Mention of Punjabi food fills the mind with thoughts of gravy, butter chicken and all that is creamy and laden with butter. So, I did what came most natural to me when I was to meet a chef from Punjab — Chef Parvinder Singh Bali from The Oberoi Delhi—I asked excitedly, ‘Do you make butter chicken?’ “No, dishes like butter chicken and dal makhani and matar paneer aren’t Punjabi. In reality, there is nothing called Punjabi food, instead there is food from the riyasats of Punjab. Butter chicken and the names of food enlisted under ‘Punjabi’ cuisine are menu food which was created to give everyday home food a rich twist. Malai, butter, cream is not a part of everyday Punjabi food. On the contrary, food cooked in the homes of Punjab are very simple and uncomplicated,” he says.
In Hyderabad at Trident for ‘Rivaayat once again’ the food affair where chefs from different regions showcase the flavours of various regions, Chef Bali came prepared to unleash the magic of a cuisine which is not very commonly available. Apart from enlightening me with no-butter, no-cream food fact of a Punjabi kitchen, Bali says, old timers didn’t regularly use tomatoes. “Tomatoes came to India only in the 17th century, until then Indian food was made without tomatoes, same goes with use of red chilli powder. Original Indian food found no use for tomatoes and chilli powder,” he explains.
His understanding on the creation of butter chicken is “If eateries served you your everyday homemade food, why would anyone want to eat out. So, chicken curry was given a new avatar , it was enhanced with butter, tomatoes and lo behold! Butter chicken became a speciality. This is why there is no standard recipe to ‘Punjabi’ dishes,” explains Bali.
Then what does the chef showcase as food from the Riyasat of Punjab. Bali takes pride in having a secret ‘scroll’ that belonged to the Maharaja Bhupinder Singh of Patiala. “It is more than a scroll. It is a recipe book with 450 recipes collected by the king. I came across this book when I went to meet Amarinder Singh, the present Chief Minister of Punjab. I went to meet him for some other work, came back dazed at what I had in my hand. The recipes written in hand in Gurumukhi ranged from traditional to Italian lamb stew to dishes with cranberry.”
Food over the years have evolved and that is how it should be, says Bali, however, it is important to continue the tradition or “after a few years with the emergence of fusion food, there will be nothing left of the rich culture and heritage that also reflects in our cuisine.”
For the fest, the chef who is also an author of a few books, has handpicked about 20 dishes from the 50 odd unique recipes he had access to. “Some dishes don’t have the mention of potato and paneer as well. The recipe book is a mirror to how unique dishes can be made with basic ingredients. Chawal ki roti , khas ka kulcha , khamiri etc are some of the basic Indian bread,” adds Bali.
Food apart, does Bali believe in the Patiala peg? He guffaws, “Of course, that is our take on ‘live life king size.’
