Punjabi Cuisine & Awesome Punjabi Dishes

The cuisine of Punjab has an enormous variety of mouth watering vegetarian as well as non vegetarian dishes. Punjabi food is relished by people of all communities. Wheat is the staple food of Punjabis; however, they do enjoy eating rice on festivities and other special occasions. They are real lively people who are extremely fond of eating good food. In the preparation of Punjabi food, onion, ginger and garlic are used extensively to enhance the taste of food. Robust and rich are adjectives that go well with Punjabi cuisine. A litre of milk in the morning, a dozen butter`ful' rotis with paneer and aloo dishes for lunch followed by a huge glass of lassi, apart from an invigorating cup of masala chai is what one is reminded of while speaking of Punjabi food.

But there is more to it than just that. Punjabi cuisine is not all ghee/ butter and fat-and-calorie-rich dishes, which take a lot of time to prepare. Punjabis use ladyfingers, paneer and carrots to make lip-smacking dishes. Sample these dishes for an energy overdrive.

Fresh bhindi - 350 gms
?Ground coriander seeds - 15gms ?
Ground cumin seeds - 15gms
?Ground amchoor - 15gms ?
Red chilli powder - ¼ teaspoon
?Salt - 2.5 gms
?Ground black pepper - 2 gms ?
Small onion - 1
?Cooking e oil - 90 ml

Rinse the bhindi and pat dry.

Trim the bhindi by cutting off the bottom and the top cone.

In a bowl, mix together coriander, cumin, amchoor, chilli powder, salt and black pepper.

Make slits in the bhindi with a small knife.

Stuff the bhindi with the mixture prepared. There should be just enough filling to fill the pods.

Over a medium flame, heat oil in a frying pan in a single layer.

Fry the onion till it begins to brown. Add the bhindi and turn the fire to medium low.

It should cook slowly and uncovered. Gently turn the sides till golden brown. Cover the pan and cook for a further five minutes.

?Potatoes - 1 kg
?Fresh ginger - 50 gms
?Large tomatoes - 350 gms
?Vegetable oil - 60 ml
?Whole cumin seeds - 2.5 gms
?Kalonji - ¼ teaspoon
?Fenugreek seeds - 1/8 teaspoon
?Ground turmeric - ¼ teaspoon
?Ground cumin seeds - 5 gms
?Ground coriander seeds - 5 gms
?Red chilli powder - ¼ teaspoon
?Salt - 4 gms

Boil potatoes in their skins. Drain and let cool. Peel and dice them.

Peel ginger and chop coarsely. Blend with water.

Chop tomatoes into very small pieces.

Heat oil in a pan. When hot, add cumin seeds, kalonji and fenugreek seeds.

Stir once and add ginger paste and turmeric. Stir for a minute.

Add tomatoes and cook till tomatoes have turned paste-like.

Now add potatoes with water and salt. Mix well and bring to a boil. Turn heat to low and simmer till done.

Cottage cheese - 250 gms ?
Ginger - 20 gms ?
Cumin - 1 teaspoon
Chilli powder - ¼ teaspoon
Tomato puree - 1 ?
Onions - 2 ?
Salt - 10 gms
?Garlic - 4 cloves
?Green chillies - 3
?Bell pepper - 2
?Ghee - 1 tablespoon

Grind ginger, garlic, cumin and green chillies to a fine paste. Add salt and chilli powder.

Cut cottage cheese into 1" cubes. Apply this paste to all the pieces.

Pierce cottage cheese cubes on a skewer and grill on charcoal fire for 10 minutes till it is slightly crisp and dry.

Alternately, cottage cheese can be left like this for one hour, till dry. Heat 1 tbsp. ghee in a wok. Fry onions and bell pepper rings for a few minutes till onions get transparent. Keep aside a few bell pepper rings. Add tomato puree and cook till dry. Add salt and cottage cheese pieces. Toss for a minute. Serve garnished with bell pepper rings.

?Wheat flour - 2-½ cups ?
Oil/butter - 2 tablespoon
Oil for shallow frying
?Mint - 1 cup

Sift flour and salt in a bowl. Add 2 tbsp of oil and mint and make a stiff dough. Cover with a damp cloth and leave aside for 30 minutes.

Divide the dough into 15 parts. Shape like balls and press flat with the palm of your hand.
Roll out the roti into a round disc about 5" diameter.

Put roti on a preheated griddle, dry roast both sides first, then add oil on both sides and shallow fry until well browned.

Sabudana: 100gm
Roasted peanuts: 30gm
Potato, boiled: 1
Green chilli: 1
Ginger: 1-inch piece
Cumin seeds: 1 gm
Coriander leaves: 25gm
Salt to taste
Oil for frying

Soak sabudana for a minimum of 1 1/2hr. Add mashed boiled potato, chopped coriander, roasted cumin powder, chopped green chilli and ginger and mix it well. Make a small ball and flatten it in your palm and deep fry it.

Fresh paneer: 250 gms
Tomatoes: 500 gms
Onions: 3
Green chillies: 3-4
A piece of ginger
Khus khus (poppy seeds): 2 tablepsoon
Cashewnuts: 1/4 teacup
Tejpatta (bay leaf): 2
Cardamoms: 2
Cloves: 2
A piece of cinnamon
Red chilli powder: 1/2 teaspoon

Garam masala: 1/2 teaspoon
Sugar: 1 teaspoon
Salt to taste
Fresh cream: 50 gms
Coriander, chopped: 1 tablepsoon
Melted butter: 3 tablespoon

Cut the paneer into long rectangle pieces.

Soak the khus khus and cashewnuts in water for 3-4 hours. Drain water and grind it into a fine paste.

Cut the tomatoes and onions.

Heat half the melted butter. Stir fry the onions, to matoes green chillies, cardamoms, cloves, cinnamon. Blend in a mixture to get a smooth pulp.

Heat the remaining melted butter. Stir fry the khus khus-cashewnut mixture on a low flame. Add bay leaves, red chilli powder, sugar and salt to taste along with the tomato pulp mixture stirring continuously.

When the mixture begins to simmer add the paneer pieces and gently stir it. Add the garam masala.

Cook on a low flame until the gravy thickens. Garnish with fresh cream and chopped coriander leaves and serve hot.

Potato, large:1
Carrot:1
Capsicum:1
French beans: 8
Onions: 2
Baby corn: 3-4
Green peas: 1/2 cup
Small pieces of cauliflower florets: 7-8
Tomatoes: 3-4
Oil: 2 tbsps
Ginger garlic paste: 1tsp
Green chillies paste: 1tsp
Thick curds: 2 cups
A pinch of saffron
Red chilli powder: 1 tsp
Salt to taste

Cashewnuts: 10-12
Blanched almonds: 10-12
Khus khus: 2 tsps
Cardamom: 2-3
Cloves: 2
A piece of cinnamon
Milk: 1/4 cup

Cut all the vegetables lengthwise and steam them except onions, capsicum and tomatoes.

Make a smooth paste by grinding all the ingredients in a little milk.

Stir fry the onions in oil for 2-3 minutes. Then add all the pastes al ong with the thick curds.

Keep stirring until the mixture begins to boil. Add capsicum, tomatoes and the other vegetables. Add chilli powder and salt to taste. Cook on a low flame and serve hot.

Garlic powder: 1 teaspoon
Ginger, ground: 1 teaspoon
Clove powder: 1 teaspoon
Nutmeg, grated: half teaspoon
Mace powder (Javitri): 1 teaspoon
Cumin powder: one-and-a-half tablespoon
Coriander powder: 2 tablespoon
Fenugreek powder: 1 teaspoon
Cinnamon, ground: 1 teaspoon
Black pepper, fresh, ground: 1 teaspoon
Brown cardamom seeds, ground: 1 teaspoon

Mix all the ingredients, without roasting them. Put them through a fine sieve. Store the masala tightly in an airtight container. Close the lid tightly each time after use.

Desi ghee: 50 ml
Cumin seeds: 5 gms
Garlic (chopped): 10 gms
Spinach (chopped and blanched): 200 gms
Spinach paste (blanched): 250 gms
Salt: to taste
Green chilli paste: 10 ml
Paneer cubes (fried): 200 gms
Cream: 30 ml
Butter: 10 gms

Heat ghee, add cumin seeds and let it crackle. Add chopped garlic and sauté.

Add chopped spinach and simmer for two minutes.

Add spinach paste and simmer till the moisture evaporates.

To this add salt, green chilli paste, paneer cubes and cook it for a while. Finish the dish with butter and cream.

Milk:1 litre
Carrot: 250 gms
Sugar: 150 gms
Cardamom (green): 3
Ghee: 150 gms

Take grated carrot and cook on low heat for ten minutes, keep stirring all the time. Keep this aside.

Heat ghee in another pan. Add green cardamom, then milk and bring to boil. To this add carrot, cook it for a while, add sugar and cook for ten minutes.

?Carrots - 500 gms
?Khoya - 200 gms
?Cashew nuts -10 ?
Cardamoms - 6-8 ?
Silver leaves - 2
?Milk - 1 litre
?Sugar - 1 cup
?Desiccated coconut - 1 tablespoon
Ghee - 1 teaspoon

Boil milk and sugar then add grated carrots. Cook the milk, sugar, grated carrots and khoya together until the mixture thickens. Add one tsp. ghee/butter and fry lightly.

Lastly, add cashew nuts and cardamom powder. Serve hot, garnished with silver leaves and grated coconut.