To explore roots behind several traditional Punjabi recipes, Majha House invited culinary experts to speak on ‘Punjabi Cuisine: A Hotpot of History’Punjabi food — the route to our roots

Neha Saini

Tribune news service

Amritsar, July 2

The distinct flavour of traditional Punjabi food has a long trail of history behind it, but the contemporary Punjabi cuisine is a mélange of influences from India and beyond.

While modern Indian palate has turned international, our traditional food is still a heritage we love to identify with, especially the Punjabi cuisine.

So, Majha House, in an attempt to explore the roots behind several traditional Punjabi recipes, invited eminent culinary experts to speak on the topic of ‘Punjabi Cuisine: A Hotpot of History’.

“I feel when you move away from your land, you tend to lose connection with the food of the land and Punjabi cuisine is inextricably connected to the land. Therefore, there is this urge among Punjabis settled outside Punjab to stay connected to their roots and culture through food,” said Puneetinder Kaur Sandhu, an author, content developer and food critic.

Sandhu has penned ‘Punjab – A Culinary Delight’, a coffee-table book about the food traditions of her home state and was one of the resource persons for the first World heritage Food Summit held in Amritsar last year.

“While we have managed to retain our food traditions primarily in rural Punjab, in urban centres, many next generation Punjabis are not aware of some traditional staples such as Mitha Rot also called Mandh, aloe vera sabzi and moringa that was either pickled or made into a sabzi. Not many people are now aware about moringa, which is considered a super food. So, we need to know about our food heritage and preserve it before we lose it to time,” she said.

Vernika Awal, a food writer, agreed. “There are so many simple dishes that we used to eat as kids, but no one cooks these now. Sukhi Maa ki daal, rooh di kheer made from sugarcane juice which was an integral part of our festival cuisine has been limited to just interiors of Punjab. I feel we might be the last generation to actually preserve these recipes,” she said.

Vernika has been writing about some of the lost recipes of Punjab in her blog — Delectable Reveries. Almost three years back, she began working on the concept of #DelectablePunjab, through which she aimed at documenting the culture and cuisine from her home state of Punjab. Vermika has been organising food pop-up sessions with limited people to educate them on Punjabi cuisine and ingredients.

“My pop-ups are an attempt to create awareness and to share the culinary heritage with more people. Staying away from Punjab most of my life, I felt that I had to search for my cultural identity through food. Like most people think that saag gets its flavour from the leaves, when actually it’s the stems that are important for that authentic flavour. Bhajji, the wedding special platter of sweet and savoury delights, are not made anymore and have been replaced by fancier versions like chocolates and cakes,” said Vernika.