Punjabi cuisine

View of Gawalmandi Food Street in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan.

Punjabi cuisine (In Punjabi:Punjabi: ਪੰਜਾਬੀ ਪ੍ਕਵਾਨ, Urdu: پنجابی پکوان punjabi pakawan) (from the Punjab region of northwestern India and eastern Pakistan) 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 clarified butter, known locally as ghee, with liberal amounts of butter and cream with home cooked concentrating on mainly upon preparations with Whole Wheat, Rice and other ingredients flavored with masalas (spices). Roh Di Kheer, is cooked using rice. Rice is cooked for a long time in sugar cane juice.

Within the area itself, 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. 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.

Gallery of Punjabi Dishes

Tandoori chicken is a popular dish in Punjabi cuisine.

A variety of Punjabi dinner cuisines - Starting from the left, Aloo Gobi, Seekh Kehbab, and Beef Karahi

Mint salted lassi from Punjab, India.

Mint Parantha from Punjab, India

Typical dishes

Meat (Standard English) or Non-Vegetarian (Indian English)

• Chicken - Tandoori Chicken, Butter Chicken, Chicken Tikka, etc.
• Lamb - Rogan Josh, Bhuna Ghosht, Kadhai Ghost, Raan Gosht, Dal Gosht, Saag Gosht, Nihari Gosht, Rara Gosht, Paye da Shorba, etc.
• Beef - Nihari Beef, Beef Pasanda, Kadhai Beef, etc (only in pakistan).
• Fish - These are all Freshwater fish dishes like Amritsari Fish, Tandoori Fish, Fish Tikka, Fish Pakora, etc.
• Kebabs - Various Lamb, Chicken and Beef Kebabs.
• Biryanis - Chicken Biryani and Lamb Biryani.
• Keema Naans - Chicken mince and Lamb mince stuffed Naans.
• Pickles - Lamb Pickle and vegetable Pickle.

Vegetarian

Pulse, bean and / or lentil preparations:

• Sarron Da Saag(a dish prepared from green mustard leaves and stem with Makki Roti(bread made by flour of Corn.
• Mushroom & Beans Sabzi
• Dal makhani/Dal HandiPulses with butter.
• Rajma (Red kidney bean) and Rice
• Dal Amritsari
• Rongi (Black eyed bean)
• Choley (eaten with Naan or Kulcha)
• Punj ratani dal

A 5 lentil dish; the lentils are soaked for at least 8 hours and then cooked in a tandoor along with ginger, garlic, garam masala, tomato or dried mango

Other vegetarian dishes

• Kadhi Pakora(Traditional curry with Pakoras) and Rice

Kadhi(Curry) is made by cooking gramflour with curd or buttermilk.Fried lumps(Pakoras) of gramflour with salt,chillies are also added.It is eaten with Rice.

• Kadhai Paneer
• Shahi Paneer

Cheese is prepared in water with spices.

• Phirni
• Jalebi
• Malpua.:
• Sheer korma (also called Seviyan)
• Pakoras
• Samosas

Bread preparations

The Punjabi breads are both flat 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, 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 Raddish Paratha
4. Deep fried like Puri and Bhatoora (a fermented dough)

The Tandoor also allows for tasty Chicken and Mutton preparations including Seekh Kebab, Tandoori Chicken, Reshmi Tikka and Malai Tikka. Naan is also very popular. It is served with most of the dishes made at an Indian restaurant.

See also

• Indian cuisine
• Pakistani cuisine
• Punjabi culture