Dhabba, Punjabi Road Side Restaurant

Dhabba, Punjabi Road Side Restaurant

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Dhabba is a Punjabi road side restaurant or cafe. They are situated on highways and generally serve local cuisine, and also serve as truck stops. They are most commonly found next to petrol stations, and most are open 24 hours a day. Since many truck drivers belong to Punjab, Punjabi food is mostly liked by them.  The word Dhaba has come to represent any restaurant that serves Punjabi food, especially the heavily spiced and fried Punjabi fare preferred by many truck drivers..

Dhabas are made up of mud and have cots to sit upon (called Charpai) while eating. A wooden plank would be placed across the width of the cot on which to place the dishes. With time, the cots were replaced by tables. The food is typically inexpensive and has a 'homemade' feel to it. Punjabi food served in Dhaba is wholesome and full of rustic flavor. Food is served on big brass Thali (plates) and drinks – water, Lassi, mil or tea, as well as Shorbas (soups) are served in a 12 inch long brass glass.
Nowadays Dhabas can be seen and this word has come to represent sub-continental cuisine so much that many Indian restaurants in Europe and America have adopted it as a part of the name.

Zarda, Sweet Dish made by Rice.

Zarda, Sweet Dish made by Rice.

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Zarda is a traditional sweet dish. The word Zarda comes from a Persian word Zard that means Yellow. Hence it is named because the food color added to it gives it yellow color. It is a traditional sweet usually served after the meal. It is made from boiling rice with yellow food color.
Firstly take the desired amount of rice say 2 cups of rice and boil them. Now take a pan add water and 2 cup sugar to it, heat the pan and make its syrup. Take another pan and put some ghee in it and heat it. Put cinnamon and clove in it, when it starts smelling add rice in it with the same volume of water and close the lid. When water starts to dry add the syrup with little amount of milk solid in it, followed by green and red Murabba (candied fruits). Add few drops of Kewra in it. Mix all the contents and then add yellow food color to it and leave it to cook. Serve it with dry fruits of your choice like coconut, pistachio, saffron and Murraba.
This dish is often served at weddings as sweet dish. In Punjab, instead of yellow food color different colors are also added. Dating back to Mughal era Shah Jahan loved this dish. Even Zarda had a variation with an addition of small fried meat pieces called Mutanjan.

Gajar Ka Halwa (Gajrela), A sweet dish of punjab

Gajar Ka Halwa (Gajrela), A sweet dish of punjab

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Carrots are the blessing for us in winters. People really enjoy this seasonal vegetable and prepare different dishes from it. The most popular and famous one is GAJAR KA HALWA. It is a traditional sweet of Punjab which is mostly served in winters as it is made from carrots.
Take some carrots and shred them well. Pour some milk in the pan and add these shredded carrots in it and start cooking it. Add sugar into it according to the taste and stir it well until the sugar is dissolved. Next add butter in it and again stir it till the butter comes on top.  Add some dry milk and dry fruits like pistachios to it and cook for few minutes. Add little amount of  kewra essence to it which will add more sweetness to it, now dish it out and serve warm.
Carrots are very healthy for us. It purifies our blood and clears the skin. Improves the digestive system as well. It also cures the stomach and intestinal diseases

Pinni, A sweet of Punjab.

Pinni, A sweet of Punjab.

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Pinni is a Punjabi sweet dish which is mostly served in winters. It is specially prepared in Desi Ghee. It is sweet in taste and round in shape so general term Pinni is used for it. It is made of whole wheat flour.

Take a heavy bottomed pan and heat ghee. Then add wheat flour and cook it on low flame. Keep stirring it on low flame till the color changes and becomes light brown. Then add crushed Khoya to it again mix well. When flour is evenly browned and aromatic, add the desired amount of sugar according to taste and stir for a minute. Now remove the pan from the flame and add some dry fruits like almonds, cashews and some cardamom powder. Then transfer this mixture to a large plate and allow cooling a bit. Mix the contents well and add some milk and mix well. Now take a small portion of this mixture and make small sized balls. It can also be decorated with nuts.

It is very beneficial for health also. It helps improving digestive system and cardiac disorders. It is rich in nutrition’s. 

Sarson Ka Saag

Sarson Ka Saag

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Very common and traditional dish of Punjabi culture is ‘SARSON KA SAAG’ and ‘MAKKI KI ROTI’ Sarson ka saag is always served with makki ki roti and lassi. Guests are mostly served with this dish.

  Saag is firstly put in water and washed properly.  Then a little fresh water is added and saag is boiled over slow fire. Add green chilies & ginger & cook till saag gets thick. And for tadka, chopped onions, ginger, garlic, red pepper powder; garam masala, dhania are added and saute until onions are light brown.

Makki ki roti is made from maize. The maize flour is sieved in the bowl, finely chopped coriander leaves, carom seeds and salt is added with warm water and smooth dough is made. Take a small portion of the dough and make a dough ball and press that dough ball smoothly with your palm and roll it gently like a roti. Place the roti on heated tawa and add few drops of oil and cook it well. After it is cooked add some butter over it.,

This dish is very good for our health. It reduces Symptoms of Arthritis, Prevents Urinary Stones, Fights off Colds and Flu, Fights Cancer and helps in anaemia. It has high amount of proteins and nutrients good for our body.

Gola, The colorful icy snack of Punjab.

Gola, The colorful icy snack of Punjab.

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Gola is colourful icy snack of Punjab. Ice is finely crushed and this shaved ice is placed on a stick. Then different colors are added on it. Each color has its own taste. These flavored colors are the real beauty of thisGola. This icy snack is most popular in our villages and partly in urban areas. The summers are incomplete without this snack. No matter how hot it is but this Gola always bring a smile on everyone’s face, whether there is child or aged one.

There are some extra toppings upon Gola, that may be Khoya, Mango or Badami flavour. In USA there is a form of Gola that is called Snow Cone. Gola is also famous by Shaved Ice. Punjabi Gola is totally different from Snow Cone and Shaved Ice because it is placed on a stick.

Production of Jaggery (Gurh) in Punjab

Production of Jaggery (Gurh) in Punjab

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Jaggery is  traditional sweet of Punjab. It is also known as Gurh. It is prepared by Sugar Cane. It contains the natural goodness, vitamins of Sugar Cane. Sugar Canes are crushed to produce Sugar Cane Juice.

This juice is then filtered. The juice is filtered through cheese cloth and put in large cans. These cans with juice are carried to Bhatti (a fire place). 

Jaggery is usually of golden brown and dark brown color. It can be eaten alone or is mixed with peanuts, coconut or condensed milk. Various kinds of dishes can be prepared with Jaggery. In Punjab rice are made with Jaggery known as ‘ Gurh Walay Chawal’.

Sweet made with Jaggery and Peanut

Jaggery Rice

Lassi, One of the famous drink of Punjab.

Lassi, One of the famous drink of Punjab.

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Lassi is a traditional and best item of Punjabi cuisines. It is popular in hot summer season. It is a natural drink free from artificial flavors and colors. Lassi commonly has two flavors sweet and salty.

Sweet Lassi is made by adding yogurt, water and sugar into a clay pot called Chatti and blended until pure butter can be collected from it. Yogurt is divided into two things after blending. One is Lassi and Second is butter. Lassi is filtered with cheese cloth. This is the real traditional Lassi that is shown above. It can be enjoyed in hot season and is a good refreshing drink.  Nowadays, different fruits like bananas, mangoes and strawberries are added in Lassi to enjoy different flavours.

The salty one is known as ‘kachi lassi’.  This is made by mixing together a glass of water, a little milk and salt according to taste. It is usually drunk to reduce the warm effect of weather and also taken after eating mangoes or meal. 

Lassi is rich in minerals, vitamins and natural nutrients. It has huge nutritional values as it is rich with calcium, fats, lactose, phosphorous and proteins. So it is good for health and helps you to improve your immune system.

Row, The Juice of Suger Cane

Row, The Juice of Suger Cane

Suger Cane Juice Jawad Hasan  

Sugar cane juice is the most famous and popular drink in Punjab.It is known as Row and Ganey Ka Rus. It's demand increases in hot summer weather. It is extracted from sugar canes. It is good for health. It contains high quantity of iron, magnesium, calcium and other electrolytes. It is good for dehydration. Firstly the sugar canes are washed properly and then the outer layer of them is peeled with a sharp knife. Then these sugar canes are cut into small pieces and these pieces are put into machines or blenders and juice is extracted. It helps cure the common cold and other infections and also fight fever as it boosts the body's protein levels. It also prevents the cancer and heart diseases, also good for weight loss. In hot summer seasons we can see many people selling fresh sugar cane juice on road side and in different hotels too.

Suger Cane Fields, Also known as Kamand

Suger Cane Juice making machine in Punjab