Punjabi by Nature

Punjabi by nature,
2750 Gallows Rd, Vienna, VA 22180

Murg Changezi, Dal makhani with rice and naan

A punjabi dhaba is a roadside restaurant, usually seen on highways in India serving Punjabi food characterized by parathas (Indian stuffed breads), curries, and soups. While Indian menus in Northern Virginia is typically inspired by North Indian cuisine, restaurants with an explicit punjabi dhaba menu are less common.  Punjabi by Nature attempts to fill in this culinary void.

I have had the opportunity to try various dishes at the Vienna location. Specifically, I have tried their chole bature (non-spicy chick peas with deep fried bread), stuffed parathas, tandoori chicken, dal (lentils), a few chicken curries and a goat curry (goat lababdar). While I was not a fan of all of these, I can make a few recommendations for an Indian palate that is craving some authentic spicy food. I liked two of their bone-in chicken curries (Lahori Murg and Murg Changezi) to have had them more than once. The murg changezi was deliciously spicy. If you are not a fan of spicy food, their dal makhani, and chole bature, tandoori chicken are recommended. Its also reasonably priced with smallish (though adequate) portion sizes. Their menu also includes kababs and kathi rolls that I am yet to try.

I am also a  big fan of its ambiance. The blaring Punjabi music increases the authenticity of the overall experience. 

Indian Butter chicken

Ingredients 
1 full chicken cut in small pieces
2 tablespoons ginger-garlic paste
1/2 cup yoghurt
10 small shallots
2 large tomatoes
1 cup cashews
1 large tablespoon poppy seeds (Optional)
3 teaspoon Kashmiri chilli powder
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
2 teaspoons garam masala
1 cup cream
1 cup tomato soup (Trader Joes low-sodium tomato soup)
1 tablespoon fenugreek leaves (Kasuri methi)
Salt to taste
1/2 cup butter.

Step 1: Marinate the chicken with yoghurt, 1 teaspoon chilli powder, turmeric powder, and 1 tablespoon ginger garlic paste. Keep aside for atleast 3-4 hours.

 Step 2: Shallow fry the chicken and keep aside.






Step 3: Saute the shallots, tomato, cashew and poppy seeds, the remaining ginger-garlic paste in a pan with butter and cumin seeds. [You can skip this step and use the ready-made tomato soup as the base instead]

 Step 4: Add some tomato soup and grind the mixture to a thin consistency.

Step 5: Add the fried chicken pieces, garam masala, the remaining chilli powder and some cream. Add fenugreek leaves and let it cook until the chicken is done.








Step 6: Serve the chicken hot with bread or rice.