Punjabi recipes

Dal makhani or maa di dal, as it is popularly known in the punjab, with its smooth velvety texture and lovely flavour is a delicacy that is very much a dish of the punjab. Every punjabi restaurant, roadside eating place and food stall vendor makes the claim that this is a delicacy that they alone can make to perfection. This my own tested recipe dare i claim it as the best? dal makhani is traditionally cooked on a low flame overnight and allowed to thicken. Using a pressure cooker helps cook the dal in a jiffy. Serve hot with naans.

Urad Dal Ki Roti recipe

This Punjabi dish, with some variation in spices, is eaten over all of northern India. Paneer is a fresh milk cheese with an interesting, slightly chewy consistency. It's easy to make, but requires planning ahead. You can substitute a diced 6- or 8-ounce cake of pressed tofu for it in this recipe.

A little of this warm, spicy blend goes a long way. Coming from North India, where meat is eaten more frequently than in the South, it is the kind of masala that's popular as an accompaniment for almost any meat dish, as a condiment or in the sauce.

Asafetida, mango powder, and black salt distinguish the chat masala from other masalas, giving the blend a sourness that makes it a welcome accompaniment to fresh fruit and other snacks. 'Chat' refers to various snacks and to the North Indian cafes that serve them. Fresh fruit often is sprinkled with lime juice and chat masala. Black salt (which is actually reddish gray), available at Indian food stores, has a distinctive flavor that's quite different from sea salt or table salt. The garam masala is the wild card in this recipe; either one of the (Tamil Nadu Curry Powder or Punjabi-Style Garam Masala) masalas may be used.

This rich flavoursome dish originates in the fertile Punjab, a state now divided between India and Pakistan. There is nothing more important to a Punjabi man's diet than bread, and meals are accompanied by flat round cornbread rotis or rich, flaky pan-fried paratha layered with ghee (clarified butter). Rice is reserved for special occasions or for rice pudding, for the only food that makes a Punjabi feel he has eaten a proper meal is his bread! You of course, can serve this dish with plain boiled rice.