PIND CUISINE

 Punjab, a state in the Indian union, is situated in North West India. The word Punjab is a compound of two Persian words - Panj meaning “ Five” and Aab meaning “ Water”PIND- which is considered as backward areas of Punjab is unique in its own way as they lead a simple life. It is heavily influenced by agriculture and farming.It seems that every pindiwallah imbibed sufficient culinary lore and kitchen technique to match the chefs elsewhere. Pind cuisine includes dudh, ghee, dahi, shaak, godhum (wheat) and dhaniya. 

PIND CULTURE

Folklore, ballads of love and war, fares and festivals, dancing, music and Punjabi literature are the characteristic expressions of pind’s   cultural life. Old romances such as Heer Ranjha, Sassi Punnun, and Mirza Sahiban have been told in verse many times over. The whole populace joins in religious and seasonal festival such as Dussehra, Diwali, Baisakhi and the anniversary celebrations in the honour of Gurus and Saints.

 

FESTIVALS

BAISAKHI:-the harvest festival of Punjab, falls every year on the 13th of April and marks the beginning of the solar year. It is a joyous occasion, when after a harsh winter and long, arduous hours working in the fields, the rabi harvest finally comes home. And once the harvest has been sold, the farmer has ample money in his pocket and plenty of leisure at hand to blow it, till the next sowing time. The villagers dance lustily to the energetic beats of the dhol. “ Bhangra” and “ Gidda” are performed. 

 LOHRI:-The festival is dedicated to the end of winter season and a harvest festival as well as sugarcane is grown in january. It is traditional to eat GAJAK, SARSON KA SAAG with MAKKI DI ROTI, RADISH, GROUND NUTS AND JAGGERY AND TIL RICE( made by mixing rice , sesame seeds and jaggery) 

MAGHI:-Makar sankranti is frequently known as MAGHI in pind. People visit gurudwara.The festival marks the increase in daylight and celebrated culturally by eating khee.

PIND KITCHENS:- Kitchens of the pind culture are traditionally open and spaced out and are usually situated in secluded areas of the home.Fuel used is most often by the means of cow dung, kerosene or simple stovesFood cooked is simple, yet takes long hours as it is most often based on the concept of slow cooking.

TRADITIONAL KITCHEN IN PIND

EQUIPMENTS AND UTENSILS USED

 

PONI:- The long handle, perforated disc used to lift deep fried items from the kadai. TAWA:-essential for making chapattis. It is a slightly concave iron disc of 8-9 inches in diameter and 1/12th of an inch in thickness.

SEEKHS:-The Seekhs are iron bars pointed at one end, flat on their four sides, rectangular in cross section and their length usually depends on the depth of the tandoor.

 

GRINDING STONE:-The popular method of dry grinding spices in the region is the use of a mortar and pestle whereas for wet grinding a stone slab of about 16 x 12 inches and a small conical stone roller about 6 x 21/2 inches are used for the same purpose.

TANDOOR- The tandoor is one of the most ancient equipment used for cooking. The origins of tandoor can be traced back to Iran, where it was called as “tanoor” and the bread maker was called as “nanva” and probably this is where we got the name “ naan bread”. The tandoor is one of the most widely used equipment in Pind cuisine. Certain villages also have a common tandoor called “ sanjha chullah” or a common cooking stove where womenfolk get their dough and prepare bread for their family. 

Essential Ingredients of Pind Cuisine

Most commonly used ingredients used are:

Badi Elaichi

Tomatoes

Onions

Garlic

Ginger

Ghee

Makhan

Coriander

Green chillies

Jeera

Ajwain

BLEND OF SPICES AND STAPLE DIET

Spices used in pind cuisine are green and black cardamom, ajwain, mace, black peppercorn, jeera, bay leaf, dhaniya powder, etc.Their staple diet consists of paranthas for breakfast, dal and meat preparation with phulka for lunch and dinner.

  

DAIRY PRODUCTS

The people of Pind are very fond of dairy products. They consume it on daily basis.They have Dudh, dahi, ghee, lassi and chitta makhan .They prefer having milk in the evening.Most of the pind desserts are milk based. Example, kheer, sevainyan 

  

EATING HABITS OF THE PIND CULTURE

People in pind always sit together and have their meal. Pinds do not have dining tables as they sit on ‘MANJE’ or ‘CHARPAI’ which are placed in veda’s . As pind people lead a simple life, they prefer Steel Plates rather than fancy crockery.They prefer more of desi ghee in their food as they consider it healthy.

MOST COMMONLY PREPARED  DISHES

 

RECIPES

MURG MOGE WALA:

Ingredients-

Oil- 20ml

Bay leaves, cardamom- 15g

Chopped onions- 50g

Ginger garlic paste- 15g

Jeera powder- 10g

Turmeric- 10g

Coriander powder- 15g

Pindi masala- 15g

Tomato puree- 100ml

Chicken marinated in turmeric, red chilli powder, salt- 500g

Chopped coriander- 20 g

METHOD:

Marinate the chicken with salt, red chilly powder and turmeric.

Heat oil in a kadhai and add bay leaf and green cardamom when hot

Add onions and sauté till slightly brown

Add ginger garlic paste and sauté

Add the masalas and mix thoroughly

Add tomato puree with a little water for consistency

Add salt as per taste

Add the marinated chicken and let it cook well

Garnish with chopped coriander and serve.

 

SARSON KA SAAG-

INGREDIENTS-

Ghee- 30g

Chopped ginger- 20 g

Chopped garlic- 15g

Red chilli powder- 15g

Saag- 300g

Bathua leaves- 100g

Salt- as per taste

METHOD-

Boil saag leaves, bathua leaves together and puree.

Heat oil in a kadhai.

Add chopped ginger, chopped garlic and sauté

Add red chilly powder and saute

Add the saag mixture and cook well.

Add salt as per taste

Finish with desi ghee

The Pind cuisine in other words is a simple eating habit followed by the people of Punjab in their local region with local ingredients.People from the Pind are large hearted and find comfort only in rich and nutritional palates made from home grown ingredients.