Most "North Indian" food in Bangkok is some version of Punjabi cooking — the heart of mainstream Indian cuisine. But what does "real Punjabi food" actually mean? And where, honestly, can you find it in Bangkok? Here's a guide written by someone who cooks it for a living.
What "Punjabi food" actually is
Punjab is the breadbasket of northern India — a region spanning India and Pakistan, with shared culinary roots that run deeper than the political border. Punjabi cooking developed around three things the land produced in abundance: wheat (for bread), dairy (from buffalo and cow milk), and seasonal vegetables (mustard greens, spinach, eggplant, okra, potatoes).
The cuisine has several hallmarks:
- Dairy-heavy gravies — yogurt, cream, fresh paneer, butter, ghee. The famous "makhani" (butter) sauces are Punjabi.
- Tandoor-cooked breads and meats — naan, kulcha, roti, tandoori chicken, kebabs. The tandoor (clay oven) is central to Punjabi kitchens.
- Slow-cooked lentils — Dal Makhani takes 8+ hours; Sarson da Saag is a winter staple simmered with mustard greens.
- Robust spicing — garam masala (cinnamon, cardamom, clove, black pepper, bay), Kashmiri chili powder for colour, kasoori methi (dried fenugreek) for aroma.
- Hospitality — Punjabi meals are abundant. A typical Punjabi dinner has 4-6 dishes plus bread, rice, dal, and lassi. Eating less is considered impolite to the host.
The five dishes that define Punjabi cooking
1. Butter Chicken (Murgh Makhani)
Invented at Moti Mahal in Delhi in the late 1940s. Tandoori chicken folded into a slow-cooked tomato-butter-cream gravy with kasoori methi. The most copied Indian dish in the world; rarely cooked correctly outside Punjab. We wrote about how to spot real butter chicken in Bangkok →
2. Dal Makhani
The other half of the Moti Mahal heritage. Whole black urad lentils and red kidney beans, soaked overnight, then slow-cooked for 8+ hours with butter, cream, and tomato. The texture should be silky, almost custard-like. This is the Punjabi dal — every other dal is faster, but none has this depth.
3. Sarson da Saag with Makki di Roti
Winter staple. Mustard greens (sarson) slow-cooked with spinach, ginger, garlic, and green chili, finished with butter. Served with makki di roti (corn flour flatbread) and dollops of fresh butter. Eaten across rural Punjab during the winter months. We make sarson da saag during cool season when fresh mustard greens are available in Bangkok markets.
4. Tandoori Chicken
Chicken marinated overnight in yogurt, ginger, garlic, garam masala, and Kashmiri chili, then slap-cooked on the inside wall of a real charcoal tandoor at 480°C. The char marks and smoke aroma are the proof. Without a real tandoor, you cannot make real tandoori chicken — gas convection ovens cook the chicken but produce no smoke. Why charcoal matters →
5. Chole Bhature
Punjabi Sunday brunch. Spiced chickpea curry (chole) served with deep-fried puffed bread (bhature). Eaten with sliced raw onion, green chili, and pickled lime. A breakfast/lunch dish in Punjab, often served in roadside dhabas (truck stops).
Punjabi vs other North Indian styles
"North Indian" covers more than Punjab. Brief regional distinctions:
- Punjabi — robust, dairy-heavy, tandoor-centric. Butter chicken, dal makhani, paneer dishes, tandoori meats, naan and roti.
- Mughlai — refined court cuisine descended from Mughal-era kitchens. Korma, biryani, kebab, kheer. Heavy use of nuts, saffron, rosewater.
- Awadhi (Lucknowi) — slow-cooked, perfumed cuisine from Lucknow. Galauti kebab, biryani Lucknowi-style (yakhni, layered separately).
- Kashmiri — Persian-influenced. Rogan josh, yakhni, Kashmiri red chili (for colour, less heat).
- Pahari (mountain) — from Himachal and Uttarakhand. Simpler, less dairy-heavy. Madra, kadhi, bhatt ki churkani.
At BHARAT, the menu is primarily Punjabi (butter chicken, dal makhani, paneer dishes, tandoor section) with Mughlai mains (rogan josh, korma), some Awadhi influence in the biryani, and our Uttarakhand chef's Pahari roots showing up in subtle ways — slightly less cream in our makhani than typical Delhi versions, mustard oil used for some marinades, occasional Pahari dal preparations on the specials board.
Where to find authentic Punjabi food in Bangkok
Honest assessment of the Bangkok Punjabi food landscape:
What you'll find easily: "butter chicken" on virtually every Indian restaurant menu (most are pan-cooked chicken in generic tomato-cream sauce, not true makhani). "Tandoori chicken" cooked in gas tandoors (looks similar, tastes different). "Naan" from gas tandoors (cooks fine but loses the char). Generic "dal makhani" that hasn't been slow-cooked for 8 hours (it's a faster yellow-dal-with-cream impostor).
What's harder to find: Real charcoal-tandoor chicken with proper smoke. Dal makhani actually slow-cooked overnight. Fresh in-house paneer (not vacuum-packed). Authentic Sarson da Saag (very few Bangkok kitchens make it; harder to source fresh mustard greens). Real chole bhature for breakfast/brunch (rare in Bangkok).
BHARAT does the first three — real charcoal tandoor, overnight Dal Makhani, daily-set paneer. We make Sarson da Saag during the cool season (December-February) when fresh mustard greens are reasonable. Chole bhature appears on our menu but not as a breakfast specialty.
What to order if you want a Punjabi meal at BHARAT
For a table of 2-3, the Punjabi-classic order:
- Starter: Tandoori Chicken (half) + Paneer Tikka (mixed grill)
- Main 1: Butter Chicken
- Main 2: Dal Makhani
- Main 3: Paneer Butter Masala or Palak Paneer
- Breads: 2x Butter Naan + 1x Garlic Naan + 1x Tandoori Roti
- Rice: Jeera Rice (optional, if you want rice on the side)
- Drinks: Mango Lassi or Salted Lassi
- Dessert: Gulab Jamun (warm, two pieces)
That's about ฿1500-2000 for two to three people sharing, plus drinks. The most representative spread of Punjabi cooking you'll find in Bangkok.
The bottom line
Real Punjabi food exists in Bangkok if you know where to look. Most restaurants serve Punjabi-inspired food adjusted for speed, scale, and Bangkok tastes. A small number — including us — cook it the slow way, with the right tools and the right ingredients. The difference is in the depth and the smoke. Once you've had real Dal Makhani after eight hours of slow cooking, the quick version tastes thin. Once you've eaten Butter Chicken whose chicken came off a real charcoal tandoor, the gas-grilled version tastes flat.
If you want to test the difference yourself, walk over from any of the Huai Khwang or Asoke hotels (2-15 minutes depending where you're staying). We're open 12 noon to 12 midnight every day, and Sunday lunch is when our Punjabi menu shows best.
See our full menu · North Indian food page · Reserve a table · Order on WhatsApp
