Land of Food

Amritsar is often termed as the land of food because of its rich cuisine. One of the important facets of the Amritsar cuisine is that it has a huge assortment of mouth watering non-vegetarian and vegetarian dishes. Whether it is a home cooked food or a typical Punjabi cuisine from a restaurant or a road side dhaba, every food in Amritsar has its own significance, flavor and aroma.

The finger licking food of Amritsar is as famous as the city itself because it is a heaven for food lovers. People are lively and fond of good food and live their life in a way to eat, drink and enjoy. Here, home cooking style is different from restaurant cooking as at home, people use low cholesterol oil to make low fat food whereas in restaurants, chefs make a rich use of butter, desi ghee (clarified butter) and cream to make food more tempting.

The main ingredients in a Punjabi dish are onion, tomato, ginger, garlic and different spices. There is a variety of flat breads used in Amritsar cuisine like stuffed kulcha, plain naan, stuffed naan, missi roti, lachhedar parantha and roti baked in a tandoor and there is also plain and stuffed parantha and plain roti baked on a tava. Apart from these there is a variety of deep fried puri and bhatoora.

Weekends are always special as the day starts with typical vegetarian breakfast like potato stuffed kulcha with channa and chutney, stuffed parantha, channa with poori or bhatoora, bewarages like Lassi (butter milk) or tea. Lunch is tempting with daal makhni, palak paneer, shahi paneer, paneer lababdaar, chana masala, sarso da saag, pakora karhi and rajma (kidney beans) with rice or one can grab a thali with a combination of all these vegetables with assorted breads like tandoori roti, lachha parantha, makki di roti, rumali roti and naan. Achaar, papad and salad on the side is an essential.

In the evenings, there is always a scope for special crispy samosas, veg cutlets, special rolls, paneer pakoras, assorted pakoras, satpurras, kachoris, sandwich, gol guppas, aloo tikki, band tikki, pav bhaaji, chaat-papri, paneer bhurji (scrambled cottage cheese cooked with spices) with a glass of masala chai (tea).

The super speciality of the city is the wide range of non-vegetarian food for which Amritsaris have a lust. Late evenings usually start with drinks and assorted snacks like Chicken Malai Tikka, Chicken Tikka, Tandoori Chicken, Chicken Pakora, Mutton Tikka, Mutton Champ, Shami Kebab, Fish Tandoori and world famous Amritsari Fish with white and mint sauce. The huge non-vegetarian variety is available not only in hotels, restaurants and dhabas but also at the road side vendors which is sometimes available at a lower price.

There are many halwai shops and street shops. Small and big, everyone has its own speciallity of desserts. You cannot miss gur-da-halwa, moong-daal-halwa, gajar ka halwa, ras malai, rasgullas, phirni, gulab jamun, malai kulfi, imarti, faluda, kheer and the ultimate jalebis which are a must for Amritsaris in all seasons.

In Amritsar, every fourth shop is a restaurant or a dhaba or a halwai (sweet shop) or a chaat shop or someone who sells some snack or food. There are a lot of dhabas and restaurants that serve the best of food but some of the famous places to try out the world famous dishes in Amritsar are:

Stuffed Kulcha

Famous crispy stuffed kulchas come hot and fresh from the tandoor with butter spread over it. It is made with the dough of maida (finely milled and refined wheat flour) and stuffed with boiled and smashed potatoes, onions and spices. Some people also add Paneer (cottage cheese) or Gobi (cauliflower) in it. It is then rolled flat and baked in a tandoor (an earthen clay oven) until golden brown. Once it is baked, butter is applied over it and served with channa curry (chikpea) and chutney made of tamarind and onions.

There are many famous Kulcha shops like Darshan Kulcha, Monu Kulcha, Kulcha Land, Ashok Kulcha, Pahalwan Kulcha and many more Kulcha shops in every area and colony of the city.

For more details on all Kulcha shops, please see under directory.

Vegetarian Dhabas

The city has a huge list of dhabas which have now turned into modern air conditioned eateries but still have the traditional Punjabi cuisine which forces you to lick your fingers. The world famous Sarson da Saag (mustard paste cooked in pure ghee or butter) with Makki di Roti (corn flour flatbread) will force you to order again and again. The Palak Paneer (cottage cheese in spinach paste), Rajma (kidney beans), Maa di Daal (black lentils), Shahi Paneer, Paneer Makhni, Chana Masala (chickpeas) are tempting enough to forget your table manners. You can also order a “Special Thali” which includes Daal, Chana and one Paneer preparation of your choice with rice, two lachha pranthas, boondi raita, pickle, papad and salad.

In Amritsar, vegetarian menu is almost same which is mouth watering with the traditional Punjabi aroma. All the preparations are done in desi ghee (clarified butter) while the pranthas are always fresh from the tandoor with butter on top. Any meal in Amritsar is never complete without a glass of sweet Lassi which makes one refreshing. As all good things have a sweet ending, so does a meal in Amritsar with a Phirni (made of churned rice and milk) or Suji da Halwa (made of semolina) or Gulab Jamuns.

Non-Vegetarian Food

Amritsaris have a desire for non-vegetarian food and one can’t find any other community other than Punjabi who is so fond of non-vegetarian food. There are many restaurants, dhabas, road side shops and even rehris (wheel carts) that serve non-vegetarian food. They never compromise with the quality of the food and that is the reason they are always full of customers and one needs to wait for a turn to place an order. The city is famous for a lot of non-vegetarian starters and snack.

Once you taste tandoori chicken, you won’t enjoy it from any where else. It is not tarnished with any color or too many spices but is made in such a way that it is a bit crispy outside and soft and juicy inside. The city is also famous for the tender, mouth watering chicken tikka, chicken malai tikka, mutton tikka, mutton kebab and mutton champ. The tikka is marinated with special spices and then baked in a tandoor. Amritsar is also world famous for the Amritsari Fish which is a fried fish and favourite among all the fish lovers. A batter of gram flour mixed with egg, curd, ginger, garlic, some spicecs and ajwain (carom seeds) is prepared. Fish fillets are coated with this batter, deep fried and served hot with white sauce. Some people also use grinded bread crums as a coating with ajwain for the flavor. During winters, people buy raw “Sole” fish from the fish market and prepare “Amritsari Fish” at home on a regular basis.

Desserts/Sweet Dish

Desserts always hold a special place in the life of Punjabis specially Amritsaris and they’ll never let an occasion pass without sweets. There are many famous sweet shops like Bansal Sweets, Kanha Sweets, KH sweets, Munim di Hatti, Novelty sweets, Bikaner sweets, Goenka sweets which are famous for their own specialities. Lassi can be had from any of this shop which is a healthy and refreshing drink prepared by blending yogurt with water and adding either sugar or salt as per customers taste.

Many sweet shops or street shops serve Lassi in tall steel glasses topped with a spoon full of thick and fresh Malai (cream). Another famous Amritsari drink is kadhai dhudh (milk) which is served hot with Malai, Kesar and Pista added into it. One is bound to drool when comes across such a healthy cuisine and can’t help but only try out all the famous food items of Amritsar.

For more details on all lassi and sweet shops, please see under directory.