Local Dishes

1. ਮੱਕੀ ਦੀ ਰੋਟੀ

   Makkee dee rotee

   Makki di roti (maize-flour flatbread)

   Usage

   Flatbread of maize flour cooked on a griddle; contains no wheat. A winter staple, normally served with ਸਰ੍ਹੋਂ ਦਾ ਸਾਗ. Usually topped with butter.

2. ਸਰ੍ਹੋਂ ਦਾ ਸਾਗ

   Sarhon daa saag

   Sarson da saag (slow-cooked mustard greens)

   Usage

   Mustard leaves and stalks slow-cooked with spinach, chenopodium, green chilli and spices. Finished with butter or ghee, so it contains dairy.

3. ਦਾਲ ਮੱਖਣੀ

   Daal makkhanee

   Dal makhani (black lentils simmered with butter)

   Usage

   Black gram and kidney beans simmered for hours and finished with butter and cream. Contains a lot of dairy. Usually mild.

4. ਮਾਂਹ ਦੀ ਦਾਲ

   Maanh dee daal

   Manh di dal (black gram lentils)

   Usage

   Everyday dal made from black-skinned gram (ਮਾਂਹ). Lighter than ਦਾਲ ਮੱਖਣੀ, with much less butter and cream.

5. ਰਾਜਮਾਂਹ

   Raajmaanh

   Rajma (red kidney bean curry)

   Usage

   Red kidney beans stewed in an onion-and-tomato gravy. Normally served with plain rice (ਚੌਲ). Contains no meat.

6. ਕੜ੍ਹੀ

   Karhee

   Kadhi (yoghurt and gram-flour curry)

   Usage

   A tangy, thick gravy of gram flour whisked into buttermilk (ਲੱਸੀ). Usually has fritters (ਪਕੌੜਾ) dropped in and is eaten over rice. Contains dairy.

7. ਛੋਲੇ ਭਟੂਰੇ

   Chhole bhatoore

   Chole bhature (chickpea curry with fried bread)

   Usage

   Spiced chickpeas (ਛੋਲੇ) served with a puffed, deep-fried leavened bread (ਭਟੂਰਾ). Eaten at breakfast. Contains wheat and is deep-fried, so it is heavy.

8. ਕੁਲਚਾ

   Kulchaa

   Kulcha (small leavened flatbread)

   Usage

   A small leavened wheat flatbread. Contains wheat. This word covers the plain, unstuffed version.

9. ਅੰਮ੍ਰਿਤਸਰੀ ਕੁਲਚਾ

   Amritsaree kulchaa

   Amritsari kulcha (stuffed tandoor-baked bread)

   Usage

   Stuffed with potato or onion and baked against the wall of a clay oven (ਤੰਦੂਰ). A speciality of Amritsar, normally served with ਛੋਲੇ and butter. Contains wheat and dairy.

10. ਪਰੌਂਠਾ

    Paraunthaa

    Paratha (layered flatbread)

    Usage

    Wheat dough brushed with ghee, folded into layers and cooked on a griddle. Contains wheat and milk fat. The spelling ਪਰਾਂਠਾ is also seen.

11. ਆਲੂ ਪਰੌਂਠਾ

    Aaloo paraunthaa

    Aloo paratha (potato-stuffed flatbread)

    Usage

    Paratha stuffed with spiced potato. A breakfast standard, served with curd (ਦਹੀਂ), butter and pickle. Contains wheat and dairy.

12. ਸ਼ਾਹੀ ਪਨੀਰ

    Shaahee paneer

    Shahi paneer (paneer in a creamy gravy)

    Usage

    Fresh cheese (ਪਨੀਰ) in a gravy of tomato, cream and ground nuts. Contains dairy and nuts. Usually mild.

13. ਪਨੀਰ ਟਿੱਕਾ

    Paneer tikkaa

    Paneer tikka (tandoor-grilled paneer)

    Usage

    Cubes of ਪਨੀਰ marinated in curd and spices, then grilled in the ਤੰਦੂਰ. A starter with no meat. Contains dairy.

14. ਤੰਦੂਰੀ ਚਿਕਨ

    Tandooree chikan

    Tandoori chicken (clay-oven roasted chicken)

    Usage

    Chicken marinated in curd and spices and roasted in a clay oven (ਤੰਦੂਰ). Contains chicken and dairy. No beef or pork is used.

15. ਬਟਰ ਚਿਕਨ

    Batar chikan

    Butter chicken (chicken in butter-tomato gravy)

    Usage

    Oven-roasted chicken simmered again in a gravy of butter, tomato and cream. Contains a lot of dairy. Mild and slightly sweet.

16. ਖਿਚੜੀ

    Khichrhee

    Khichdi (rice and lentils cooked together)

    Usage

    Rice and lentils boiled together with salt. Very lightly spiced and easy to digest, so it is a good thing to ask for when you are unwell.

17. ਸਮੋਸਾ

    Samosaa

    Samosa (fried triangular pastry)

    Usage

    Wheat pastry folded into a triangle around spiced potato or pulses and deep-fried. Usually served with chutney (ਚਟਣੀ). Contains wheat.

18. ਪਕੌੜਾ

    Pakaurhaa

    Pakora (gram-flour fritter)

    Usage

    Potato, aubergine, onion or green chilli dipped in a gram-flour (ਵੇਸਣ) batter and fried. Contains no wheat. A rainy-day and winter standard.

19. ਖੀਰ

    Kheer

    Kheer (rice pudding)

    Usage

    Rice simmered slowly in milk and sweetened. Often flavoured with cardamom and studded with raisins, almonds or cashews, so it may contain dairy and nuts.

20. ਗਾਜਰ ਦਾ ਹਲਵਾ

    Gaajar daa halvaa

    Gajar da halwa (carrot halwa)

    Usage

    Grated carrot cooked down with milk, ghee and sugar. A winter sweet, served warm. Contains dairy and is usually topped with nuts.

21. ਜਲੇਬੀ

    Jalebee

    Jalebi (syrup-soaked fried spiral)

    Usage

    Batter piped in a spiral, fried and soaked in sugar syrup. Very sweet. Sold hot in the morning and sometimes eaten with curd (ਦਹੀਂ).

22. ਗੁਲਾਬ ਜਾਮਨ

    Gulaab jaaman

    Gulab jamun (milk-solid dumplings in syrup)

    Usage

    Balls of reduced milk solids (ਖੋਆ), fried and steeped in syrup. Contains dairy. Commonly served at celebrations.

23. ਪਿੰਨੀ

    Pinnee

    Pinni (round winter sweet)

    Usage

    Flour roasted in ghee, mixed with jaggery (ਗੁੜ) and almonds and rolled into balls. A winter sweet containing milk fat, nuts and wheat. NOTE: the same word also means the calf of the leg, so do not show it on its own outside a sweet shop.

24. ਪੰਜੀਰੀ

    Panjeeree

    Panjiri (roasted flour sweet)

    Usage

    Flour roasted in ghee and mixed with sugar or jaggery (ਗੁੜ) and nuts, eaten loose. Taken in winter as a warming food. Contains wheat, milk fat and nuts.

Browse all TravelPhrases languages