Every cuisine is exotic- for people other than those to whom it is ethnic. A Kerala person will not make much fuss about the best of Adai and Stew, for them it is a natural everyday staple food and not a delectable delicacy; similar is the rawa dosa for the Udippi fellow… or the mouth watering Parantha and Lassi to the Punju.

There are many varieties of Paranthas, but the two that stand out as ‘exotic’ are the Dilli variety (they have a complete street there devoted to the paratha.. it is called Parathe Wali Gali) and of course the Punjabi one, where the name changes and transforms to Parantha. It is this later one that is taken with copious quantity of sweet lassi and liberal helpings of Achar- mostly Mango or Nimbu.

The essential difference between the Parathe Wali Gali offering and the Punju variety is that while the Dilli one is multi layered and deep fried; the Punju Parantha is a Tandoori baked variety with a thick fill (Gobhi, Aalu and Paneer being the most common) and then finished with extra large dollops of butter. Thus, while gallons of asli ghee deep fry the Dilli stuff, the Punjabi parantha is rich in fill and butter- yes! Even if it is the Amul variety! Of course, mostly it is home made butter made from the thick milk which is the preserve of their overgrown cows and buffalos. And, the rumours that the Lassi is made in top loading washing machines is also just that- rumours.

For the Dilli paratha Alu Sabzi (a rich gravy) is essential, while the Punjabi type is served with ‘maa chhole’ di daal, with or without tadka. In Delhi they may garnish it with mooli slices, but in Punjab it will invariably come with hand crushed pyaz. The Punjab Paratha is a product of love and affection, cooked mostly by the housewife.  The Delhi Walla is more commercially made by a guy in his thirties, and hence with a rough and tumble dressing up.

The Punjab Parantha starts with the selection of the ‘kanak’, a word synonymous with Gold. The Wheat is grown with tender care, plucked when it is at its shining best, and ground to a not very thin powder, from which the Maida has not been separated. The dough is prepared with affectionate pounding in harmonic motion, initially by hand in a large earthenware bowl, and finally by pounding it on a timber board on which it is stretched in one action, folded over, and then pounded again- in rather suggestive motions of give and take. The Dilli dough is made more randomly, not much quality control for the atta - just that it should be consistent and should not break.

Major differences in processing are after the dough is ready. In Punjab they will break a large piece from the lengthened atta, and skillfully fist make a ball with rolling the dough in the cup of the hand (another suggestive action) to make an enticing laddu, which is then flattened by clapping it between both the hands. Next the filling, mostly boiled and mashed Aalu, mashed Gobhi, grated Mooli or grated Paneer is labored in a large ball, placed on the round flattened dough, rolled again into a laddu and finally clapped back to the perfect flat round disc. This is then skillfully placed in the Tandoor, turned with steel staves, finally taken out when the circumference has just started blackening, and then placed on the timber board. Next a clean piece of cloth is dipped in the asli ghee, and mostly the butter, and applied on the baked paratha. On this is poured a liberal sprinkling of ‘mota masala’; consisting of dhania powder, pudina, amchoor and garam masala. The paratha is lifted by hand (don’t mind the burns!) crumbled between the fingers and finally tossed over for service.

In the Dilli variety the dough is rolled by a belan, then cut by a hacksaw blade into some 16 pieces by a series of fast deft movement of the left hand. These pieces are stacked one on top of the other, with a bit of ghee in between each layer; re rolled by the belan, and the round dough goes to a shallow tawa with sizzling boiling ghee. Here it is deep fried, taken out, and served in shining stainless thali with the compliments of Aalu Sabzi, grated mooli and neembu achar.

Both, the Punjab and Dilli people are very possessive about their paratha, but for a purist like me the perfect paratha is what I always get at home, oozing with its distinctive zayka of ajwain. And like all good things in life, it is a product of moderation- no deep frying, no dollops of ghee or butter, a simple affair made on the tawa with minimum oil and lots of love.