I Tried India’s 10,000 Calorie Diet!! (Best Punjabi Food in Amritsar)

0:03 Yeah.

0:05 Oh, wow.

0:06 I know that reaction.

0:08 That takes it to the next level.

0:12 They say you haven't truly tasted India until you've eaten in Amritsar.

0:17 This city is home to the Golden Temple, legendary hospitality,

0:22 and Punjabi food that's so delicious, it will leave you in disbelief.

0:27 Today we'll be eating our way through this magical food wonderland,

0:31 and I'm excited to uncover the secrets behind the flavor,

0:35 and especially to find out why the [music] food in Amritsar

0:38 somehow just tastes better than almost anywhere else [music] on Earth.

0:44 Good morning, Gurikbal.

0:45 Hi.

0:45 Hi, Gurikbal.

0:45 Hey, nice to meet you, man.

0:47 And where were we at first this morning?

0:49 Uh so, we are at Pehalwan Kulcha.

0:51 This is one of the oldest spot in the city and one of the most famous one.

0:56 They These are Amritsari Kulchas, which you won't find anywhere on this planet.

1:00 The Amritsari style Kulcha, right?

1:02 Yes.

1:06 [music] So, this is Pehalwan uncle.

1:09 Okay, nice to meet you.

1:10 owner of this place.

1:11 All right.

1:11 His father started this, and it's been there from since 1950s.

1:15 1950s, very cool.

1:16 Okay, great.

1:19 Oh, this place is buzzing.

1:21 It's so popular.

1:22 I love the action.

1:23 I love the energy, and of course they specialize in Amritsari style Kulcha.

1:28 And a Kulcha is a ball of dough.

1:30 And so, what they do is they first take

1:32 the dough and they kind of like flatten it out.

1:34 Then they fill it with a whole handful of mashed potatoes,

1:37 which is already filled with spices and herbs and onions,

1:41 and they fill [music] that into the center, then they ball up the dough,

1:43 and then they roll it out into either They have two different versions.

1:46 One is a kind of like a full circle.

1:48 Uh the other is kind of oblong oval.

1:51 Then they move over to the tandoor, and then he drizzles it with ghee,

1:56 and then slaps that directly into the tandoor.

1:59 And after they're baked into the tandoor is

2:01 the real magical special part of the Kulcha making process.

2:09 Oh, and then the final move So, once they the Kulchas come out of the tandoor,

2:13 then they get spread with the desi ghee all on top,

2:16 melting on top of the hot Kulcha.

2:18 Oh, what a move.

2:19 That smells unbelievable.

2:26 What is this one?

2:27 Uh these are the white chanas.

2:29 Okay.

2:30 And white ones.

2:31 Chickpeas, right?

2:31 Chickpeas.

2:32 Okay.

2:32 Uh boiled.

2:34 Uh nothing cooked, nothing fried.

2:35 Once you have the bite, you'll realize it.

2:37 It's absolutely amazing.

2:38 And then you have some condiment, some chutney with some vegetables in that mix.

2:43 So, what's the best way to to dig in, man?

2:45 Just uh mix a little of this.

2:47 Okay.

2:48 Grab a piece.

2:49 Look at how flaky.

2:50 Actually, I think I might just try it on its own first before digging in.

2:53 But look at the Look at the crusty butteriness of this.

3:00 Oh, wow.

3:05 That is unbelievable.

3:07 So, you can feel all the layers,

3:10 the crunchiness, the flavor of ghee, everything.

3:13 And I think because the ghee is such good quality,

3:16 it doesn't feel that heavy at first.

3:19 Exactly.

3:19 Exactly.

3:19 You know it is.

3:20 It's clean ghee richness, but all the different layers,

3:24 it's so crispy with like with like

3:26 10 different layers of crispiness and gooiness.

3:29 Then you've got the potatoes and all the spices inside,

3:32 like that coriander seed, the coriander flavor to it.

3:35 Yeah.

3:36 I cannot believe that first bite.

3:37 Okay, we have to try it with the chana now?

3:39 Yes.

3:41 Dip it into the chana.

3:42 Mix it with the chana.

3:43 You mix with condiment.

3:44 We can add the chana as well?

3:45 Yeah.

3:46 The chutney with the onions all together.

3:54 Yeah.

3:56 Oh, wow.

3:57 I know that reaction.

4:00 [laughter]

4:00 That takes it to the next level.

4:01 It It does.

4:02 The creaminess of the chana.

4:04 I love all that the freshness of the onions

4:05 and the acidity of that chutney as well.

4:07 Is it a tamarind chutney or is it like It is.

4:09 What's that sourness coming from?

4:10 Okay.

4:11 That is unbelievable.

4:12 You've got the richness of the Kulcha

4:14 with the refreshing tamarind sourness, acidity,

4:17 and all the crunch of the onions all

4:19 together with the creaminess of that the chickpeas.

4:22 This is something unbelievably good.

4:28 I expected it to be good when I was watching how they make it.

4:32 But nothing will prepare you for how good

4:34 it actually is when you take your first bite.

4:37 This is something truly world class.

4:41 Amritsari Kulcha honestly blew me away.

4:44 It's something you have to try in your lifetime.

4:46 But this is just the start.

4:48 There's still a lot more unbelievable food coming up.

4:57 [music]

4:56 After breakfast, we ended up going to the Golden Temple.

4:59 Amritsar is the center of the spiritual home of Sikhism.

5:05 We went to the Golden [music] Temple.

5:06 I got a turban, uh and we experienced the entire langar,

5:11 where 100,000 people eat every day.

5:14 You can check that out in a separate video.

5:16 But now we're back, and we are on our way

5:18 to the next spot to continue with our Punjabi food tour today.

5:27 [music] And so, we have met up with Anubhav from Delhi Food Walks.

5:30 He's joined us now.

5:31 Anubhav, you were telling me that this is

5:32 one of the best jalebis in all of India.

5:34 Yeah, so they are like uh This is

5:36 the name of the shop is Gurdas Ram Jalebi Wale,

5:38 and they make it fresh in ghee right in front of you.

5:41 Jalebi I'm sure you would have tried it before.

5:42 Yeah, for sure.

5:43 For sure.

5:43 So, we make the batter of refined flour, then we deep fry it in ghee.

5:47 Okay.

5:47 Once it is deep fried, we soak it in sugar syrup.

5:49 Deep fried in ghee.

5:50 It's like one of the most special sweet

5:52 snack desserts that we're going to try now.

5:55 Oh, these are hot.

5:57 These are fresh right out of the ghee, and then soaked in the syrup.

6:02 You can almost see like they're You can see through them almost, right?

6:05 Yes.

6:05 The syrup drenched in syrup.

6:07 Okay.

6:08 It's hot, yeah.

6:09 You break a piece.

6:13 Oh, very hot.

6:16 Very crunchy.

6:16 Mhm.

6:19 Wow, that's so crispy and crunchy, pretty sweet,

6:23 but like they're juicy and full of syrup

6:26 and crunchy and crispy all at the same time.

6:30 Very good.

6:31 And very hot, very fresh.

6:33 supposed to be eaten hot.

6:34 Mhm.

6:34 If it gets cold, you won't enjoy jalebi.

6:36 Yeah, it's got to be hot.

6:37 And there are different combinations.

6:38 Like here you eat jalebi on its own.

6:40 At some places we eat jalebi with rabri, which is like condensed milk.

6:44 Okay.

6:44 Some places we eat it with yogurt also.

6:46 Which cut the the sweetness.

6:48 Sweetness, yeah.

6:48 Oh, yeah, it is sweet and rich, but it's so good.

7:01 Oh, yeah.

7:02 Oh, we are navigating our way through the narrow old lanes of Amritsar.

7:06 The city is fascinating, but we're on our way next [music] to go

7:10 eat at what is probably one of the most historical,

7:14 most famous restaurants, dhabas, in all of Amritsar.

7:21 [music] We are at Kesar Da Dhaba.

7:22 Kesar Da Dhaba is more than 100 years old.

7:25 Like they shifted the places, but the recipes remain.

7:28 Dal is slow cooked.

7:30 It's slow cooked for 12 hours.

7:32 That's their famous, their legendary dal.

7:34 I think that's the special part.

7:35 That molten ghee.

7:39 Oh, onions go into the desi ghee, and wait to see what he's going to do next.

7:44 Oh, that chili powder goes in.

7:46 What a move.

7:47 It's like lava hot, boiling with the chili.

7:55 Wow.

7:57 He pours it onto the dal.

8:03 Smell that aroma.

8:04 It's incredible.

8:06 That was an incredible move.

8:08 That's their famous, their legendary dal.

8:15 Wow.

8:17 And then so, over on this side

8:18 of the kitchen is where they have all the tandoors,

8:20 and they're baking all the different varieties of breads.

8:23 The complexity of the breads, all the different layers in the flakiness,

8:26 and all the ghee that's involved.

8:29 Um and so, they're non-stop just making bread.

8:31 And then over here they have all the different Punjabi dishes.

8:34 Uh they're all vegetarian, but they do include paneer.

8:36 So, there's paneer dishes, like the palak paneer.

8:39 There's kadai paneer.

8:40 There's shahi paneer.

8:42 Many different types of paneer.

8:43 They all look so rich, all cooked with 100% ghee.

8:47 And then once the breads are done, then they get just drenched in ghee.

8:52 The generous usage of ghee here.

8:54 That is what it's all about.

8:56 Punjab, ghee, Amritsar.

8:59 It's incredible.

9:03 Look at how crispy that is.

9:05 These recipes, the breads are so complex.

9:09 And that dal, I cannot wait.

9:10 My mouth is watering.

9:11 We need to go eat.

9:12 Let's go.

9:14 Wow.

9:17 Oh, and crunch at the table.

9:23 [laughter] Oh, let that all that desi ghee absorb.

9:25 Wow.

9:27 So, here it is.

9:27 We got the thali with all the different dishes,

9:30 the palak paneer, their legendary dal, and then those parathas.

9:34 What's the the correct method of digging in?

9:36 Uh just take a small piece of the paratha.

9:39 Oh, this one is the potato paratha.

9:41 And dip it in the dal and have it.

9:43 Urad dal.

9:44 Urad dal.

9:45 With the ghee splashed on top.

9:55 Oh.

9:56 Wow.

9:57 That's a true taste of Punjab.

9:59 That is That is good as it gets.

10:03 The crispy paratha, I love all those herbs in there.

10:06 It's amazing how it still stays crispy even

10:09 though it's been drenched and soaked in ghee.

10:11 And then that dal is incredible, like so creamy.

10:14 You taste the richness of the ghee.

10:16 And then you even taste like that chili-infused ghee that he poured on top.

10:20 It just bubbles on top.

10:22 That combination is irresistible.

10:25 I cannot believe the crispiness and all

10:27 the spices and the coriander seeds in there, too.

10:29 The onions, the flakiness, the ghee, and that dal is absolutely unbelievable.

10:37 Go for it.

10:39 It's so rich, but such good quality.

10:42 No wonder this place has stood the test of time for 100 years.

10:46 An Amritsari staple.

10:48 Yeah, anyone who is coming to Amritsar, they have to come to this place.

10:52 It's a ritual for them.

10:53 They Mandatory.

10:53 Mandatory.

10:54 They'll come to this place, have their lachha paratha thali,

10:57 then only your trip is complete.

10:58 Otherwise, it's like incomplete.

10:59 They have to come to this place.

11:00 Unless you have been to this dhaba, you haven't been to Amritsar, right?

11:06 Now we can say we've been to Amritsar.

11:10 Okay, next up I'm going to try the palak paneer,

11:11 the spinach with huge cubes of paneer and full of ghee.

11:17 Oh, that looks so thick and rich.

11:27 Okay.

11:31 I've had I thought I've had palak paneer before in my life.

11:35 But this might actually be the real pinnacle.

11:40 That just dissolves in your mouth.

11:41 Both the paneer and the palak,

11:43 everything just melts in your mouth leaving you with that crispy paratha.

11:47 It's so rich, it's so flavorful.

11:50 Okay, I'll go over the plain paratha.

11:53 Okay.

11:55 Scoop on that piece of paneer.

12:08 Wow.

12:09 It has so many so many crispy layers.

12:12 You make a pocket.

12:13 Yeah, make a pocket.

12:18 [laughter] That's That's the next level of palak paneer.

12:22 Okay, I'll go for some of the raita.

12:24 It's boondi raita.

12:25 Boondi raita.

12:26 What's boondi?

12:26 It's made up of again chickpea flour.

12:28 Okay, the raita will kind of cut the richness.

12:33 That cool refreshing yogurt.

12:35 And there's also some salad, some onions as well.

12:37 A pickle?

12:38 This pickle.

12:38 Just take a small bite.

12:39 All right, I'll take Eat this onion?

12:41 Very small bite, yeah.

12:44 That's it.

12:46 I'm going to take a small bite of the mango achar.

12:48 It's just to change your palate.

12:50 Like you want to add some tanginess, you can have So good.

12:53 So this is a chickpea flour Besan roti.

12:56 Roti.

12:57 And again, that crumbled ghee soaked.

13:01 I'll try this one dipped with the chickpeas

13:03 since we haven't tried the chickpeas yet.

13:11 That's like chickpeas on top of chickpeas.

13:13 Yeah.

13:16 And again, chickpeas in all forms and shapes are delicious.

13:20 But I love And in addition to all the richness and the ghee,

13:22 I love the herbal content.

13:25 So much coriander.

13:26 And if you look closely, you can see all the coriander seeds as well.

13:29 So every now and then you'll bite down on a coriander seed that gives

13:32 you this burst of like citrusy flavor that just powers it as well.

13:37 With the onions.

13:39 Yeah, this place is phenomenal.

13:41 No wonder people have been eating here for 100 years and more.

13:46 That was an epic meal.

13:48 And coming up, we still have Amritsar's best chicken.

13:51 And we'll go to a restaurant where they

13:53 take legendary Punjabi hospitality to the next level.

13:57 But first, let's try some local street food favorites.

14:01 Just a 5-minute walk down [music] the road,

14:02 we're at the next spot to try something called paneer bhurji.

14:07 Whole of Punjab is known for milk products.

14:10 One of them is paneer.

14:11 So they here they make paneer bhurji.

14:13 Like the way you have scrambled egg, here you have scrambled paneer.

14:16 Amazing.

14:16 Like a fried paneer.

14:18 Yes, and you eat it with sliced bread.

14:19 Okay.

14:21 Oh, that's the paneer hand-crumbled into the spice into all that masala.

14:34 [music] Oh.

14:36 Sprinkled with some fresh coriander.

14:37 Look at that sizzling.

14:39 And you can see, yeah, it does almost look like scrambled eggs.

14:41 That's But that's all paneer.

14:56 Oh, and you eat it with the the normal bread.

15:04 It really does look like a spiced scrambled eggs, but it's all paneer.

15:08 No eggs in it.

15:09 I'll just try one bite first of the pure bhurji.

15:19 Oh, wow.

15:21 That is so rich and so tasty.

15:24 And those little like curbs of paneer which

15:27 have just been broken down and scrambled absorbed

15:30 with all that flavor in the masala

15:32 and the crispy onions and the freshness of the coriander.

15:36 Oh, that is so much flavor in one bite.

15:39 And so rich and powerful.

15:41 Next bite, pick a piece of the bread,

15:44 soak up the bhurji or grab a whole bite of it.

15:48 And then after that, I'll dab it into the sweet chutney,

15:51 mint chutney, and some onions all together.

15:54 And that will up the stakes.

16:02 You add even more layers and dimensions

16:04 of flavor with the sour chutney, with the mint,

16:07 with the crunch of the onions all together with that rich paneer and the bread,

16:11 like just plain white bread.

16:13 It's perfect because it just absorbs all that flavor.

16:17 Oh.

16:18 This is superb.

16:22 Man, this is Punjabi food is just never-ending deliciousness.

16:31 Yeah, insane.

16:34 Incredible flavor.

16:36 Another extraordinary dish, Punjabi dish.

16:39 Amritsar.

16:46 Next up, just a really [music] quick stop to try some pakoras.

16:49 There's a friendly man here selling a variety of pakoras.

16:52 These are deep-fried snacks served with chutney.

17:03 Oh, and then loaded up with some chaat masala.

17:06 Okay.

17:07 Nice.

17:09 So that's like a proper evening snack for North Indians.

17:13 They'll have pakora and a cup of chai.

17:15 Perfect.

17:15 You want to have some?

17:16 All right.

17:17 You want to have another I'll have maybe this one I've never tried before.

17:20 Okay, I'll try some of the Dip it into the chutney.

17:23 The aloo.

17:24 I'll try this This is my father's favorite.

17:26 Okay.

17:28 Chutney with a little bit of onions.

17:30 Sprinkled with the chaat masala.

17:38 Oh.

17:39 More paneer.

17:41 That paneer which has been deep-fried, so it just melts and it's crispy.

17:44 I love that chaat masala on it.

17:47 That spice and then just those tangy chutneys.

17:50 Fantastic.

17:51 And then also the the taro.

17:52 Yeah, not common to find here.

18:01 Oh, yeah, the texture of taro.

18:03 That really like creamy starchiness, almost a little stickiness as well.

18:07 And with that crispiness, that marinade, that sprinkle of masala.

18:10 Yeah, fantastic.

18:12 Guaranteed everything is tasty in Amritsar.

18:17 Oh, we walked to the next place.

18:19 We're at another dhaba where they have a very unique specialty.

18:23 So I'm here with Chef Mao.

18:25 He looks like someone you can trust with all of your culinary wants and desires.

18:30 So now he's [snorts] going to make us the karore, the goat feet.

18:34 I'm excited to find out how he cooks them for us.

18:38 All of the different masalas go in.

18:40 Oh, he adds in some ginger, some coriander.

18:46 You can just see his experienced mastery of the dhaba.

18:52 And after he takes out the trotters,

18:53 now he's just kind of like thickening, reducing it down, the gravy.

19:01 So then he finishes it off with butter,

19:03 a big chunk of butter right there that's just melting into it.

19:06 So we've had a lot of vegetarian food, which is called veg in India.

19:10 And across India, you'll find a lot of veg.

19:12 But especially at night in Amritsar is when you'll find more and more non-veg,

19:18 the heavy meat-based dishes coming out.

19:21 And so we are getting started on the non-veg

19:23 dishes this evening with something significant, karore.

19:27 Karore makhani.

19:27 Oh, man.

19:28 You see like they eat all parts of the animal.

19:31 Yes.

19:32 From brain to the feet.

19:33 It's like widely eaten during the winters

19:35 month because it's like good warming food.

19:38 Warm warm your Warm your blood.

19:40 Yes.

19:41 [laughter] And then it's served with the We got some paratha.

19:42 Some more bread.

19:43 Pudina paratha.

19:44 But this one is different also.

19:45 Even though it's it is kind of like that layered paratha,

19:47 but then they put on sesame seeds,

19:49 nigella seeds, and the touch of this paratha is

19:52 the dry mint that he puts on before he bakes it.

19:55 And then also served with some radish and onions

19:57 to go with it to kind of contrast the richness.

19:59 Okay, Anubhav, you go first.

20:00 Okay.

20:01 Chef like really simmered it down until thick, like a stew.

20:04 Yeah, yeah, yeah.

20:08 Oh, yeah.

20:09 You can already feel the gelatin of it.

20:12 That's the whole foot right there, just kind of separated out.

20:16 It's almost like a super stew.

20:22 Mhm.

20:23 It's like all the fat is melted out into that stew.

20:27 The thickness of that collagen has melted out of the foot.

20:32 You taste the ginger in there, too.

20:33 That extra coriander and the chili in there, too.

20:36 Phenomenal.

20:37 Okay, let's try the foot next.

20:48 The foot jelly.

20:50 Just melts.

20:51 Oh, oh, literally slid off the bone.

20:53 The tendons.

20:54 Very good.

21:00 All the skin, all the tendon.

21:01 It doesn't require teeth.

21:04 Yeah.

21:04 You could be toothless and eat this.

21:05 After experiencing the richness You can see the stickiness Stickiness should be

21:11 Mhm.

21:11 That's what I Yeah, your lips start to stick together,

21:13 your fingers start to stick together.

21:15 From there you can kind of taste with some

21:16 of the onions maybe to freshen your mouth.

21:20 Now you try it with the bread.

21:21 And then we should try it with bread.

21:22 Okay.

21:25 With the ghee.

21:26 Ghee and butter is in everything.

21:28 Yes.

21:28 Grab some of the the jelly and just absorb it.

21:40 You really taste that that dry mint, that intensity of mint.

21:43 No, bread is good on its own.

21:45 Mhm.

21:46 don't need anything with it.

21:48 You could actually eat that bread on its own, yeah.

21:49 But it's so full of that ghee,

21:51 all those layers of crispiness that we've become familiar with today.

21:54 But that extra touch of mint is really nice.

21:56 And it pairs really well though with the the stew and the the gelatin.

22:02 It's like a croissant almost, yeah.

22:03 Yeah, yeah, yeah.

22:04 I like that texture.

22:05 literally the bread is so flaky, it's like a croissant.

22:08 So puffy and flaky.

22:15 What a combination.

22:17 Another award-winning Punjabi dish.

22:19 Apart from Harode, they have all wide

22:20 varieties of chicken dishes like sag chicken,

22:23 chicken curry, butter chicken, all that.

22:25 But that will be trying at next place.

22:26 Okay.

22:28 We have a lot more to eat.

22:30 The night has just begun.

22:33 And from here we are jumping into a rickshaw to go to the next spot.

22:37 But that was great.

22:39 That that Punjabi food is it's heavy.

22:42 It makes you sleepy.

22:44 But it is so rich and so tasty.

22:47 Unbelievably good.

22:50 Hard work here.

22:51 Yes, we need more calories.

22:53 And the winter is cold, too, so So they gain all the calories and they work.

22:58 Yes, we can handle the calories.

23:01 Except all we do is eat.

23:03 Yeah.

23:04 What we are doing is just gaining the calories.

23:14 So before our [music] next meal, we decided to stop to have a tea to digest.

23:17 And we're at the most famous legendary tea shop in Amritsar, Giani Tea Stall,

23:22 where they make what looks like some

23:24 of the greatest tea you'll ever have in your life.

23:26 And they make the tea in these brass pots.

23:28 He adds in the milk.

23:29 Milk is very famous in Punjab, as you already know, dairy.

23:33 Then he adds in the tea.

23:34 He crushes in fresh cardamom directly into the tea

23:37 and a whole like chunk of ginger goes in.

23:40 He boils it until it froths up.

23:42 And then with accuracy,

23:44 he pours it from elevation into your cup, giving it more frothiness.

23:48 That looks incredible.

23:49 He is a master of tea.

23:52 Okay.

23:53 Namaste.

23:55 Thank you.

23:56 Thank you.

23:59 He has conquered tea.

24:02 One of the things I love what they do here is they make it cup by cup.

24:05 They don't make it in a big batch and it sits there as it goes.

24:08 It's like cup by cup.

24:16 Oh.

24:17 Oh, that's so soothing.

24:19 Oh, that milk is so good.

24:22 The strength of the tea,

24:23 that you really taste the power of the cardamom and you taste that bite,

24:27 that like that heat of the ginger in there.

24:34 That cardamom and that ginger elevates it.

24:37 Every now and then you get one of the cardamom

24:39 seeds and that just gives you an extra floraliness.

24:44 [music] Thank you.

24:47 Thank you very much.

24:48 Thank you very much.

24:50 The tea was fantastic and that ginger is

24:51 going to help in the aid in the digestion.

24:54 But as it starts to get dark in Amritsar,

24:56 [music] it brings a whole new life and energy to the city.

24:59 And people are known Punjabis are known to stay

25:01 up late into the night eating late into the night.

25:04 So let's see what kind of food we're going to try next.

25:11 So we are at Beera Chicken House.

25:13 This is a legendary restaurant in Amritsar

25:15 known for roasted chicken and keema naan.

25:18 Hello.

25:19 Nice to meet you.

25:21 How long have you had this restaurant?

25:31 More than 50 years.

25:35 1970, okay.

25:43 So uncle wanted to show us the picture

25:45 the picture here when he hosted Anthony Bourdain.

25:50 So we're in the kitchen now.

25:52 Yes, chef is here.

25:53 And actually so it's they call it tandoori chicken

25:55 but it's actually like grilled chicken on the fire,

25:57 on the grill, to my surprise.

25:59 This place is legendary, 50 years.

26:01 And that chicken marinade and that is an incredibly hot fire.

26:07 Roasting.

26:07 My face is peeling.

26:09 And is this like a desi chicken?

26:11 It's a small chicken?

26:13 Okay, broiler chicken.

26:14 Oh, and a little bit of masala goes on.

26:16 The chicken is ready.

26:17 Now we're moving over to the next station

26:19 to see their other famous dish which is keema naan.

26:21 A quarter of a kilo goes into the naan.

26:23 Oh, they're going to make a lot of keema naan tonight.

26:25 Meatballs that are going to go into the bread.

26:27 What a dish.

26:29 That's an impossible amount of meat goes into the bread.

26:41 Oh.

26:44 The ghee.

26:45 The desi ghee goes on.

26:50 And then that goes into the tandoor.

26:51 Oh, and I love how all the tandoors are burning wood here.

26:58 Oh, and then that finishing roast on the fire.

27:03 Oh, oh, yeah.

27:07 Yeah, and it's hard to believe that all that keema is stuffed within that bread.

27:11 But it's not over yet, of course.

27:13 It needs to be painted in the desi ghee.

27:19 Chicken smells incredible.

27:21 It's like you smell that spice, that masala finish.

27:24 It's charred.

27:26 Served with a beautiful chutney, served with onions.

27:28 All right.

27:29 Okay.

27:30 Take any piece you want.

27:30 Maybe I'll go thigh.

27:32 Oh, and here comes keema naan.

27:33 And as we're about to take our first bite, the the keema naan has arrived.

27:36 But we'll we'll stay with the chicken first.

27:38 Okay, just just the pure bite first.

27:40 Just that chicken.

27:49 Oh, wow.

27:50 And it's so soft.

27:52 It's so soft.

27:54 Almost has like the texture of a spring chicken or like a like

27:57 a baby chicken because it's almost like milky and creamy and so soft, yeah.

28:01 Nice and salty.

28:02 That sprinkle of masala embedded with the fire of the smoke.

28:05 In fact, they use small chicken.

28:07 They don't use like chicken more than 800 g.

28:10 So it is a young chicken maybe.

28:11 It keeps it really tender.

28:13 It's so moist.

28:14 And it's like that flavor has just literally gone to the bone, yeah.

28:17 Really tasty.

28:23 Yeah, you do taste that pepper.

28:24 But I do want to try that that chutney on my next bite.

28:27 Yeah.

28:28 Yes, that mint chutney.

28:34 With that mint, coriander, that acidity, superb.

28:38 Amritsar does it again.

28:40 Absolutely delicious.

28:43 Coming to Punjab, I actually wasn't expecting the varieties of bread.

28:49 But the bread, it's like some of the best bread baking,

28:53 tandoor skills that you'll see in all of the world.

28:56 Yeah.

28:56 And they like there's a stuffing.

28:58 Every kind of thing is stuffed into bread.

29:00 This one is the keema, so it's like minced meat Yes.

29:03 mixed with spices, mixed with onions.

29:05 Oh, yeah, the baking skills of Punjab is next level.

29:08 Okay, let's try the keema naan.

29:10 Oh, that's going to be flavorful.

29:11 Loaded with spices.

29:12 Yeah.

29:22 Again, the coriander seeds, yeah.

29:24 The pepper in there.

29:25 The onions.

29:26 So many coriander seeds are there.

29:27 And green chilies also.

29:29 Yeah, lots of green chilies.

29:31 Again, another fantastic bread.

29:34 You can try it with this curry also, chicken curry.

29:36 Mhm.

29:37 For the keema naan.

29:39 Let's just dip it into the the chicken gravy.

29:46 It'll be better with that.

29:47 Mhm.

29:48 Well, I think it gives it like a more of a buttery taste to it.

29:51 Mhm.

29:53 Keeping it juicy.

29:55 Adding that liquid to it.

29:56 And another layer of spices.

29:58 And that flavor of the chicken fat.

29:59 Maybe the chicken fat is what it

30:01 what's really contributing to that that curry sauce.

30:04 Fantastic.

30:05 Perfect combination of the tandoori chicken with the keema naan all together.

30:16 [music]

30:17 So, just 100 m down the road,

30:19 we're at the next spot at a place [music] called Makan Fish that has

30:23 been open since 1962 and they are [music] famous for Amritsari Fish Fry,

30:29 which is known throughout all of India.

30:35 It's a type of catfish,

30:36 which is marinated and one of the distinct spices that's used

30:39 is carom seeds and then it is fried in mustard oil.

30:43 And this place has been doing it for generations.

30:46 Yes, he is the the owner.

30:49 And the family.

30:50 Oh, yes.

30:51 And you were saying that they they fry it twice, right?

30:53 So twice.

30:54 So, like say this half done and then they leave it for rest for some time.

30:57 When someone places order, they again deep fry it in mustard oil.

31:00 Okay, and it's pure mustard oil that they're frying it in.

31:02 Okay.

31:08 Oh, you're left with [music] a boneless fillet.

31:11 It's very convenient, deboned for you.

31:13 Then it gets that famous masala that chat masala that hasn't changed.

31:20 Okay, so this is another one

31:22 of the absolute must-eat dishes when you're in Amritsar.

31:27 Yes.

31:27 And it smells so good.

31:29 We should try the fish on its own first, the plain fish.

31:31 You can see like the flakiness of it.

31:34 Oh, yeah, that's hot, too.

31:35 So hot.

31:36 Oh, it's buttery, oily, the catfish oils.

31:43 Oh.

31:46 So fresh.

31:47 Mhm.

31:50 Buttery.

31:51 Literally is like buttery fish that just kind of melts in your mouth.

31:55 The catfish oil and that is so much flavor as well.

31:58 All of that masala.

31:59 You can taste the carom seeds.

32:01 It's very good for digestion.

32:02 So, whenever we have stomach pain also at home what we'll do,

32:06 we'll have some carom seeds with black salt.

32:09 So, it's medicinal.

32:10 Medicinal as well.

32:11 And they kind of have like a like a little bit of a floral Yeah.

32:14 floral flavor, right?

32:15 Yes.

32:16 Yes.

32:16 Yeah, that fish is incredible.

32:18 Now you try the fish with chutney and with radish.

32:20 Let's do the chutney move.

32:22 The chutney is there for flavor,

32:24 but it's also there for digestion for the stomach for the balance.

32:30 Yeah.

32:37 That really refreshes your palate.

32:40 Oh, the chutney is amazing.

32:41 I think it's better with chutney.

32:42 Mhm.

32:43 Huh?

32:44 It enhances the flavor, right?

32:45 It kind of balances it all, yeah.

32:47 The chutney has this acidity to it.

32:49 You taste the mintiness of it.

32:51 And then that crunch,

32:52 the juiciness of that that crispness of the radish all together.

32:56 Oh, it's so good.

32:59 Yeah, with the chutney it's superb.

33:07 Wow.

33:10 I love it with that chutney.

33:12 The most famous Amritsari Fish Fry known throughout India.

33:17 Yeah, whenever you try Amritsari fish, I think it should be like this.

33:20 And this is the place to come.

33:22 Between you and me, we came here just for the fish fry,

33:25 but they were so accommodating.

33:27 They wanted us to [music] try more and more.

33:29 And the dishes that came out next were worth waiting for.

33:34 [music] Uh here's my brother, my father.

33:35 He's making mutton tikka for you.

33:37 Okay, mutton tikka.

33:39 Yes.

33:40 Oh, man.

33:43 Okay, we're going to try the mutton tikka now.

33:46 Oh.

33:50 So, the recipe is same since 1962.

33:52 They haven't changed the recipe yet.

33:53 Oh, wow.

33:54 Maybe we should try one.

33:56 Look at that char, literally out of the tandoor seconds ago.

34:06 Oh, wow.

34:07 That is melting off the bone.

34:09 Oh, there's so much flavor.

34:11 I cannot believe how crispy it is on the outside.

34:14 How juicy it is on the inside.

34:15 That marinade goes all the way to the bone.

34:18 That finishing masala and that acidity of the lime juice.

34:22 Oh, this is phenomenal.

34:26 [music] Next up, we're going to make butter chicken.

34:27 Desi ghee and these are copper pans, too.

34:32 Oh, man, I love the amount of garlic and ginger that goes in.

34:36 And the gravy goes in.

34:38 And then onion gravy goes in.

34:41 Onion and cashews.

34:42 Oh, what a gravy.

34:45 And then you got to have tandoori chicken.

34:47 Okay, it's got to be tandoori chicken.

34:49 So, the layering of flavors.

34:52 That goes into the gravy.

34:54 Salt.

34:56 Garam masala.

34:58 Oh, a little vinegar, okay.

35:05 Fresh cream.

35:08 Oh, make it so rich and creamy.

35:11 Oh, that's the Punjabi touch.

35:14 Butter chicken.

35:15 Butter chicken.

35:17 Hot to it.

35:18 Look at that gravy.

35:22 Oh, with a little more cream on top.

35:24 No, this is Punjabi.

35:25 Punjab butter chicken.

35:27 Oh, yes.

35:28 Oh, man.

35:29 Food is so good.

35:30 Yes, here's how they put it inside.

35:32 Yes.

35:34 Oh, and a little more coriander to finish it off.

35:37 And some ginger, the layering of ginger.

35:40 That is unbelievable.

35:44 The butter chicken looks so thick and rich.

35:46 And we have some butter naan to go with that and some garlic naan.

35:49 Of all the breads we've had today, this is our first time to have garlic naan.

35:53 Oh, but you know this is steps above every other garlic naan.

35:57 Look at that flakiness, crispiness and of course, butter.

36:00 And you know it's a good butter chicken

36:01 when it's bone-in tandoori chicken, the real way.

36:13 Wow.

36:15 That's so rich and flavorful.

36:17 I love the flavor of ginger, the cream, the coriander in there.

36:22 And they just kept on layering it, all the different flavors layered upon layer.

36:26 And then adding in the chicken,

36:28 which is already embedded with the tandoori seasoning and marinade and smoke.

36:33 It's just layers of multiple dimensions of flavor.

36:38 Yeah, let's try a piece of chicken.

36:45 Oh, wow.

36:48 That's same tandoori chicken we had in the kitchen,

36:50 but there's just loaded with that gravy.

36:52 The balance of tomato, the nuttiness of the cashew and the onion gravy.

36:56 Oh.

36:57 And that chicken.

37:03 Yeah, that is real deal.

37:08 Phenomenal.

37:10 One more bite of that that gravy.

37:21 That's incredible.

37:23 That will hit every taste bud you can imagine [music] with richness and flavor.

37:28 Oh, man.

37:30 Amritsar has outdone [music] itself.

37:33 We were honestly supposed to go to another restaurant,

37:36 but [music] after this full day of Punjabi food and easily

37:39 the most ghee I've ever consumed in a single day, I was completely maxed out.

37:45 They take food very seriously in Amritsar and to the next level.

37:51 Might be the most desi ghee I've consumed in one day and I feel fantastic,

37:55 [music] but very ready to sleep.

37:58 And a huge thank you to Gurikbal and to my friend

38:02 Anubhav [music] from Delhi Food Walks for arranging everything.

38:06 Go check out his amazing channel and his videos.

38:09 And also, [music] go check out the next video if you haven't seen it already.

38:12 We went to the Golden Temple and ate the [music] world's biggest kitchen

38:17 community meal that you got to check out the next video as well.

38:21 And thank you for watching.

38:22 Sure to give this video a thumbs up and I'll see you on the next video.

38:24 Good night from Amritsar, Punjab, India.