Punjabi cuisine

Punjabi cuisine (Punjabi: ਪੰਜਾਬੀ ਪਕਵਾਨ, Urdu: پنجابی پکوان) is food from the Punjab region of northwestern India and eastern Pakistan. 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, clarified butter, with liberal amounts of butter and cream, with home cooking concentrating on mainly upon preparations with whole wheat, rice and other ingredients flavored with masala.

Within the Punjab region, 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 sarson da saag. The main masala in a Punjabi dish consists of onion, garlic and ginger. Tandoori food is a Punjabi speciality especially for non-vegetarian dishes. Many of the most popular elements of Anglo-Indian cuisine - such as Tandoor, Naan, Pakoras and vegetable dishes with paneer - derive from the Punjab.

Contents

Typical dishes

Meat

Vegetarian

Pulse, bean and / or lentil preparations:

Other vegetarian dishes

Kadhi is a type of curry 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.

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:

  1. Baked in the tandoor like Naan, Tandoori roti, Kulcha, or Lachha Paratha
  2. Dry baked on the Tava (Indian griddle) like Phulka or Chapati, jowar ki roti, baajre ki roti and the very famous Makki ki roti (these are also smeared with white Butter)
  3. Shallow fried like Paratha, Keema Paratha, Potato or Radish Paratha
  4. Deep fried like Puri and Bhatoora (a fermented dough)

Naan is also very popular. It is served with most of the dishes made at an Indian restaurant.

See also

References