Amritsar Calling: The bakery capital of Punjab

This darling baker has not been spotted of late. His son, a mechanical engineer in a multinational car factory in Delhi, delivered the buns the other day. He had to take leave to look after his father, whose shoulder got dislocated when thugs pulled his money purse off his arm, thereby dragging him while they rode off on their motorcycle. The son is now assisting his father recover and looking after his work, though he seems to have all but lost his own job in the capital.

My thoughts of the aroma of bakery goodies take me back to our maternal home where Khan, the baker would come once a week to deliver goodies at home. He would carry a massive bamboo basket as a headload up the wooden staircase to our Granville Flats, and in his gruff raspy voice say the magic words “double roti wala”. All of us kids would run up to choose soft as sponge buns, eclairs, macaroons, pastries, and patties. Nani would take out the notes and coins knotted on the edge of her white handkerchief…and the party would begin. And yet anytime we would go to her with long faces, she would ask “Hangary”? Lo and behold magic would happen. Quickly a bun with colourful currents would be sliced into two, malai and chinni added in abundance, and voila, just pure joy would ensue. The simple pleasures of life in the summer holidays as kids.

Let’s not forget the other unmatchable treat, the ‘palechaan-wali praunthi’ with a tablespoonful of desi ghee rolled in; the well-rested flour twisted and rolled over many times, thus making layers upon layers of thin crusts piled up and roasted on the griddle, with more helpings of ghee. And then, the flaming hot roti crushed towards the centre with loving hands just before serving to a dining table full of feasting eyes. That was my Nani’s forte. Dadi, on the other hand, would have that old mitti-da-tandoor, the mud-caked oven, lugged out into the open every Sunday to bake tandoori rotis with a passion and served with mutton curries and methi-aloo. Oh man!

Of Modern bakery

But that is all home baking. A visit to a bakery is a treat for all. Our ultimate evening sojourn as kids and young adults was a drive to Modern bakeries opposite Medical College. A ride on a bicycle, later a ride on a motorcycle, and later still a drive with a car full of cousins or friends was always satisfying during our growing up years. The wide variety of goodies on offer was so very inviting. There were whole-wheat biscuits, coconut macaroons, cashew and almond cookies, pastries to die for, and eclairs to live for. And it was always oven fresh despite a line-up of hankering customers which must have tempted the baker to stock up instead.

Panditji would make us wait as he cooled his bread so he could slice it evenly. The magic was in watching trays upon metal trays being brought out on meter-long spatulas from the large mud-caked oven, wood-fired of course. And the aroma of browning cookies and baking bread would have our bellies growling and mouths drooling. Seeing our usual impatience with the wait, he would offer us fresh Bun-Makhan (Hot Buns slit horizontally in the middle and filled with a full rectangle pack of Amul butter). As we gobbled, he would even take out some cream-roll crisps from the traditional oven, fill them with cream from a paper cone, and top the fat end with a special dollop. Unforgettable and delectable. We would walk out with many a packet of confection, white creamed moustaches as a bonus, a burp on the threshold, a burdened digestion, but a satiated palate.

Fancy patisseries

But it’s a different era now in town where the old coexists with the new. Shakti Chand on his cycle and a host of moped-borne deliverers go house to house dropping the daily bread. On the other hand, a crop of exquisite bakers with white chef coats and matching tall caps, wearing latex gloves, degrees on their cuffs, and pedigrees to match, are churning out goodies by the ton. These fancy chocolatiers and Patisserie, glass-fronted, granite-floored bakers are the rage of town. They display pizzas and paninis, sandwiches and burgers, canapes, and pastries, take orders for birthdays and anniversaries, and have choices that include multi-grains, lactose-free, eggless, and whole-wheats as well.

And of course, on another level, some of these are now filled with aromas of freshly roasted and grounded coffee beans. These cafés with uniformed servers, even ushers, rake in many a willing customer every minute. These are the haunts of the young nerds, the Romeos and the babes in town, and a few grey-haired straddlers wanting to feel young. The fad seems to have moved from chai-ki-dukaan with bread pakoras and samosas with chutney to steaming hot coffees, iced frappes with brownies and wedges to match. Nothing fried please, that is a no-no. Perhaps just a bite of the sinful chocolate cake maybe.

My wife is a bready person, she likes her croissants, her focaccia bread, the sour bread and more. So, on her birthday I presented her with a home bread maker, one in which you add all the goodies, it kneads, rests, heats, and then bakes bread automatically, almost magically. She was super excited, for about a year, enjoyed the aromas of baking bread at home, and presented them to all her friends as well. But alas the bread-making machine now adorns the kitchen shelf, victim of constant diet plans for us, the weight-phobic. The wonder machine is done and dusted but is still dusted and cleaned every morning like a showpiece on a pedestal.

I am a stickler to the theme of whole wheat bread and not the solidified fluid and potion mixes with infused air that make up for today’s factory-manufactured confection. So, the search has been endless since most of our old bakeries have either closed down or shifted to these packaged loaves that make it to most breakfast tables now. Even the old-time deliverers of confection find it easier to offload branded plastic-wrapped merchandise than the khaki-lifafa-type bounties of yore, hot and straight from the mud-lined ovens.

My quest led me many years ago to Bakes & Beans which has changed hands but excelled even more in providing the very best whole grains and multi-grains, apart from so much else that is so very good on offer. The walnut pies & chocolate truffles especially, and the delectable sandwiches, among loads more on the menu, are to kill for. So as our young owners, DP Singh & Timmy Singh’s popularity soars, they are facing inflationary pressures and the bread has lost a slice or two, but the quality remains impeccable, and we chomp away with satisfaction.

Many a loaf has shrunk from the baker’s dozen to legs eleven or lesser. The phrase itself is very interesting as it was coined in the late 16th century. The practice was that the bakery would supply the thirteenth loaf free when selling a dozen loaves of bread to the retailer. The retailer would sell them at the same price that he bought at, and the thirteenth loaf was his profit. Pretty cool, was it not?

The fun part of confection in town though is that there is always a new kid on the block, literally, since she operates from her home. One who churns up the most sumptuous cakes and pastries. Aman’s Rum and Choc one-pounders that knock your senses out with richness, the teeny-weeny crème eclairs from Jyotu that you cannot have enough of and many more such delightful bakers continue to favour, even spoil us.

But that is not all. Let’s not forget the baked stinky kulchas that are available only in Amritsar. Our good friends the Bharti’s of Airtel import them at least once a year, when the whole family gathers for a feast that they yearn for. There is actually a Kulchian wala bazaar where a horde of these age-old bakeries churn them out in hundreds and thousands. They all disappear into chomping jaws by the evening with brain curries, mutton tikkas, chikad-choley (muddled chickpeas) and soya champs.

And did we not mention the Amritsari kulcha as yet? Sacrilege! But then you all know enough of that wicked bread anyways. So, Bakers Dozen or Bakers by the Dozen, drool away peeps for this is us here in the thick of it all, and bellies to match!!!

(The writer is an Amritsar-based author, historian and environmentalist who loves all things Ambarsari)