acid, or marinating and storing it in an acid solution, usually vinegar . The resulting food is called a pickle. This procedure gives the food a salty or sour taste...
and vegetableVegetableThe noun vegetable usually means an edible plant or part of a plant other than a sweet fruit or seed. This typically means the leaf, stem, or root of a plant....
PicklePicklingPickling, also known as brining or corning is the process of preserving food by anaerobic fermentation in brine to produce lactic acid, or marinating and storing it in an acid solution, usually vinegar . The resulting food is called a pickle. This procedure gives the food a salty or sour taste...
.
Vegetarian
PulsePulse
In medicine, one's pulse represents the tactile arterial palpation of the heartbeat by trained fingertips. The pulse may be palpated in any place that allows an artery to be compressed against a bone, such as at the neck , at the wrist , behind the knee , on the inside of the elbow , and near the...
, bean
Bean
Bean is a common name for large plant seeds of several genera of the family Fabaceae used for human food or animal feed....
and / or lentil
Lentil
The lentil is an edible pulse. It is a bushy annual plant of the legume family, grown for its lens-shaped seeds...
preparations:
- Sarson Da Saag (a dish prepared from green mustardMustard plantMustards are several plant species in the genera Brassica and Sinapis whose small mustard seeds are used as a spice and, by grinding and mixing them with water, vinegar or other liquids, are turned into the condiment known as mustard or prepared mustard...
leaves and stem with Makki Roti (bread made by cornCornCorn is the name used in the United States, Canada, and Australia for the grain maize.In much of the English-speaking world, the term "corn" is a generic term for cereal crops, such as* Barley* Oats* Wheat* Rye- Places :...
flour) - MushroomMushroomA mushroom is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground on soil or on its food source. The standard for the name "mushroom" is the cultivated white button mushroom, Agaricus bisporus; hence the word "mushroom" is most often applied to those fungi that...
& BeanBeanBean is a common name for large plant seeds of several genera of the family Fabaceae used for human food or animal feed....
Sabzi - Dal makhaniDal makhani-History:Dal Makhani is a signature staple food that originates from Punjab - a state in the north west of India. It is also known, as Maah-ki-dal Dal Makhani is favorite dish to order when dining out in most parts of India. Like the people of Punjab the dish is robust one and not for calorie...
(PulsePulseIn medicine, one's pulse represents the tactile arterial palpation of the heartbeat by trained fingertips. The pulse may be palpated in any place that allows an artery to be compressed against a bone, such as at the neck , at the wrist , behind the knee , on the inside of the elbow , and near the...
s with butter) - RajmaRajmaRājmā or Rāzmā is a popular North Indian vegetarian dish consisting of red kidney beans in a thick gravy with lots of Indian whole spices and usually served with rice and roti. Although, kidney bean is not of Indian origin, it is a part of regular diet in northern regions Punjab, Kashmir, Delhi,...
(Red kidney bean) and RiceRiceRice is the seed of the monocot plants Oryza sativa or Oryza glaberrima . As a cereal grain, it is the most important staple food for a large part of the world's human population, especially in East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and the West Indies... - Dal Amritsari
- Rongi (Black eyed bean)
- CholeyChickpeaThe chickpea is a legume of the family Fabaceae, subfamily Faboideae...
(eaten with NaanNaanNaan is a leavened, oven-baked flatbread. It is typical of and popular in South and Central Asia, in Iran, and in South Asian restaurants abroad. Influenced by the large influx of South Asian labour, naan has also become popular in Saudi Arabia and other Persian Gulf states.Originally, naan is a...
or KulchaKulchaKulcha kulcā is a type of Naan made from Maida flour. It is particularly popular in India and Pakistan and is usually eaten with chole....
)
Other vegetarian dishes
- Kadhi Pakora (Traditional curryCurryCurry is a generic description used throughout Western culture to describe a variety of dishes from Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Sri Lankan, Thai or other Southeast Asian cuisines...
with Pakoras) and riceRiceRice is the seed of the monocot plants Oryza sativa or Oryza glaberrima . As a cereal grain, it is the most important staple food for a large part of the world's human population, especially in East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and the West Indies...
- Kadhi is a type of curryCurryCurry is a generic description used throughout Western culture to describe a variety of dishes from Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Sri Lankan, Thai or other Southeast Asian cuisines...
made by cooking gramflour with curd or buttermilk. Fried lumps (Pakoras) of gramflour with salt and chillies are also added. It is eaten with rice.- PaneerPaneerPaneer is a fresh cheese common in South Asian cuisine. It is of Indian origin. In eastern parts of India, it is generally called Chhena...
- Phirni
- JalebiJalebi-Further reading:*Epicure's Delectable Desserts of the World By Asha Khatau ISBN 81-7991-119-5...
- MalpuaMalpuaMalapua or amalu is an Indian pancake served as a dessert or a snack. It's an Oriya dessert which is also served to Jagannath in his Sakala Dhupa...
- Sheer kormaSheer kormaSheer korma or Sheer Khurma is a festival vermicelli pudding prepared by Muslims on Eid ul-Fitr in South Asian countries especially Pakistan. It is a traditional Muslim festive breakfast, and a dessert for celebrations...
- PakoraPakoraPakora is a fried snack found across South Asia. Pakoras are created by taking one or two ingredients such as onion, eggplant, potato, spinach, plantain, cauliflower, tomato, chilli, or occasionally bread or chicken and dipping them in a batter of gram flour and then deep-frying them...
s - Samosas
- Paneer
Bread preparations
Punjabi breads are both flat (unleavened) breads as well as raised breads. The breads may be made of different types of flour and can be made in various ways:- Baked in the tandoorTandoorA tandoor is a cylindrical clay oven used in cooking and baking. The tandoor is used for cooking in Azerbaijan, India, Turkey, Iran, Armenia, Georgia, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, the Balkans, the Middle East, and Central Asia, as well as Burma and Bangladesh.The heat for a tandoor was...
like NaanNaanNaan is a leavened, oven-baked flatbread. It is typical of and popular in South and Central Asia, in Iran, and in South Asian restaurants abroad. Influenced by the large influx of South Asian labour, naan has also become popular in Saudi Arabia and other Persian Gulf states.Originally, naan is a...
, Tandoori rotiRotiRoti is generally a South Asian bread made from stoneground wholemeal flour, traditionally known as atta flour, that originated and is consumed in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka. It is also consumed in parts of the Southern Caribbean, particularly in Guyana, Suriname, Trinidad and...
, KulchaKulchaKulcha kulcā is a type of Naan made from Maida flour. It is particularly popular in India and Pakistan and is usually eaten with chole....
, or Lachha ParathaParathaA paratha/parantha/parauntha is an Indian flat-bread that originated in the Indian subcontinent. Paratha is an amalgamation of the words parat and atta which literally means layers of cooked dough... - Dry baked on the TavaTavaA tava, tawa, saj, or sac is a large, flat or convex disc-shaped griddle made from metal, usually sheet iron, cast iron, sheet steel or aluminium. It is used in south, central, and west Asia for cooking a variety of flatbreads and as a griddle for meat...
(Indian griddle) like Phulka or ChapatiChapatiChapati or Chapatti or Chapathi is an unleavened flatbread from the Indian subcontinent. Versions of it are found in Turkmenistan and in East African countries Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania...
, jowar ki roti, baajre ki roti and the very famous Makki ki roti (these are also smeared with white ButterButterButter is a dairy product made by churning fresh or fermented cream or milk. It is generally used as a spread and a condiment, as well as in cooking applications, such as baking, sauce making, and pan frying...
) - Shallow friedFried-People:* Avraham Fried, a popular musical entertainer in the Orthodox Jewish community* Charles Fried, a prominent conservative American jurist and lawyer* Daisy Fried American poet* Daniel Fried, a United States career diplomat, Ambassador and Special Envoy...
like ParathaParathaA paratha/parantha/parauntha is an Indian flat-bread that originated in the Indian subcontinent. Paratha is an amalgamation of the words parat and atta which literally means layers of cooked dough...
, Keema Paratha, Potato or Radish Paratha - Deep fried like PuriPuri (food)Puri ,Hindi पूरी , Urdu: بوری, Tamil பூரி , Kannada ಪೂರಿ , Oriya ପୁରି, is an unleavened Indian bread, commonly consumed in India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan and other countries of South Asia. It is eaten for breakfast or as a snack or light meal.Puri is most commonly served at breakfast...
and BhatooraBhatooraBhatoora or Bhatura or Batoora, is a soft and fluffy deep-fried bread from the North India and Punjab region of Pakistan, and is often eaten with chickpea curry, chole or channe, making the classic dish chole bhature.-Ingredients:A typical recipe includes white flour , yogurt, ghee or oil, and yeast...
(a fermented dough)
Naan is also very popular. It is served with most of the dishes made at an Indian restaurant.