Food and hospitality with Punjabi tadka

Punjabis are known for many things and I wouldn’t be wrong in supposing that their fame is a global phenomenon now, mostly because of their jovial nature and most importantly their love for food -- leg and peg! Not the ones to miss out on opportunities, Punjabis are quick to open local variants of Sher-e-punjab wherever there’s space. On one of my adventures as an itinerant in Kochi, however, I was amused to find a board that pointed to Punjabi Hotel in the heart of the city. Finding a pure vegetarian Punjabi Rasoi in the metropolitan streets of New York hadn’t surprised me as much.

I was reminded of my visit to Goa a few months ago when I came across seven Punjabi restaurants, all called Sher-e-punjab, differentiated only by the colour of the boards. Despite being surrounded by exotic restaurants serving buckets of the best Xacuti and vindaloo, these dhabas seemed to be extremely popular. Punjabi eateries owe their popularity to their preparation of the North Indian cuisine.

Punjabi Hotel has a nice ring to it and sounds so much better than say North Indian Hotel. It wouldn’t come as a surprise then that a large number of North Indian tourists flock to these eateries while gallivanting across South India; these offer a respite from the South Indian cuisine that North Indians relish once in a while but have a hard time enjoying on a daily basis. Besides, baptised Sikhs follow a strict vegetarian diet that lends increased credibility to these Punjabi restaurants in other states. Hungry souls can be assured of simple, authentic North Indian vegetarian fare with dollops of butter in the dal, big chunks of paneer and rotis delivered straight from hot tawas and tandoors.

People who have ventured into Mumbai and further down would know how popular Udupi hotels are in that part of the country. Small and simple, these eateries offer modest but delectable servings of vadas, idlis and the masala dosas, which has its roots in the holy town of Udupi in Karnataka. According to legend, the king of Udupi wished to remain neutral in the war between the Pandavas and the Kauravas and decided to feed both sides at the end of each day’s fighting, thus giving rise to the popular Udupi hospitality, which has spread its wings in many states. Punjabi eateries are much the same; known for their hospitality, it is only logical for the adventurous Punjabis to serve the people of India.

Walking along the streets of Udupi, I was surprised to find a Punjabi Hotel just outside the city bus stand. It seemed like poetic justice. When I visited the lesser known beaches of Gokarna, I was impressed to find an eatery being run by a young man from Mandi not very far from my hometown of Chandigarh. He explained how his search for new avenues had brought him to the South.

In my college days in Manipal in coastal Karnataka, my North Indian friends and I would often flock to a restaurant called Punjabi Tadka, where the mere scent of desi ghee in the piping hot yellow dal would take our minds away from the monotonous sambhar of the college mess.

It is incredible how Punjabis have spread their wings across the nation when it comes to food. Not ones to get daunted by distances, our fellow Punjabis have carved a niche for themselves throughout the world in the food business. Be it a gracious langar (community kitchen), or a humble restaurant serving yummy Punjabi fare, my travels across the country have led me to believe that one can find Punjabi hospitality even in the remotest corner of India.

One more reason to be proud of being a Punjabi.

I WAS AMUSED TO FIND A BOARD THAT POINTED TO PUNJABI HOTEL IN THE HEART OF KOCHI.