5 Things To Do In Amritsar

Amritsar, a city of astounding architecture, bewildering cuisines, amiable, warm heated people and mesmerizing picturesque sights. The home to iconic Golden Temple is also home to tempting mouthwatering delicacies which are enough to make anyone fall in love with this city. Amritsar reiterates true essence of Punjab. So 5 things which one should definitely do when in Amritsar are:-

Phirni, a dessert made up of coarsely grounded rice, milk and kesar topped with pistachios and almonds, served in milti ki kullahad (earthen clay cup) is a treat to one’s taste buds mixed with aroma of mitti would definitely make you fond of it.

Golden Temple also known as abode of God (Darbar Sahib) is a preeminent spiritual site of Sikhism, which is an open house of worship for all men and women from all walks of life and faith. Over 450 years old temple is symbol of Humanity, Brotherhood and faith. It has a square plan with 4 entrances, a circumambulation path around the faith pool(Sarovar). In the middle of sarovar is sanctum with two storey and gold foil dome. Its architecture reflects a combination of Hindu Rajput and Indo Islamic Mughal architecture with arabesque floral designs on marble panels of walls around sanctum.

It proudly holds world’s largest community kitchen which serves free food (guru ka langar) to over 1,00,000 people a day.

Crisp, crunchy kulcha (stuffed naan)topped with melting butter is literally the pride of Amritsar. It ranges from stuffed flavored potatoes to crushed cauliflower to crushed cheese mixed with Indian spices. It is served with lip smacking channe(chickpeas) and tangy chutney. It is a delicious flatbread that is crispy on outside with melt in mouth texture from inside, topped with aromatic spices served hot with melting butter on the top is indeed a treat to one’s tatsebuds. Some of the places where you can find it in amritsar are :

It is truly said that no one can savor the fatty delicacies in its true essence as a Punjabi does.

Like papad elsewhere in India, Amritsari papad is made from seasoned dough, usually of hulled urad daal flour, seasoned liberally with salt, black pepper, heeng (asafoetida), cumin, coriander, pomegranate seeds and sometimes garlic. The proportions are highly variable, leading to a large variety in taste and pungency. The dough is rolled into wafer thin layers and then dried to make the special amritsari papad. In Punjab, it is typically served as an accompaniment to a meal after roasting in an oven or on an open flame, but elsewhere in India it is also eaten as an appetizer or snack, with toppings such as chopped onions, carrots, chutney or other dips and condiments. Papad is a low calorie food .

Amritsari Vadi (plural: vadiyan) is also made similarly from dough prepared from a paste of ground urad dal, with salt, black pepper, heeng, red chili, coriander seeds, salt, cumin seeds etc. added to it. Paste is shaped by hand into half round 4 cm balls, and spread out on sheets for sun-drying. Like papad, dried vadis can be kept for months. Dried vadis are cracked into bite sized pieces and added to curries and vegetable dishes. These give the dishes a smoky and piquant taste.

Lassi, a refreshing Punjabi sweet drink made out of curd mixed with water and sugar. But in Amritsar, you will find this in some different manner with additional butter and cream as toppings which makes it a specialty of Amritsar. Amritsari Lassi is relished by people of all ages either they are aged or young irrespective of the winters or summers. Amritsar, an effervescent city of Punjab will not offer you Lassi with just a single of its kind but you will get to see a variety of it. Mango Lassi, Kesar Lassi, Salty Lassi, Chatti Di Lassi, and Flavored Soya Lassi are also the ones that are worth craving for. Some of the places where you can find them are:

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