Punjabis have more ghee in their system than all other races put together. Or the unclarified form, butter, for that matter. Butter paneer, butter chicken, butter naan, lacha parathas, kaali daal; all served with dollops of ghee and butter. There’s ghee in the paratha, on the paratha and around the paratha. Wait! We still haven’t smeared fifty grams of butter on it. Makes it easier to slide down the throat.
Daal chawal or even khichdi need a generous serving on top. Not well? koi gal nai. The Punjabi mom will serve light khichdi. But wait, it has to have jeere ka tadka. The ghee is just a wee bit less, ’cause you aren’t well! Lassi in the traditional style is served, with either freshly extracted butter or cream.
Then there’s talk of our glowing skin and hair. No expensive skin creams here guys. We owe it to the ‘doodh ka patila’, which when emptied every morning, will have a residue of some cream. Nah! We don’t throw it. We rub it on our hands n face. My mom used to give me something called ‘chiddi’. It was what was left from the butter milk she’d strained. We were supposed to use it in place of soap. An awful smell for some, but after seeing the results, who’s complaining!
I remember having ghee in hot milk, the smell and the yellow liquid on top of the glass, is still fresh in my mind. “What will you have for dinner?” mom would ask dad. “Don’t bother too much. Just give me some gud ki shakkar in a little ghee with makki ki roti or parathas.” Now you can imagine the ‘little ghee’ needed to soak about 3tbsp of gud ki shakkar.
My youngest masarji was reared in Patna. So his panjabiyat is a little diluted. Bihar has rubbed off on him more than Punjab. He’s a great singer, chef, and plays the mouth organ very well. As I had shown some inclination in learning the latter from him, he decided to gift me a ‘Hero’, mouth organ, which according to him was the best.
“Before you start playing, grease your lips with a little Vaseline”, said masarji. “It’s easier to glide the mouth organ that way.” I mulled over it for a while, running the taste of Vaseline in my mouth. “Can’t we smear some ghee instead,” I asked. He shook his head in disbelief. “You Punjabis! Have to have ghee on everything. What’s wrong with Vaseline? It doesn’t even smell,” he exclaimed.
Now how was I to explain what’s wrong! Ask any hard core Punjabi, he’ll tell you.
So if you hear, “Oye thoda ghyo hor payi”, you sure are at the right place! You’ll get your fill, with lots of love, n yes, lots of ghee!
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