Mama’s Punjabi Recipes – Paneer Di Bhurji (Crumbled Cheese & Onion Mash)
Paneer (fresh milk soft cheese) is a favorite all over India, but its nationwide use has only grown rapidly over the past dozen years. Up till the mid 90’s, paneer was still a specialty item and used sparingly in select dishes like palak paneer (spinach and cheese), a universal favorite. But ever since the Green […]
Mama’s Punjabi Recipes – Moong Di Dhuli Daal De Namkeen Laddu (Skinless Moong Daal Salty Balls)
Indians love to eat fried foods, whether its pakoras, samosas, puris, kulchas or so many other things. The power of deep frying – and then eating the food hot – makes the average Indian’s mouth water! Namkeen laddus are a cross between a bhalla – which is made with urad daal – and a pakora, […]
Mama’s Punjabi Recipes – Chane di Daal di Parantha (Chana Daal Parantha)
In most Indian homes there are always plenty of left over vegetable dishes, and especially some daal because it usually made in large amounts in a saucepan. Cooked daal of all sorts is so easy to keep, even in warm weather as it can be left in a pot for a day or two. Also, […]
Mama’s Punjabi Recipes – Karele de Chilke di Paronthi (Bitter Melon Peelings Paronthi)
It seems that everyone loves a nice, crispy, hot Punjabi parantha coated with the right amount of olive oil (some people still use butter or ghee). And many people also love the taste of karelas (bitter melon) too, usually eating it with roti. This recipe combines the taste of karelas with the texture of paranthas […]
Mama’s Punjabi Recipes – Shalgam di Kurry (Turnip Curry)
Very few people actually enjoy eating turnips, because they say they don’t like the slightly radish taste and smell or the texture that is between cooked squash, onion and sweet potato. For this reason, it is really hard to make many people eat shalgam (turnips) without adding more spices to help to remove some of […]
Mama’s Punjabi Recipes – Kele Da Masala Parantha (Banana Stuffed Parantha)
There are many types of paranthas, and it seems that you can only be limited by your imagination and skill as a cook with what you can stuff them with. I have even made them with sugar and the grated Cheddar cheese, they come out delicious, especially after the cheese has melted inside. Although there […]
Mama’s Punjabi Recipes – Dhuli Mah Chole Di Dal (Skinless Split Urad And Split Chana Dal)
This is a variation on the most beloved of all dal dishes for Punjabis, and a welcome change from the brown chocolate colored Dal Makhani (Butter Lentils) which is found in just about every Indian restaurant and dhaba around the world. It combines the flavor pf the black urad dal – but without the bitter […]
Mama’s Punjabi Recipes – Aaloo Methi (Sauteed Potatoes & Fenugreek)
Methi (fenugreek) is a vegetable that, when dried, is also used as a spice for flavoring other dishes, like raita (yogurt sauce) or paranthas (crispy flat breads). In this way, it is unique among all the vegetables that are used in Indian cooking, which comes from the raw vegetable itself being no more than the […]
Mama’s Punjabi Recipes – Daal Di Roti (Daal Dough Flat Bread)
When it comes to roti – the staple diet of most Punjabis and people of Northwest India – there are several varieties of flours to suit the seasons, like bajra or pearl millet during the winter months and eaten in the arid areas; makkayi or corn for the autumn harvest or kanak (wheat flour), which […]
Mama’s Punjabi Recipes – Punjabi Namkeen Matthi (Punjabi Salted Fried Crackers)
The beauty of the Indian marketplace is that there are so many types of snacks – both sweet and salty – that you can never get tired of eating all of them, although you could certainly put on lots of weight if you did! There are almost as many types of sweet snacks – sweetmeats […]
Mama’s Punjabi Recipes – Bajre Gur Di Roti (Pearl Millet And Jaggery Bread)
This recipe is made with a grain – bajra (pearl millet) – about which we used to sing a song in Jhungi Punjabi as young girls growing up in Lyallpur and Jhung. Bajre de olle weh mennu banne we pewaa deh, (Oh, build a wall besides the mullet wheat bush) Main chiddiyan ouaindi thuk gaiyi […]
Mama’s Punjabi Recipes – Badam Wala Dudh (Hot Almond Milk Tonic)
This recipe can’t really be called a dish as it is more of a remedy that can cure flu and cold symptoms, but it was a drink that my children, nieces and nephews liked so much that they would ask for it during the cold months like a sweetened milkshake. It is considered a tonic […]
Mama’s Punjabi Recipes – Dahi Bhalle (Lentil Dumplings In Yogurt)
This dish can be found all over India in one form or the other where it is also known as dahi vada. But for Punjabis, it is known as dahi bhalle and is prepared in a slightly different manner. Punjabis also never eat dahi bhalle by itself like a snack the way it is eaten […]
Mama’s Punjabi Recipes – Ghiye ke Kofte (Bottle Gourd Or Squash Dumpling Curry)
The word “kofta”, meaning a dumpling ball, is actually derived from the Persian word “kuftan” which means “to beat or grind”. And as Northern India was conquered several times by the Mongols and Persians, the word for their dish of meatballs or kofte became commonly used over time. Now, the word “kofte” is not used […]
Mama’s Punjabi Recipes – Ghiye ka Raita (Grated Bottle Gourd Or Squash Yogurt Sauce)
There are many types of raita to choose from when deciding on a complement to an Indian meal and the choice often comes down to the effect that you want to achieve with the food. For example, if the food is very spicy and served with roti, then a pudina (mint leaf) raita is probably […]
Mama’s Punjabi Recipes – Ajawain aur Badam Wala Gur (Jaggery & Carom Seeds Coated Almonds)
With the bitter cold weather comes the need for foods that can keep you warm, provide nourishment and give a quick boost of energy. In my ancestral town of Lyallpur in Pre-Partitioned India and the rest of the Punjab, Multan and Northwest Frontier areas, the winter cold fronts would come off the Hindu Khush mountains […]
Mama’s Punjabi Recipes – Besan di Pinniya (Gram Flour Sweet Balls)
Pinniya are extremely popular in the Punjab during the cold weather months. It is very common to see people having one or two with their hot tea on a cold morning, or again with late afternoon tea. The ingredients in the pinniyas – sugar, oil, flour and nuts – provide a quick boost of energy […]
Mama’s Punjabi Recipes – Sukhi Urad ki Dal (Dry Urad Lentils)
Lentils are to Indians what meat is to many Americans. It is a staple for most people in Indian – both vegetarian and non-vegetarian – and the source of most of their protein and in fact, a meal is often not considered complete without a lentil dish. Whereas soya beans have about 43 gm of […]
Mama’s Punjabi Recipes – Tamater Aur Piyaaz ya Kheere ka Raita (Tomato & Onion Or Cumcumber Yogurt Sauce)
Yogurt has a special significance in Indian culture and religion. It is considered sacred and a purifying agent because of the relationship of cowmilk with many Hindu rituals and because yogurt, or curds as many Indian call it, were eaten up by the baby Lord Krishna. Fresh clay praats (flat saucers) of yogurt with a […]
Mama’s Punjabi Recipes – Shimla Mirch Bharvi (Stuffed Green Bell Pepper)
You can find stuffed green bell peppers in many parts of the world: in Greece and other Mediterranean countries often farci – stuffed with rice, herbs and raisins – or with minced meat. In many parts of India, Shimla mirch is often stuffed with potatoes, which is a typical Punjabi dish. But to make it […]
