What India Like To Eat: The Taste of Punjab

Jun 26, 20207 min read

Updated: Jul 29, 2020

|By- Het Panchal|

Fields of swaying mustard plants covered with fog are waiting for the farmer to come and harvest the crop. Wheatfields stretching for miles are eager to be piled on the tractor. So that they can reach each corner of the country and satiate the hunger of billions of people. The earth here has always been providing food and guarding India. And for thousands of years, these hardworking people have been fighting with invaders of other countries. Be it Sikander, Timuror Babur. Whichever emperor tried to conquer India, he had to first traverse this land. The partition of 1947 ripped the land apart. But after 70 years this land is again smiling. Mustard, which was once tinted with sunlight is again blossoming today, with the radiance of the sun. In the 21st century, it won’t be wrong to say that Punjabi food has become the epitome if Indian food all over the world.

When we talk about Punjab and Punjabi food you see an image of lush fields. Delicacies are rich with milk curd and clarified butter (Ghee). ‘Butter chicken’ being made in a wok with butter and dry fruits, ‘Makki ki roti’ and ‘Sarson ka Saag’. If you ask any Punjabi, he will say that there is nothing else in the world besides Punjab. Punjab is a state of 5 rivers. Milk and curd have always been abundant here. Before the partition, it was the land of an abundant harvest. Ans from the north-east border, dry fruits would be brought from Kabul and Kandahar. Fruits would be brought from form Kashmir. During those days the border of Punjab would extend till Delhi. Haryana wasn’t a separate state at that time. Mughal emperor would have one capital in Agra and others in Lahore. In Punjab and during Khalsa reign, King Ranjit Singh’s prosperity wasn’t less than of the British in India. So, the Punjabis penchant for good food and good dressing which is also their pride is justified.

Be it Chandigarh's fusion food, Ludhiana, Patiala, Ambala, and Kapurthala’s local Punjabi food or Lahore, Rawalpindi, and Peshawar’s Mughlai and frontier food. Like the railway network that spread before independence, the main junction point the sacred city of Sikhs, Amritsar. The fourth Guru of Sikhs, Guru Ram Das found it in 1570. Here, trade was highly encouraged. At one time, Amritsar had the biggest markets in all of north India of clothes, shoes, and dry fruits. Amritsar was called as Ramdaspur. In 1604, after the construction, of Harmandir Sahib, it got the Amritsar. Since pilgrims from all over the country go there, the food that travelers get to eat be it ‘Langar’ food or food in charitable homes or food outside the temple, it’s rich in Ghee. The Khalsa community has a reputation for pure and clean food.

The doors of the Golden Temple are open 24 hours, not only to show devotees and pilgrims the path of spirituality but also to satiate their hunger. Providing free meals or a community kitchen called ‘Langar’ is an unbreakable pillar of Sikhism. Langar was started 500 years ago by Guru Nanak who was the first Guru of Sikhs. Since then this practice is followed by Sikhs. The main purpose behind starting Langar was that every man whether he is rich or poor, upper class, or lower class, everybody sits on the floor together. People from Punjab love feeding people, as much as they love food. They love sharing their food.

Cooking food for lakhs of people isn’t a trivial matter. Thousands of Sikhs and Hindus donate food grains like wheat, rice, lentils, and vegetables. Countless people come here willingly and help in chopping vegetables. They even cook food and serve it.

Today, ‘Amritsari Chole Bhature’, fish tikka, kulcha, and lassi are collectively considered to be Punjabi food. You will be amazed to know that the real natives of Punjab, who are the hardworking farmers, their food is completely different from this. Punjabi food is something which is best asked by the village person. Because his diet even today is simple. That’s Punjabi food. The Punjabi farmer who works hard the whole year in order to feed the country he eats ‘Sarson ks Saag’ with tempering of ghee and crisp cornbread.

The discussion of Punjabi food is incomplete if you don’t talk about ‘Makki ki Roti’ and ‘Sarson ka Saag’ is simply scrumptious. It has the richest source of calcium and iron as compared to any other vegetables. It is very healthy for the stomach, intestines, and the body. People consume it more during winters. ‘Sarson ka tel’ or Mustard oil is always used to cook Punjabi food. Even meat is cooked in mustard oil. Right from the beginning, Punjabis have known the importance of mustard oil.

The pride of Punjabi cuisine ‘Saag’ has always been a part of Indian people’s diet. It was first mentioned in Jain scripture, Acharanga Sutra, which dates back to 2500 years ago. Ancient Ayurveda books were written during that time Charaka and Sushruta Samhita also talk about Saag in detail.

Thousands of years before the White Revolution milk and ghee were used abundantly in the Indus valley civilization. After the arrival of Aryans, milk and ghee received an exalted position in Vedic literature. Their consumption is said to be beneficial.

‘Tandoor’ received a boost in Central Asian and North Indian cuisine when in order to cook food for army soldiers the tandoor was removed from the ground and made portable. Today, this Tandoor is widely used for Punjabi food. After the partition, Tandoor became a cultural symbol for those migrants who left their lands overnight. Tandoor is a clay furnace that you can use in more than ten ways. You can make ‘Naan’ or any flatbread, you can roast eggplants and potatoes for sabzi and you can keep the food warm all night. It’s not surprising that Tandoor is world-famous today.

After partition, people who came over here started cooking food on the corner of the streets every evening to feed their families. They served food to travelers to earn some income. That’s how ‘Dhabas’ came into being. Be it crisp flatbreads made in a tandoor, Murg Masala, and Malai Tikka served with salad or bright red marinated Tandoori Chicken. The Dhabas gave a new dimension to Punjabi cuisine. Perhaps there must be many people who would not even know where India is on the world map, but they must have definitely heard about ‘Butter Chicken’. This is a sour, sweet, and spicy chicken actually originated in Delhi. But today it’s an integral part of Punjabi cuisine. Tomato forms the base of this curry and it is believed that tomato grew in Mexico and Peru. It arrived in India around 150 years ago.

The land of Punjab we know today is just a quarter of the Punjab that existed 100 years ago. The borders would touch Afghanistan in the north and Balochistan in the west, Kashmir, and Tibet in the east. It’s very unfortunate and sad that the partition had a direct effect on the food as well. Dishes like ‘Murg chole’ and ‘Chukandar gosht’ which were a part of undivided Punjab are now alienated from India. Patiala’s royal family gave a new persona to Punjab’s culture, art and food. From the downfall of Mughals to India’s independence it was the home of artists, musicians, and cooks. You get to see the real grandeur and splendor pf Patiala by looking at King Bhupinder Singh’s life. His tales are still narrated in the lanes of Patiala. Descendants of many kings have kept their culture alive through their food. Where many old recipes like Orange Pilaf or ‘Narangi pilaf’, Aloo and Safed Korma are cooked.

In Punjab, peanut and sesame seed ‘Chikki’ is made with jaggery. This jaggery is made up of fresh sugarcane juice. Sugarcane has been cultivated in India for 1200 years. We find its first mention in Sutra literature dating back to thousands of years. On ‘Lohri’ chikki is eaten and shared in the evening by the people of Punjab and North India. Those whose lives revolve around farming for them Lohri holds special importance. Its the symbol of the end of autumn and the beginning of harvest.

The land of Punjab is the cradle of humanity. Since the time Indus valley civilization flourished here this land has been a granary for the entire country. ‘Makki ki Roti’ and ‘Sarson ka Saag’ symbolize that beauty lies in simplicity. By rising above caste and religion and eating ‘Langar’ food you understand the true message of the Gurus. Amritsar’s jalebi, kulcha, fish, and buttermilk are as spirited and vibrant as the people here. People who became homeless after partition served food in Dhabas telling the travelers that borders can divide maps and not hearts. This was the story of the food of Punjab.

Narangi Pilaf:

Prep time: 30 mins

Cook time: 10 mins

Total time: 40 mins

Serves: 3-4

INGREDIENTS:

● 2 cups long grain basmati rice

● 1 medium-sized onion finely chopped

● 2 medium-sized onions fried

● 7-8 cloves of garlic finely chopped

● 1 tsp Shahi Jeera (black cumin seeds)

● 7-8 green cardamom

● 6 cloves

● 2 inches of cinnamon stick

● 2 bay leaves

● Cooking Oil

● Salt

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Take a large bowl and soak the rice in water for 30 minutes.

2. Heat 3 tbsp oil in a pan. Fry chopped garlic until they turn light brown.

3. When garlic turns brown, add black cumin seeds. As cumin seeds start to splutter add chopped onions and fry them until they become tender.

4. When onions become tender, add green cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, bay leaf and fry them for a minute.

5. Fry whole spices for 1 minute. Now add rice and mix it well with the ingredients in the pan.

6. Add 4 cups of water for 2 cups of rice. Cook rice uncovered on medium flame until water begins to boil.

7. As the water begins to boil, add salt as per taste. Cover and cook the rice until it is done.

8. Rice gets cooked in 3 minutes. Turn off the flame and let the rice stay covered for the next 15 minutes so that it absorbs all the flavors and aroma of spices.

9. Garnish Patiala Pilaf with fried onions.