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Going balle, balle
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The ongoing Punjabi food festival at The Leela Palace is as authentic as it gets
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SONS OF THE SOIL Punjabi robustness finds echoes in the cuisine, which cheerfully flaunts its disdain for the subtle
Everyone knows of the Punjabi fondness for food and hospitality — there is a special khatirdari strain in a Punjabi's DNA. As a people, they know how to enjoy life to fullest and take pleasure in feeding guests and visitors. The robustness finds echoes in the cuisine, which cheerfully flaunts its disdain for the subtle.
The basic masala is onion-ginger-garlic-and-tomatoes fried in tons of pure ghee. Milk and milk products, malai, paneer, ghee and curd are an integral part of the cuisine. Corporate Master Chef Farman Ali at The Leela Palace that is hosting a Punjabi food festival said: "The history of Punjabi cuisine stretches over centuries with influences from Russia, Kazakhstan, Turkey, Afghanistan and Baluchistan. These cuisines have been incorporated with changes to suit the Punjabi palate. Spices include cumin, cloves, cinnamon, cardamom, black pepper, red chilli power, turmeric and mustard. Mainly bread- (roti) eating people, rice is only eaten on special occasions and that too always with bagar (seasoning.)"
We have all heard of the famous kadi chawal or rajma chawal. And the paranthas are surely world famous from aloo (potato) and gobi (cauliflower) to a host of greens like methi (fenugreek) and palak (spinach), these are whole meals in themselves. Served with curd, white butter and pickle they help one attain the epitome of satiety. Then there is makkai di roti made from corn flour that simply has to be eaten with sarson da saag, ghee and jaggery.
Chef Farman explains how the lifestyle then permitted one to indulge in these heavy meals. "Punjabis are hard-working people. Earlier the required flour for the day would be ground by hand. The farmers also work hard the whole day so for them, the big thick rotis and the huge glasses lassi are digested in a jiffy. It is only us urbanites with our sedentary lifestyles who find the food too heavy."
For the pickles, chef Farman decided to forgo the regular saunf wala mango pickle for unusual ones like mooli (radish), gobi shalgum (totally rocking combi of cauliflower and turnip) and papita (papaya).
Start the meal with jal jeera or choose from the range of shorbas or soups, starters include a mind-boggling range of tikkis, chaats, kebabs and pakoras. The main course would have you whooping with delight as you greet old friends like dal makhani, pindi chole, rajma, sarson da saag, stuffed bittergourd, aloo wadi and of course a whole range of meats and sea food led by the iconic tandoori chicken.
"There is no biryani in Punjabi cuisine," Chef Farman comments. "In Punjab, pulav is popular and we are serving pulav as well as jeera rice." There is a whole range of raitas including potato, boondi, cucumber, tomato, onion, pineapple and mint and for those who prefer their curd straight — that option is there as well.
The sweet side is well served with gajjar ka halwa, kulfi, aam ki kulfi, gulab jamun and badam anjeer halwa.
The festival is on till June 16 at the Jamavar, The Leela Palace Kempinski, Airport Road, Bangalore 560008, Tel: 25211234.
MINI ANTHIKAD-CHHIBBER
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