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Vegetarian

The first thing to strike in our mind when we think of north Indian food is the traditional Punjabi cuisine. Nothing is specific when it comes to food items available in Chandigarh. But it is the conventional Punjabi food that comes under Chandigarh cuisine. Punjabi food is not only popular in India but also in other foreign countries. Their staple cuisine significantly comprises of paranthas, naan and wheat-based rotis.

People of Chandigarh welcome their guests with lip-smacking combination of delicious dishes cooked with their traditional Punjabi tadka. People in Chandigarh are die-hard fans for food items and just simply throng for mouth-watering foods. Their food is very spicy as their culinary items are soaked in ghee and oil. They generally consume curd, buttermilk and Lassi regularly after the main course meal. This city also saturates the tongue of non-vegetarians with some of their delectable delicacies. One should definitely tour this city to taste their traditional Punjabi food with a unique touch!

The famous Punjabi vegetarian food items are:

Makki di Roti
Sarson ka Saag
Dal Makhni
Shahi Paneer
Stuffed Vegetable Punjabi Paranthas
Punj Ratani Dal (a mixture of 5 lentils)
Punjabi Chhole
Palak Paneer
Baingan da Bhurtha

Description about Famous Dishes

Makki di Roti

This is a common food items prepared during winter season and it is well known when served with Sarson da saag or saag (mustard green leaves, which is cooked), buttermilk and makhan (butter). The dish is prepared in the state of Uttar Pradesh and is consumed with added butter and spinach. Basically the flour used for preparing Makki di roti is kneaded using cold water in Pakistan and in our country. Whereas if the dish is prepared at home in England Kitchen, then kettle hot water is used.

Sarson Ka Saag

Sarson da saag (generally known as Sarson ka saag in Urdu and Hindi) is a famous curry available in the Punjabi state of Pakistan and also in India. This dish is prepared from spices and mustard leaves (Sarson).

This is the conventional method of preparing saag and it’s traditionally provided along with makki di Roti (which means unraised corn bread). This can also be topped with either more conventional way of ghee (which is a clarified butter) or butter (processed yellow or unprocessed white butter). One can also expect some spinach (usually referred as Palak in Punjab) for additional color and increased gravy consistency of the curry which can also alter aroma of the dish.

Dal Makhani

This is a staple food originated for the Punjab state of our Indian subcontinent. This dish is unique from all other famous Punjabi Dal varieties like Dal tadka with the basic ingredient in this Dal makhani are whole black color lentil (called as Urad Dal) and also red kidney shaped beans (known as rajma), instead of red lentil (masoor Dal).

Baingan da Bhurtha

Baingan da bhurtha or Baingan ka bhurtha or Baingan bharta (which is nothing but mashed Eggplant) is a typical South Asian food item carrying a similarity to baba ganoush. This Baingan bharta is an essential item in the national cuisines (both Pakistan and our country). This is basically a vegetarian food item consists of bhurtha (vegetables in minced state) prepared from eggplant (known as baingan) that is grilled in direct fire or charcoal to introduce a smoky aroma to this dish. This smoked eggplant is then mashed with fresh diced cilantro (coriander leaves), onion, chilli pepper and mustard oil. Conventionally this dish should be consumed with an Indian flatbread (more specifically paranthas or Roti) and can also be consumed with chawal and/or raita, and a yougurt salad. This dish is also consumed in Bangladesh.