Punjabi fare in Mumbai

       Mumbai: If you are weary of dining at a restaurant with liveried waiters hovering around you, there is respite around the corner in Mumbai. Head straight for the 'Firangi Dhaba' in Andheri, a Punjabi restaurant to the core. Replete with Punjabi dicor, garish Bollywood posters, rural artefacts, Dhol (drum) beats, people dancing, cocktail and Hukkas (long tobacco smoking pipe), besides a menu-card in the form of truck number plate, people just sit and enjoy. Firangi Dhaba is a place with the most unexpected surprises. Sitting on a cot, one can try out the flavoured Hukkas or chill out with cocktails in rural style. Indeed! Mumbaiites have been granted the opportunity of capturing the rustic feel of a rich and vibrant Punjab, its culture and mouth-watering cuisine. "The main attraction is the music. The Bhangra, and Dhol arrangements are fabulous because after having food, people get refreshed with music," said Elizabeth, a foreign customer.

     Tandoori Chicken, Kebabs, Missi Roti, fresh vegetables and much more... Punjabi delicacies deserve a special mention, all to make guests enjoy a delightful and memorable evening. And, if auto rickshaws are heavily relied upon as a mode of transport in Mumbai's suburbs, the Dhaba (eateries) owners here have come up with the novel idea of using three wheelers as the perfect dining decor. "Yeah! I would love to come again. I wish they have a tractor now, because it's like a Punjabi theme! So, next time I hope they keep a tractor over here. I would definitely come again and bring my friends as well. It's something different," said Amit Patel, another customer.

     A historian once summed up the versatility of all that's Punjabi: 'To the nationalist, it is inspiration, to the religious, it's reverence and to the business-minded, it's a flourishing strategy.' Firangi Dhaba, Pritam da Dhaba, Dara's Dhaba, Mini Punjab... the list of dhabas is endless in "Amchi Mumbai", which only proves the Punjab's enterprising spirit. It may be a business-trick, but it is most certainly a rewarding effort to preserve the past for the future.

      Punjabi cuisine can be non-vegetarian or completely vegetarian. The level of spices can vary from minimal to very prevalent. One of the main features of Punjabi cuisine is its diverse range of dishes. Home cooked and restaurant Punjabi cuisine can vary significantly, with restaurant style using large amounts of clarified butter, known locally as desi ghee, with liberal amounts of butter and cream with home cooked concentrating on mainly upon wheat masalas (spice) flavourings. Though wheat varieties form their staple food, Punjabis do cook rice on special occasions. There are certain dishes which are exclusive to Punjab, such as Mah Di Dal and Saron Da Saag (Sarson Ka Saag). The food is tailor-made for the Punjabi lifestyle in which most of the rural folk burn up a lot of calories while working in the fields. The main masala in a Punjabi dish consists of onion, garlic and ginger. The Punjabi Culture is the culture of the Punjabi people who are now distributed throughout the world. The scope, history, sophistication and complexity of the culture are vast. Ancient Punjabis were renowned for their architectural excellence and gave their civilization a highly distinct look with baked- brick urban architecture. The written alphabet of the Ancient Punjabis is yet to be cracked and deciphered; it remains one of the only ancient cultures whose literature remains unread and unknown.
-Dec 18, 2006