The ‘Amritsar to lahore’ flavour blend at Paatra is ‘too good’, says Priyanka Joshi
Borders have been drawn, but food still binds these two cities together. The recently launched ‘Amritsar to lahore’ cuisine festival at Paatra, Jaypee Vasant Continental introduced me to a platter made by these rich regions in India and Pakistan, revealing how they influenced each other.
The beginning was sweet, with cooling Aam Ka Panna, an apéritif that has digestive goodness with cumin that is blended with mint, plus a pinch of black salt and peppercorns.
Next came the informative bit from Executive Chef Anurag Mathur, who told me, “Cuisine of both sides is same. But the method of cooking differs. lahore has a merry mix of wholesome Punjabi food and Mughlai delicacies.” Elaborating on lahori cuisine, chef said, “Handi meat and gosht kadhai are part of lahoris’ staple diet. These dishes are cooked with mutton or chicken, embellished with spices and placed in a pan on low fire. Gosht is the keyword here. Another speciality is the dal gosht, meat cooked with pulses.”
Needless to say, lahori food is a carnivore’s delight; all vegetables are cooked with meat.
“One can have a regular cauliflower sabzi with chicken, bitter gourd or lady’s finger stuffed with minced, fried, curried and steamed meat. Meat is integral to lahori cuisine,” added chef Mathur.
The level of spices varies from minimal to dominating, in Amritsari cuisine.
One feature is the diverse range of dishes. Home food and restaurant Punjabi cuisine varies significantly, with restaurant styles using large amounts of clarified butter, (desi ghee) and liberal amounts of butter and cream. While home cooked food concentrates mainly on wheat masalas (spice).
Apart from that, lahori cuisine has roots in Afghan, Turkish and Iranian culinary cultures.
A blend that evolved from the Muslim rule in South Asia.
Stemming from courts and kitchens of Mughal emperors, Humayun, Akbar, Jahangir, Shah Jahan and Aurangzeb, lahori cuisine is aromatic, spicy and rich. Nuts like pistachios and pine nuts are used as stuffing in several dishes. This makes them suitable for winter. Most dishes make use of whole spices like cloves, saffron and big cardamom. The rich taste gives flavour and aroma.
Talking about the best breads served with lahori dishes, chef Mathur said, “Sheermal, lachcha paranthas, naan, taftan, khameeri roti are popular breads.” Desserts include sheer khurma, kulfi, falooda, kheer, rasmalai, phirni, shahi tukda and rabri. Pakistani desserts also include a long list of halva such as the Multani, Karachi, sohan and hubshee halva. Gajraila made from grated carrots, boiled in milk, green cardamom, and topped with dried fruits is also popular.
While preparing dishes, chef told us traditional ways of cooking are used.
He shared, “A handi resembling a small pitcher called the matki is probably the oldest known cooking vessel. Originally fashioned from clay, it has evolved immensely and is now made from diverse materials like earthenware, brass and non-stick surfaces. It is used to boil dal and cook dishes requiring a similar heat treatment. Many Indian curries are produced in this vessel.”
Another available utensil is the pateeli/degh. These have a larger ‘mouth’ than the handi and are used to cook delicacies that need to be slow cooked in their own steam — the method of dum.
“This vessel is used to prepare pulao-biryani and myriads of kormas and vegetables. Depending on ingredients, an appropriate pateeli is selected, wrought in copper, brass or bell metal.
“Copper ones with tinned inners or aluminium are commonly used. The bhatti, a cylindrical clay oven or chargrill is used in northern India and Pakistan. Food is cooked over hot charcoal fire,” he added.
Vegetarians can opt for matarwali tikki. While meat eaters can try chapli kebab, which is a murgh variant. It’s the classic version — large, flat, asymmetrical. With whole spices, especially broken bits of red chillies and coriander seeds coarsely pounded, protruding through the surface.
Vegetarians have more options like Amritsari chhole and kulcha, bharwan Amritsari kulcha, a bread that packs a tasty punch with its spicy potato filling. The spicy start met a sweet end with phirni, a little different from kheer.
It’s made with quantities of rice paste and served cold in shallow clay dishes. Kulfi followed. What gladdened me was the fact that I was having a dish with roots in the reign of Mughal period. It was created for Akbar, to give him respite from scorching summer.