Punjabi Dhabas

 August 17 2010 | Category : Food | | (9) Comments Tweet

Punjabi Dhaba‘s are restaurants run by Punjabi’s along highways(roadside) in the outskirt areas of cities, towns or villages. The joining of various Indian cities with National, state and village roads benefited these style cafes. The Punjabis who manage these outlets are either from the Indian or Pakistani province serving wholesome, clean authentic Punjabi food.

They originated in the beginning, for the purpose of serving hot cooked homely food to the truckers who were again majority Punjabis. These truckers make their stop-overs for freshening and having their food at these dhabas dotted in plenty along the roadways of India. The drivers being away from home for long periods during their trip enjoy taking their meals at dhabas because of the traditional ambiance and homely hospitality it provides.

Punjabi Dhabas: Photo by Tweeeety

Punjabi dhaba service extends to any time of the day or night. Today apart from truckers, eating at a Punjabi dhaba is considered to be very trendy and enjoyable experience by the urban crowd. Thus boosting dhaba style restaurants to a high number all over the country.

Punjabi dhabas serve the food in big brass plates called as Thali and drinks in long brass glasses. The food is wholesome, simple and provincial in nature. The dhabas serve both vegetarian and the more popular non-vegetarian food. The vegetarian dhabas are named as Vaishno dhabas and serve food made in pure ghee. Urad or Mah , a popular dish made of lentils is a favorite of these Vaishno dhabas. The Punjabi menu keeps varying according to the seasons. All time favorites are Chole-Bathure which is available in any dhaba throughout the year. Sarson-ka-saag, a curry made out of mustard leaves served along with rotis made of corn and buttermilk(churned yogurt) tops the chart in Punjabi winter cuisine.

Traditional Dhaba, inside: Photo by s_w_ellis

Traditional Dhaba, inside: Photo by proxyindian

Roadside Dhaba: Photo by AsianInsights

The common constituents of a Punjabi cuisine are wheat and maize, kidney beans and chickpeas. Various Indian spices such as cinnamon, coriander, cloves, cardamom, cumin, red chili powder, black pepper, turmeric and mustard are used regularly to bring about the unique flavors of Punjabi food.

Food made of chicken especially, is a favorite non-vegetarian dish all over Punjab and the variety is in abundance. The most simple Pungabi vegetarian dish would be the Tandoorias- rotis served with dal or raitha. There are a variety of commmonly used Punjabi breads such as Naan, Chappatis, Parathas and Rumali rotis. Parathas are flat bread made of kneaded wheat flour. Their variety comes with their fillings- mashed potatoes, cauliflowers etc.

Dhaba Foods

Photo by gopal1035

Sarson Ka Saag: Photo by Ravi Dhingra

Chole Bathure (Bhatura): Photo by proxyindian

Tandoori Roti: Photoo by s_w_ellis

Aloo Parantha: Photo by rosemilkinabottle

Photo by gopal1035

A low fat cheese item called as Paneer gives way for numerous vegetarian dishes that populate the Punjabi cuisine in dhabas. Kadai paneer, Makhani paneer, Palak paneer and Mutter paneer are a few of the long list of dishes prepared from this derivative of milk.

Non-vegetarian dishes of Punjabi dhabas comprises of, to name a few Kadhai Murg, tandoori, tikka masala, butter chicken, kebabs. These delicious non-vegetarian dishes are usually served along with tandoori roti or plain phulka.

Sweet dishes are also prepared in many varieties. Phirni, Kesari Kheer, Gulab Jamuns, Burfis and Kulfis are some of the favorites among Punjabi sweet delicacies.

Some dhabas are styled in traditional ways to spread more authenticity. Features such as shamiana – low lying four settees surrounded with decorative door curtains, artists performing the famous Punjabi Bhangra (a form of dance and music that originated in Punjab) are made available to the clientèles with this view in mind.