Partition Shapes How India Eats Today

Javed Akhtar바카라�s immortal lyric 바카라� Panchee, dariya, pawan ke jhonke바카라�koi sarhad inhe na koi rokay바카라� (The birds바카라� the river바카라�the wafting breezes바카라� no borders can stop them) could well be true of the culinary culture of divided Punjab. In 1947 after the partition of India, the Punjab province of British India British India was divided between India and Pakistan바카라� a new country created by this tragic decision. Yet, no matter what politicians in their wisdom may do, Punjab바카라�s culinary heritage is eternally rooted in the vast swathes of its lands fed by the five rivers, by which the name of this region 바카라�(Persian-panj/five바카라�ab/waters), was inspired.

With its strategic position on the legendary Silk Route of yesteryears, it was quite natural that those qafilas (groaning under their loads of textiles, spices, indigo, sugar, rice and unimaginable luxuries) to the markets of Bukhara, Ishfahan and beyond the Caucasus Mountains), also carried away with them tales of this wondrous 바카라�land of milk and honey바카라�바카라� this legendary symbol of the riches of the Indian Subcontinent. While undivided Punjab바카라�s Lahore, Amritsar, Ludhiana and Karnal were transformed into thriving textile production hubs, the agrarian community of Punjab바카라�s fertile soil was producing bountiful harvests of wheat, barley, millet, maize, paddy, sugarcane, greens 바카라� and plentiful milk (along with ghee and curd), which are the staples of the state바카라�s culinary predilections from the days of Punjab바카라�s pastoral Aryan바카라�s in Vedic times.

Punjab was at the forefront of the green revolution and though it may have been India바카라�s pride, it was also the envy of its neighbours바카라�judging from the number of invasions it bore the brunt of over the centuries. One of the most vivid narratives of these waves of foreign ingress was writ into Punjab바카라�s culinary traditions. Punjabi cuisine today is a mélange of Indo-Mughal-Persian-Afghani nuances. With the fleeing Punjabis from the North West Frontier region came the tandoor, and a whole new landscape of barbequed fare for the rest of India.

The Punjabi bhatthi (oven) was made of bricks or mud and clay and topped with a sheet of metal. An opening was fed with wood and grass to light the fire.The tandoor was found in the courtyard in many Punjabi homes as tandoori fare rose in popularity post-Partition.

With the cross cultural winds from the North West Frontier arrived the simple but robust flavours of a nomadic people. Tandoori meats, fish, slow cooked mutton barrah and mutton tikka바카라� Peshwari cuisine with its Afghani influences and the minimal use of spices was the great legacy of undivided Punjab and became integral to the repertoire of India바카라�s Punjabi cookhouse as Sarson ka saag, Makki di Roti, Maash Dal (lentils) Parathas and Aam ka Achar. These cross-cultural influences were reflected in the embracing of fresh and dried fruits and a wide range of exotic nuts, from Afghanistan and Central Asia 바카라�pine nuts (chilgoza), pistachios, almonds, apricots, khubani, sarda, musk melons and the like.

바카라�Back in the day,바카라� says posh Delhi바카라�s society hostess Kanwal Chaudhry ,바카라� The food was very simply cooked but the focus was on its freshness and purity. No dessert was served 바카라�at best some crushed gur (jaggery) was served after the main meal. It was a symbol of honour when a special guest was served kheer or a pinni with almonds (crushed and heated) served with warm milk. Almonds were very much an upper crust statement.바카라�

While traditional Punjabi cooking is pretty straight forward (no fancy marinations et al). Recipes are rife with the largesse of milk, curd, butter and cream in the cooking of fresh vegetables and meats. Punjabis today are known for having one of the richest cuisines in India having embraced everything from the spare offerings of the NWFP cuisine to the recipes of exotic Mughlai cuisine culled from the imperial kitchens of the Mughals 바카라� largely characterized by the use of yogurt, fried onions, nuts and saffron바카라� in particular the preparations of rich poultry and mutton dishes. Today Punjab바카라�s ubiquitous 바카라�tandoori chicken' knows no borders today as it continues to conquer the world.

Celebrity gastronome, author and ambassador of Indian cuisine Jiggs Kalra, in his book Classic Cooking of Punjab, co-authored with friend Puspesh Pant, tells us 바카라� No Punjabi has ever treated the 바카라�two square meals바카라� as a daily chore. His ancestors considered eating as a sacred ritual.바카라�

The regional offerings of pre-Partition Punjab are still sacrosanct in the annals of Punjab바카라�s culinary traditions. Peshawar was inspired by the culinary traditions of Afghanistan. That really should not come as a surprise considering this is Pathan country and the township, surrounded by deep orchards of stone fruits such as peaches and apricots, apart from pomegranates and apples, handled much of the trade that passed through it which included saffron from Kashmir, spices from Hyderabad and sugar, salt, tea and hing from Delhi.

Rawalpindi, adjoining the Kashmir Valley and Afghanistan, imbibed the influences of both the robust fare of the North West Frontier and Kashmiri cooking. Its access to the best produce of the Punjab heightened its epicurean adventures. Baluchistan, of which vast swathes fell under British Rule, was neighbours with the NWFP, Persia, Sind and Punjab. Basic and robust fare dominated the frontier table, including game birds, unleavened flatbreads made of barley and wheat, cheeses, vegetables바카라� and rice and fish in the coastal area. Amritsar surrounded by swathes of ber, mango and jamun groves, produced wheat, gram, maize, barley, sugar cane,pulses, rice and cotton. The legendary 바카라�milk바카라� is courtesy their use of bovines in agricultural pursuits and dairy farms.

Dependable Dhabas
Punjab바카라�s iconic dhaba culture evolved out of need for survival for the displaced peoples of Punjab, who fled their homes both sides of the border with the Partition of India. The fare they offered to people was basic Punjabi comfort food바카라�rotis, parathas, dal, subzi. The food was fresh, the turnover quick and there were no leftovers because of the problems of refrigeration. So you sold what you cooked and that was it. These dhabas became the lifeline of truckers and the Grand Trunk Road was the fertile ground upon which they flourished. A leading light back in the day was the Sher-e-Punjab chain which served up ma di dal, tandoori chicken and tandoori roti as staples. The dhabas were also pivotal to bringing Punjabi culinary traditions to the rest of the country as fleeing Punjabis spread across the country with the aftermath of Partition.

The dhaba culture of Amritsar has paens sung to it for its fabulous array of culinary experiences from kukkad (chicken) to stuffed kulchas to lassi peda mar key.

Fleeing Hindu Sindhis from across the border brought with them their special 바카라�papad바카라�. Mahashian Di Hatti (MDH) spice baron, Mahashay Dharmpal, having got fed up running a tonga to survive in Delhi on leaving Punjab, ended up reviving the old family business of ground spices under the banner of Mahashian Di Hatti of Sialkot 바카라�Deggi Mirch Wale바카라�.

The iconic Punjabi butter chicken was a contribution of Peshwari restaurateur Kundan Lal Gujral who opened Moti Mahal in Daryaganj, when he fled to Delhi during partition. At first he would serve chicken roasted in the tandoor he had brought with him. But the rising demand for curries, he took left over chicken and cooked it in a rich sauce butter, curd, tomatoes바카라� thus began the saga of the Punjabi butter chicken and 바카라�makhni gravy바카라� and its entry in Delhi바카라�s curry culture.

With Anubhav at Delhi Food Walks you can trawl the lanes of Chandni Chowk (Shajehanbad) which once dominated by Muslim, Kayasth and Baniya food ways, also reflected the changing culinary culture with the arrival of the refugees from Western Punjab with its predilection for poultry, maize, wheat, greens and dairy products.