Punjab

NSK NOTES KUMARS RECIPE FILE

PUNJAB THE LAND OF FIVE RIVERS

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HISTORYThe name Punjab means "land of f ive r ivers" , and literally translates from Persian into the words Panj, related to Sanskrit Pañca, meaning "five", and Āb ,related to Sanskrit Āp, meaning "water" respectively. The rivers are the Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Sutlej and Beas. The five rivers, now divided between India and Pakistan, merge to form the Panjnad, which joins the Indus.Agriculture is the largest industry in Punjab. Bhangra is one of the many Punjabi musical art forms.Punjabi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Punjabi people.Punjabi cuisine can be non-vegetarian or completely vegetarian.The main masala in a Punjabi dish consists of onion, garlic and ginger and usually mildly spiced. Tandoori food is a Punjabi specialty especially for non-veg dishes.


INTRODUCTION The history of Punjab dates back to 5000 years back when the Aryans came and settled here.Richly influenced by all invaders such as Alexander to Nadir shah, the Persians to Sher shah, the Afghans to Barbar to the Mongols.The land of five rivers also called as the granary of the sub continent.


FESTIVALS & DANCES Sikhism is the main religion and Baisakhi is the harvest festival, which is celebrated on a grand scale. Other festivals are Lohri, Dusherra, Diwali, Holi, Gurpurab etc..

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THE FOOD Wheat and maize are the staple food grains.All lentils especially black gram and yellow gram are the part of Punjabi cuisine.Food of Punjab is wholesome and is rich in taste and texture.Tandoor is a much more than a versatile equipment.It is used to cook breads such as roti, naan, paranthas, kulchas and for non vegetarian dishes such as tandoori chicken, tandoori jinga etc.


Food have a thick creamy consistency.Use of ghee and white butter is almost in all dishes.Milk and milk products are available in abundance like paneer, curd, cream etc..Land of agriculture and one of the main crop is mustard. This is used in the famous veg. preparation of Punjab such as Makki ki roti, Sarson ka saag.Basically consists of chapattis, parathas, stuffed parathas et. Served with milk or milk products such as curd, paneer or butter.


Most Punjabi menus are made according to the season. The universal favorite is chole-bathure which is a round-the-year item and is available at every wayside dhaba anywhere in Northern India. The other popular dishes, which belong exclusively to Punjab, are mah ki dal, rajma (kidney beans) and stuffed parathas. Punjabi cuisine is characterized by a profusion of dairy products in the form of malai (cream), paneer (cottage cheese) and curds. Though chicken is a favorite with non-vegetarians, fish is also considered a delicacy, especially in the Amritsar region, which is also known for its kulcha, baked bread made of refined flour.


Almost all the preparations are cooked on a slow fire to coax out that perfectly robust taste. Sarson ka saag is cooked on a slow fire for hours with a minimum of spices so that the fresh taste can be retained. In fact, the longer it takes to cook the saag, the better it tastes. The dals are a specialty of Punjabi cuisine. Made of whole pulses like black gram, green gram and Bengal gram, they are cooked on a slow fire, often simmered for hours till they turn creamy and then are flavored with spices and rounded off with malai for that rich finish. The basic gravy used for vegetables and meat dishes is onion-tomato-garlic-ginger


Punjabi food is wholesome and full of rustic flavor. The custom of cooking in community ovens or tandoors prevails in rural areas even today. Tandoori dishes are popular all over the country today. Nans and parathas, rotis made of maize flour (makke di roti) are typical Punjabi breads. Of course, over the years the roti has been modified to add more variety, so there is the rumali roti, the naan and the laccha parathas, all cooked in the tandoor.


Tall glasses of lassi, made of yogurt, tempered with either salt or sugar, is a popular cooling drink of Punjabi origin but it is quite popular all over the country. Phirni, a sweet dish made of milk, rice flour and sugar and chilled in earthenware bowls is a typical Punjabi dessert. Punjabi sweet dishes like gulab jamuns and burfi have a strong percentage of khoya again made from milk.


paneer-a must in the vegetarian Punjabi menu. Several delectable items are made out of this rather bland derivative of milk. Creations like the Kadai Paneer, and Makhani Paneer are basically Punjabi but are well loved all over the country. One thing that makes Punjabi cuisine so special is the tandoor. Besides being a versatile kitchen equipment it is much more - a social institution.


In rural Punjab, the community tandoor, dug in the ground, is a meeting place, just like the village well, for the women folk, who bring the kneaded atta (dough) and sometimes marinated meats to have them cooked while chit-chatting. Until a few years ago, this phenomenon existed in urban neighborhoods too. Even today, a few neighborhoods have a communal tandoor.

Punjab's other grand contribution is the dhaba - the roadside eatery that has become a prominent feature on the national and state highways. Earlier frequented only by truck drivers, today it is in vogue to eat at a dhaba-urban or roadside.


A predominantly wheat eating people, the Punjabis cook rice only on special occasions. Rice is rarely cooked plain or steamed and is always made with a flavoring of cumin or fried onions, which is the served with rajma (kidney beans) or kadhi (curd curry). In winter, rice is cooked with jaggery - gurwala chawal or with green peas or as a delicacy called Rao ki kheer, which is rice cooked on a slow fire for hours together with sugar cane juice.


To go with their fine cuisine, the Punjabi's follow a very simple code of eating. A meal of vegetables and lentils is eaten with phulka or tandoor parathas (wheat bread) spread with desi-ghee or butter. On the other hand, a meat delicacy is usually eaten with a plain phulka or tandoor roti (without ghee or butter), accompanied by nothing more than a raita and muthi-piaz (onions split open by smashing them with a fist). Punjabis believe in eating out of a big brass thali using their fingers and drinking out of a 12-inch-long brass glass.


Tall glasses of lassi, made of yogurt,

tempered with either salt or sugar, is a

popular cooling drink of Punjabi origin but it is quite popular all

over the country


METHIWALI MAKKI DI ROTI

A bread made from makki da atta (Yellow Cornmeal/flour),finely chopped fresh Methi(fenugreek) leaves, oil, onion very finely chopped, green chillies finely chopped (optional), salt or to taste,hot water to knead the flour, cumin seeds crushed slightly, lemon juice, sugar.Some Ghee/melted butter to brush on the rotis after cooking them.


SARSON DA SAAG

Mustard leaves with spinach, green chillies, and ginger are cooked, pureed and cooked in butter for longer time on a slow flame so that the mustard leaves a pungent, but robust and delicious aroma.


PALAK PANEERPalak is spinach and Paneer is Indian cheese usually home made, used to make various Indian dishes. Spinach is cooked with light spices and ground coarsely and Paneer is added just before serving,makes a nutritious side dish as well for Rotis.


JalebisA crispy fried sweet dish, usually prepared from refined flour, soured with curd and flavored with saffron.The batter is fermented for 8 hours and then deep fried in ghee and soaked in sugar syrup just before service. Jalebis are bright orange or yellow in colour, but are also available in white. It is sometimes called honion or honyun rings.It can be served warm or cold. It has a somewhat chewy texture with a crystallized sugary exterior coating. The sugars get partly fermented which adds flavor to the dish.A similar sweet is imarti, which is red-orange in color and sweeter in taste, made in Uttar Pradesh. Jalebis in Orissa are also sometimes made of chhena.Jalebi is one of the most popular sweets in Pakistan. Similarly, it is popular in India as well, having being served as the Celebration Sweet of India especially during the national holidays like Independence Day and Republic Day in the government offices, defence and other organisations.Jalebi is similar to the sweet referred to as "Zangoola", popular in the middle east. The Persian word for Jalebi is "zoolbiah," while it is called "jeri" in Nepal, derived from jangiri, and the Mogul Emperor Jahangir

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GAJAR KA HALWA

Grated carrots cooked in milk, khoya and sweetened with sugar.Finished with ghee and flavored with saffron and cardamoms.Garnished with nuts.


TANDOORI CHICKENTandoori chicken is one of India’s most popular dishes. Tandoori chicken is originated from Mughals and now widely known as part of Punjabi cuisine famous for its wide range of tandoor recipes .This particular dish has a nice blend of sour curd/yogurt and masala blended well in the chicken when marinated. The spice mixture gives this crisp nice taste to the chicken. All of its work goes into how we marinate and how we cook them.


SOME SPECIALTY DISHES

Channa bathura Channa masala Rajhma curry Aloo gobi Channa pindi

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BAIGAN KA BHARTA - Charcoal smoked aubergines delicacy cooked with onions and tomatoes.KADHI – a soupy stew made of yogurt and chickpea flour with various flavorings filled with dumplings made of besan flour.

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DHAL MAKHANI

A rich lentil preparation, authentically made from urad, channa dhal and rajhma.enriched with butter and flavored with ginger, garlic, methi, hingh and jeera,


SHEEK KABAB


PUNJABI THALI


LOHE KA TANDOOR

Iron tandoor. It is kind of dome shaped iron oven used for making most breads such as sheermal, taftan, bakarhani etc.


['Chole Batura' - spicy chana [chole] (chick peas) with yummy puffed, deep fried batura (type of bread made of super-refined flour). Served with Raita (salted curd) , papad and a garnish of onions and mint.]

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Samosa –A famous snack preparation served round the clock,

with wide variety of filling ranging from vegetables to mince meat. Served with an appropriate chutney.



[Top left: Bhaigan ka bhurta [mashed brinjal cooked on an open flame],Bottom Right: Rajma ,Cente: Dal fry, Raita and an Aloo [potato] and Mulli[radish] Paratha [stuffed bread]. Not in picture: 2 Salted Lassis and hot pulkas/rotis]
