DAL MAKHANI

DAL MAKHANI

Ingredients:

1/4 cup Rajma

1/4 cup Whole Urad dal
1/4 cup Chana dal
1 Onions, chopped
2 Tomatoes, chopped
3 Green chillies, sliced
1/2 inch Ginger, Grated
Salt To taste
1 Pinch Turmeric Powder
1 tsp Red chilli powder
Corainder leaves
1 tbsp Handful Butter
1/4 cup Cream
1/4 tsp Cumin seeds
1/4 tsp Mustard seeds


Preparation:

 

1. Soak rajma, urad daal and chana dal overnight.
2. Pressure cook the urad dal, chana dal and rajma. Mash them a little. Keep aside.
3. Heat butter in a pan, add mustard seeds and cumin seeds and fry until they splutter. Add ginger and chillies.
4. Fry for few minutes. Add chopped onions and tomatoes. Cook until done.
5. Add salt, red chilli powder, turmeric powder and stir well.
6. Add the mashed dals and boil for few minutes.
7. Add cream, corainder leaves and mix well. Serve the dal maharani hot with roti.

LOBIA RECIPE (Black Eye Beans Curry)

LOBIA RECIPE (Black Eye Beans Curry)

Ingredients: 
2 cups Lobia (Black Eye Beans) 
1 1/2 tsp 
Salt To Taste 
1 1/2 tsp ground coriander 
3/4 tsp ground cumin 
1/2 tsp ground turmeric 
2 tbsp oil 
1 small onion, chopped 
2 large cloves garlic, chopped 
1 (3/4-inch piece) ginger root, peeled and chopped 
1/2 tsp Scant cumin seeds 
1 medium tomato, chopped


Preparation:

1. In pot soak beans overnight in water to cover generously. Next day, drain beans, cover with fresh water and bring to boil.
2. Add salt, coriander, cumin and turmeric. Simmer until beans are just tender, about 30 to 45 minutes.
3. Heat oil in deep saucepan. Add onion, garlic, ginger and cumin.
4. Fry 10 minutes and add tomato. Cook another 5 minutes and add lobia (black eyed beans) and cooking liquid. Continue to simmer, uncovered, until lobhia are soft but not completely dissolved.
5. Mixture should be soupy.

ALOO AMRITSARI

ALOO AMRITSARI


 
Ingredients:
250gms Aloo (potato)
2 Onions, sliced
2 tsp Ginger-garlic paste
1/2 tsp Ajwain
Salt To taste
1/2 cup Besan
1 tsp Corainder Powder
1 tsp Red chilli powder
1/2 tsp Garam masala
1/2 tsp Annardana Powder
Oil For frying
Handful Corainder leaves

Preparation:

1. Cut aloo into long pieces.
2. Make a thin batter of besan, salt, ginger-garlic paste, ajwain seeds adding little water. Add 1 tsp of oil and mix well.
3. Marinate alu pieces for 15 minutes.
4. Heat oil and deep fry the aloo. Keep aside.
5. Heat 2 tsp of oil, add onions and saute till brown. Add salt, turmeric powder, red chilli powder, annardana powder, garam masala and mix well.
6. Add the aloo (potato) and toss well. Simmer the flame and cook for another 5- 6 minutes.
7. Garnish with corainder leaves and serve punjabi aloo amritsari hot with paratha.

DANCES OF PUNJAB

DANCES OF PUNJAB:  






1.Bhangra: celebrates the harvest and is associated with the festival of Baisakhi (April 13) when the sight of tall heaps of golden wheat fill the farmer’s heart with joy. To the accompaniment of large drums called dhols, he and his fellow villagers circle round and round in a leaping, laughing caper. It’s a dance that cuts across all divisions of class and education. At marriages, parties, or celebrations of any sort, it is quite common for men to break out in Bhangra. There are few sights more cheering than that of a dignified elder in three-piece suit getting up to join the young fellows for a moment of bhangra revelry.














2.Gidda:Women have a different but no less exuberant dance called gidda. The dancers enact verses called bolis, which represent folk poetry at its best. The subject matter of these bolis is wide ranging indeed – everything from arguments with the sister-in-law to political affairs figure in these lively songs. Aside from the drums, the rhythm of this dance is set by the distinctive hand-claps of the dancers.


3.Jhumar: This dance has originally come from Sandalbar (now in Pakistan), but is now very much a part of Punjab folk heritage. It is a dance of graceful gait, based on specific Jhumar rhythm. Dancers circle around the drummer, and keep up a soft, sibilant chorus as they dance.


4.Luddi: Luddi is a victory-dance recognisable by the swaying movements of the head. Its costume is a simple loose shirt. The performers place one hand at the back and the other before the face; the body movement is sinuous, snake-like. This is also danced with the drummer in the centre.


5.Julli: This dance associated with Muslim holymen called pirs and is generally danced in their hermitages (khangahs). This dance is mostly performed in sitting posture, sometimes it is also danced around the grave of a preceptor. A single dancer can also perform this dance. Normally the dancer wears black.


6.Dankara: Also called the gaatka dance, this is a dance of celebration. Two men, each holding colourful staves, dance round each other and tap their sticks together in rhythm with the drums. This dance is often part of marriage celebrations.

7.Dhamal: Similar to bhangra and is danced by men in a circle.

8.Sammi: Traditionally by women of the Sandalbar region, now in Pakistan. The dancers are dressed in bright coloured kurtas and full flowing skirts called lehengas. A peculiar silver hair ornament is associated with this dance.

9.Jaago: Literally, "wake up!" When there’s a marriage in the house, girls dance through the village streets carrying a pot (gaggar) decorated with lightened candles and singing jaagu songs. The theme of song in the ‘Jago’ is social and typically a bit of teasing (often aimed at elders) goes with the song.

10.Kikli: This dance is performed by women in pairs. They cross their arms, hold each other’s hands and whirl around singing folk songs. Sometimes four girls join hands to perform this dance.



11.Gatka: Martial art of Nihang Sharmas.

MUSIC OF PUNJAB (5njab)

MUSIC OF PUNJAB (5njab)

A glimpse into the lives and culture of the people of Punjab can be got through the folk idiom of Punjab. There is a great repertoire of music, right from the time of birth to death, of love and separation of dance and rejoicement, of marriage and fulfilment. Culturally Punjab can be divided into three riegions, Malwa, Majha and Doaba. Today Malwa represents the true spirit of Punjabi folk traditions. The Punjabi fold idiom is so rich, so varied and so very versatile. It is a culture of generous, vast, large hearted people which is devoid of any fanaticism and religious narrow mindedness of ideology.

If we go deep into the folk music of the land, it is difficult to classify it. But perhaps we can draw board divisions for every season, every festive occasion has music associated with it. Even food is associated with a change in season. The festivals of Punjab are numerous. Lohri is the time after which the biting cold of winter begins to taper off. In the olden days, it was more of a community festival, where the birth of a son, the first year of marriage was celebrated all through the village in front of the sacred fire. Songs like 'Sunder mundriye, tera kaun vichara, Dulla Bhathi Wala.'were sung to the beat of virourous claps. Groups of little children would go singing round the village collecting 'gur' and 'rewari' for themselves. 'Lohri' was preceded by Maagh and the famous Maaghi Da Mela, and followed by Baisakhi, where the Bhangra was danced by the men of the Village.

An energetic dance associated witht the ripening of crops, performed by the menfolk of the villages. The dance manifests the vigour and vitality and exuberance of the people, in anticipation of money coming in after the cutting of a good harvest. Then comes the season of the monsoon, or 'sawan' when the married girls come home for a vacation, meet their old friends, wear the colourful Phulkaris, swing under the trees, adorn themselves with 'mehndi patterns', and glass bangles and exchange news, singing songs. 'Ni Lia De Mai, Kallean Bagaan Di Mehandi'. No occasion goes off without the association of music in Punjab. Right from the moment a woman announces the news of the conception of a baby, songs start. The third month, the fifth month, and then of the actual birth of baby is associated with joyous songs about the impending arrival. There are songs which tell about the love of a brother or a sister. Once a marriage is finalised, and preparations of the marriage start in the boy's and girl's family.

For the process of washing and cleaning the grain, of making new clothes, and household items, songs are sung by the woman in the family as they work through the night, that the 'dhol' is not used as the menfolk who are sleeping should not have their sleep disturbed. And then the numerous songs associated with the wedding. In the girls side 'Suhag' is sung, and in the boy;s
side, songs while he mounts the mare, 'Sehra' and 'Ghodi' are sung. When the two sides meet 'Sithaniyan' are exchanged. A kind of raunchy humour which makes it easier for both the the parties to show off their wit and repartee and also provides an opportunity to get to know each other. After the Barat is received 'Patal Kaavya' is sung after tea and while the 'Barat' is eating food together. Jugni, Sammi are basically songs centring around love, in the Jugni normally the bachelors gather
together and sing about their beloved. The Sammi is more a gypsy dance, which is performed as an expression of joy and victory, around the fire at night. Sammi is an imaginary female character of folk poetry, belonging to the Marwar area of Rajasthan who fell in love with the the young prince, and it is around their love story that the music and dance is set to. In the list of happy songs are included, Luddie, Dhamal and of course the Giddha and the Bhangra, which is all set to music,
which is typical of Punjab. Along with the 'Dhol' primarily, are sung 'Bolis' which can be divided into two categories, 'singly boli' and' lengthy boli'. Centering around mother-in-law, father-in-law, sister-in-law and other character from everyday life the music of these two lively traditions is extremely enervating.

Being a frontier state war played an important part in the lives of the people of Punjab. There was also a tradition of wrestlers living in every village, and while they practised at the 'Akhara' a music grew around their practice called 'akhara singing'. The drum plays a very important part in the folk music of Punjab. It provides the basic accompaniment to most of folk music. The 'Dhol' and 'Dholik', the male and female drum, had it's own relevant use. The information of an impending army was communicated by the sound of the 'Dhol', when information was given to the neighboring villages through a particular beat. The instruments used in Punjabi folk are typical to the region. The 'toombi', 'algoza', 'chheka', 'chimta', 'kaanto', daphali', dhad' and 'manjira' are some of the popular traditional folk instruments.

There are songs which are specific to death. Called 'Siapah', there are different kinds of 'siapah'. Special to individuals, the song of mourning deal with the loss of a brother, sister, mother, father, mother-in-law, father-in-law, and are sung in a particular format.

As in the rest of the country Sikh religion is deeply connected with music. In fact a glossary of music and Ragas are given at the end of the Guru Granth Sahib, the tradition starting with Mardana, who accompanied Guru Nanak on his travels who sang the bani of Guru Nanak with an ‘ektaara’ and the ‘rhubarb’. Classical ragas are used in the ‘shabad kirtan’, gayaki of Punjab. The sixth Guru Hargobind gave patrongae to sect of singers who sang only martial songs. Called ‘Dhadis’, they sing at shrines and festivals, ballads, vars, and about the heroic feats of the Sikhs. Along with the "Dhad" the ‘dhadi’ also uses a sarangi, as a musical accompaniment.

A strong tradition of the ‘kissa sahity’ of Punjab is very much part and parcel of Punjabi folk music. The legends of Heer Ranjha , Sohni Mahiwal, Sassi Punnu, Puran Bhagat are sung more in a semi classical style. The Punjabi ‘kaffi and kali’ are part of this genre. Related to this is the ‘sufiana kallam’ of Punjab as a result of a strong Sufi tradition in the state. The Heer in particular has a strong sufi base.

Later in the eighteenth and nineteenth century there started in Punjab a strong school of classical music centring around Patiala known today as the Patiala Gharana. The founders of this gahrana were Ustaad Ali Bux and Ustaad Fateh Ali who were great singers in the Patiala Darbar. Their disciples and admirers were numerous. Notable amongst them were Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali and his brother Barkat Ali who brought the Patiala Gharana on the forefront of Khayal gayaki. And thus started the ‘chau-mukhia’ style, which included dhrupad, khyal thumri and the taraana. Each of these styles too have their particular flavour, the energy and zest of the soil of Punjab. Highly decorated, Ustaad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan composed numerous ‘bandishes’ or compositions under the penname of Sabarang. Parallel to this was the growth of a gharana of tabla playing which is also known as the Punjab style, of which Alla Rakha the great tabla maestro belongs.

What has been written about is just a broad canvas of Punjab. Every village of Punjab has somethings typical of the soil. Over the years the success of the green revolution, with large mustard fields, and ‘kanak da sitta’ or the grains of wheat, along with the disco culture has provided a ‘purdah’ or a covering over the varied tradition of folk music of Punjab. For any discerning appreciator of music, Punjab provided enough for every occasion and every season, completely obliterating the statement that Punjab is a land of "agriculture and no culture". Culture lives and thrives in Punjab in spite of its stormy past.

AGRICULTURE IN PUNJAB (5njab)

AGRICULTURE IN PUNJAB

Most of the Punjab is an alluvial plain, bounded by mountains to the North. Despite its dry conditions, it is a rich agricultural area due to the extensive irrigation made possible by the great river system traversing it. The main sources of irrigation in Punjab are canals and tube wells. The two main crops cultivated in Punjab agriculture are Kharif and Rabi. The Kharif crops of Punjab comprise of maize, cotton, rice, sugarcane, pulses (grams excluded), bajra, peas, jowar, and vegetables such as gourd, onions, and chillies. The Rabi crops of Punjab include gram, barley, wheat, fodder crops, potatoes, oil seeds, and winter vegetables. The agriculture in Punjab is extremely intensive in terms of land, assets, energy, nutrients, agricultural components, water, and so on.

Punjab led the country’s Green Revolution of the 1960s and earned for itself the distinction of becoming India’s ‘bread basket’. The Green Revolution introduced a new technology of production in agriculture.The technology consisted of a package of inputs, such as, high-yielding varieties of seeds, chemical fertilizers, pesticides, insecticides, weedicides, machines like tractors, threshers, pumpsets/motors, combine harvesters/ reapers and others. The proper usage of these inputs required an assured irrigation system, a peasantry with the will and capacity to adopt the new technology and a government willing to lend its support and investment. All these conditions were present in Punjab. Simultaneously, the government invested massively in rural development, ranging from irrigation works, drainage of rain water, and reclamation of land to solve the problem of land salinity. High-yielding dwarf varieties of wheat from the International Centre for Maize and Wheat Improvement (CIMMYT) Mexico, were introduced leading to bumper crops. The availability of assured irrigation for fertile lands provided a conducive environment that enabled a dynamic peasantry to accept innovations in seed technology. Several farmers already possessed the immediate capacity (supported by the government) to make the necessary investments in the new technology. These initial innovators were immediately imitated by other farmers, irrespective of the size of their holdings, when they observed the sudden jumps in per hectare yield. The impact was dramatic. Between 1965-66 and 1970-71 the per hectare yield of wheat doubled, from 1104 kg per hectare in 1965-66 to2238 kg in 1970-71 and in 2005-06 it has reached to 4210Kg. The Green Revolution has been the backbone of Punjab’s development.

Some of the dams which provide Punjab water and electricity are :
1.Bhakra Dam Ranjit Sagar
2.Located on River Satluj Ravi


DETAILS OF CAPACITY OF VARIOUS CANALS IN Punjab

Punjab has more than 4 million hectares of well-irrigated land, with a cropping intensity of 186%. With a mere 1.5% geographical area of the entire country, Punjab produced about 22.61% of the country's wheat (15.5 MT), 10.78 % of rice (9.1 MT) and 12.4% of cotton (1.19 thousand bales) in the year 2000-01. In the year 2001-02 Punjab contributed 51.2% of wheat and 32.9% of rice to the central pool. Punjab houses India's largest tractor population and has the highest per hectare fertilizer consumption (177 Kg/Hec ).

Crop Distribution in Punjab:

HISTORY OF PUNJAB (5njab)

The Indian Punjab historically forms a part of the larger Punjab region, which includes the Pakistani province of Punjab and the North-West Frontier Province, the Indian states of Haryana and Himachal Pradesh, parts of Jammu and Kashmir and the Union Territory of Chandigarh, which boasts the highest per capita income and Human Development Index in India. Indian Punjab was trifurcated in the year 1966 leading to the formation of Haryana and Himachal Pradesh.
From the late 1970s to the 1990s, Punjab was struck by political, governmental and religious turmoil, to form a Sikh state called Khalistan to avoid the alleged discrimination faced by Sikhs by the Government of India. The violence during the Punjab insurgency saw deaths of several thousand people, and gradually came to a halt in the mid 1990s.

Majha,Malwa and Doaba Regions

Punjab is popularly classified into these three regions on basis of between which river they are located.

1.Majha is a historical region of the Punjab comprising the modern districts of Amritsar, Gurdaspur and Tarn Taran in the Indian State of Punjab. The largest part of Majha called the Bari Doab. It lies between two of the five great rivers of the Punjab: the Ravi and the Sutlej. As such, Majha lies in the heart of the ancient Punjab region. No wonder then, that one meaning of Majha is 'the central plains' or 'the central country'.

2.Malwa is a region of Punjab and parts of Haryana between the Sutlej and Yamuna rivers. Cities such as Ludhiana, and Mohali located in the Malwa region are the richest cities, and are the most expensive places to live in the Punjab State. Ludhiana is the business centre of Punjab and is also referred as the Manchester of Punjab.

3.Doaba is the region of Indian Punjab surrounded by the rivers Beas and Sutlej. The name "Doaba" literally translates to "land of two rivers" ("Do" two, "Ab" river; Punjabi). Jalandhar is one of the most famous cities of Doaba.

4.Powadh (or Puadh or Powadha) is a region of Punjab and parts of Haryana between the Satluj and Ghaggar rivers. The part lying south, south-east and east of Rupnagar adjacent to Ambala District (Haryana) is Powadhi. The Powadh extends from that part of the Rupnagar District which lies near Satluj up to the Ghaggar river in the east, which separates the states of Punjab and Haryana. Parts of Fatehgarh Sahib district, and parts of Patiala districts like Rajpura are also part of Powadh.

The Indian state of Punjab was created in 1947, when the Partition of India split the former Raj province of Punjab between India and West Pakistan. The mostly Muslim western part of the province became West Pakistan's Punjab Province; the mostly Sikh eastern part became India's Punjab state. Many Sikhs and Hindus lived in the west, and many Muslims lived in the east, and so the partition saw many people displaced and much inter communal violence. Several small Punjabi princely states, including Patiala, also became part of India. In 1950, two separate states were created; Punjab included of the former Raj province of Punjab, while the princely states were combined into a new state, the Patiala and East Punjab States Union (PEPSU). PEPSU consisted of the princely states of Patiala, Nabha, Jind, Kapurthala, Malerkotla, Faridkot and Kalsia. Himachal Pradesh was

created as a union territory from several princely states and Kangra district. In 1956,PEPSU was merged into Punjab state, and several northern districts of Punjab in the Himalayas were added to Himachal Pradesh.

The capital of the undivided Punjab province, Lahore, ended up in West Pakistan after partition, so a new capital for Indian Punjab state was built at Chandigarh. On November 1, 1966, the mostly Hindu southeastern half of Punjab became a separate state, Haryana. Chandigarh was on the border between the two states, and became a separate union territory which serves as the capital of both Punjab and Haryana. Chandigarh was due to transfer to Punjab alone in 1986, but the transfer has been delayed pending an agreement on which parts of the Hindi speaking areas of Abohar and Fazilka, currently part of Firozpur District of Punjab, should be transferred to Haryana in exchange.

During the 1970s, the Green Revolution brought increased economic prosperity for the Sikh community in Punjab, mainly due to Pratap Singh Kairon, the late Sikh leader. However, a growing polarisation between the Indian National Congress led Indian government and the main political party of the Sikhs, the Shiromani Akali Dal, began to widen during the 1970s. The hostility and bitterness arose from what was widely seen by the Sikhs as increasing alienation, centralization and discriminatory attitudes towards Punjab by the Government of India. This prompted the Shiromani Akali Dal to unanimously pass the Anandpur Sahib Resolution which among other things called for granting maximum autonomy for the Punjab and other states and limiting the role and powers of the Central Government.

Discord had been developing after the rejection of the Anandpur Sahib Resolution. A small section of Sikhs demanded an independent state of Khalistan. A number of militants took to targeting officials and people opposed to their point of view which included a number of Sikhs. Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale along with his supporters sought shelter inside the Akal Takht. Fearing an attack on the Harimandir Sahib, Bhindranwale, with help from Shabeg Singh heavily fortified the temple. The Indian army finally assaulted the Golden Temple to take out armed militants in June, 1984. However, the operation, Operation Bluestar was poorly planned and coordinated, leading to heavy military and civilian casualties.

As a result, the situation in Punjab deteriorated into anarchy with a rise in radicalised militancy. By the early 1990s, after many years of violence across Punjab, the militants' struggle for Khalistan had lost much of the sympathy given after the assault on the sacred Golden Temple, it had previously had from some Punjabi Sikhs and what little armed resistance remained was eliminated and forced underground. In the following years there was concern over alleged human rights abuses conducted by the central and state government against radical Sikhs, and many human rights organisations were not allowed in the Punjab at the time