BM # 39
Day : 23
State : Punjab
Aaloo Kulcha
Day : 23
State : Punjab
The term Punjab comprises two words: “punj meaning five and ab meaning water, thus the land of five rivers.
After the partition of India in 1947, the Punjab province of British India was divided between India and Pakistan. The Indian Punjab was divided in 1966 with the formation of the new states of Haryana and Himachal Pradesh, as well as the current state of Punjab.
Sikhism is the predominant faith in Punjab followed by more than 60% of the populace. The holiest of Sikh shrines, the Sri Harmandir Sahib (orGolden Temple), is in the city of Amritsar and we have visited this many times.The Kadah, which is a wheat flour based halwa is served as Prasad.
I have grown up amidst Punjabi friends and thoroughly enjoyed their cuisine.The philosophy of life for most of the Punjabi’s is to eat, drink and make merry. They are real lively people who are extremely fond of eating good food and it is not only good food but also rich food. They love to dance and make merry at even the smallest occasion. The can liven up any function with their Bhangra. The functions have huge spreads and they use a lot of dairy products, butter and ghee. Most of the dishes are cooked in ghee and the taste actually enhances with it. Their curries and dishes are incomplete without the use of onion , garlic and ginger.
Since Punjab grows lot of wheat, people here are fond of stuffed parathas, though they love to eat bhaturas and kulchas too. The makki ki roti is a winter specialty combining it with sarso ka saag and gud (jaggery). When we talk of Punjabi Cuisine we immediately connect to their world famous Kaali daal, Sarso ka Saag , Raajma Chaawal. This is the only cuisine which is most popular world wide.Their tandoori chicken is a treat for non veg lovers.
Even though I belong to a Sindhi community, I have always preferred Punjabi Cuisine .Today I have cooked a simple lunch cooked in a Punju house in winters.
I have the Dhuli Urad Dal..this is the white gram which is cooked with onion and tomato.Make sure you do not over cook this, else it becomes sticky and lumpy.
Next dish is Danthal ke Sabzi . These danthals are cauliflower stalks. They are stuffed with a dry spice mix and cooked on slow flame.
These are served with Aaloo Kulcha and a big dollop of butter…not to miss the Punjabi Lassi. Without the lassi the meal is incomplete.
For salad they normally like to have onions and fresh green chillies.
Urad ki Dhuli Daal
1 cup urad daal
2 onions, finely chopped
1 bay leaf
1 tsp ginger garlic paste
5-6 tomatoes, pureed
1 tsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp red chilly powder
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1/4 tsp garam masala
Salt to taste
Heat oil.
Add bay leaf , onios, ginger garlic paste and saute till pink.
Add the soaked, washed and drained daal.
Saute till absolutely dry.
Add tomato puree and all the spices.
Saute till the moistuure from the tomatoes is totally gone.
Add 1 cup water and pressure cook the daal for 2 whistles.
Danthal ki Sabzi
6-8 cauliflower stalks
Spice Mix
1/2 tsp red chilly powder
1 tsp coriander powder
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp finely chopped garlic
Salt to taste
2 tsp oil
Clean the hard areas of the cauliflower stalks. Make slits- cross wise. Fill in the spice mix.
In a pan heat 2 tsp oil.
In a pan heat 2 tsp oil.
Add the stalks.
Cover and cook on slow flame.
I always put 1/2 cup water on the lid while the veggie is cooking.
Aaloo Kulcha
Stuffing
4 boiled potatoes
2 onions, green chilies finely chopped
1 pinch red chilly
1/4 tsp garam masala
1/4 tsp pomegranate seeds
Coriander leaves
Salt to taste
Peel and mash the potatoes.
Mix all the ingredients under stuffing.
For the covering
2 cups wheat flour
1 cups all purpose flour
2 tbsp curd
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
Salt to taste
Mix both the flours.
Add curd, baking powder, baking soda, and salt to the flour.
Knead the flour with warm water to make a smooth dough.
Make 8-10 balls of the dough.
Take one ball of the dough and roll it to a flat disk, put the potato mix and bring the sides up and close the ball.
Flatten it lightly, dust and roll the ball into a flat disk of 6-7 inches.
Bake or roast the kulcha and serve with a dollop of butter.
Needless to say that this kind of meal can ever fail..too good to resist!! For a Super Punjabi Thali check here. and dont miss to read about the Punjab Dhabbas, which will make you drool.
deliciously done
very well presented, love th dash of garam masala on the dal
Never knew one can do a subzi with cauliflower stalks..wow..very nice spread Vaishali..
love that kulcha – oh that is beautiful!!
Beautiful dishes there, am very much drooling over that dal and paratha, that sabzi with cauliflower stalks sounds seriously very new for me.
I made a cauliflower stalk subji for a northeastern state, did not know they made it in Punjab too. The dhuli urad dal used to be one of my husband's favorite. Your whole platter looks very appetizing.
Such homely and traditional dishes from Punjab. Cooking cauliflower stalks is completely new to me — will have to try it out sometime.
A few years back, I had a punjabi neighbor who used to take the cauliflower stalks from me to make this sabji. Of course I got to taste it as well 🙂 Awesome preparation.
Oh my! You are making me hungry again!!I have to try the urad dal curry and the Danthal ki Sabzi. Never knew cauliflower stalks are used in Punjab too!
Delicious dishes from the state. Now I found a recipe to use up those cauliflower stacks! I did not know it can be cooked into a curry and am sure it tastes good with all those spices. Thanks for sharing the recipe.
Delicious looking spread,cooking with cauliflower stalk sounds inviting..
Mai aa rahi hooo. Hold on dont finish!! This is awesome. The danthal is what had me wondering what you made. Love it. Can be sure thiswill be featuring on our table soon.
ohh I want the kulchas right now as I am getting ready to have my lunch
Dhuli urad dal is my husbands fav. Danthal ki sabzi looks tatsy , my FIL makes it ! And that kulcha is making me hungry after breakfast…
wow thats an awesome spread again , aloo kulchas with dal and cauliflower stalk sabzi looks delicious dear 🙂 Just no words for your pairing very well done !!
what a delicious menu.. love every item on it.. especially the dhuli urad dal.. have never used urad dal to make a dish like this.. looks fab
Thanks for the sharing of such information. I'm glad to have visited your blog and good to know you! I find it interesting and informative.
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i saw this on tasty kitchen and was wondering it was good. i will have to try it. urad ki daal is my favorate.thankyou for shearing this information with us!chowringhee laxmi nagar