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Punjabi Kitchen Phrases: Cooking Together ਰਸੋਈ

Kitchen Punjabi: ingredients, quantities, heat and timing. The best possible setting for practising, because someone is always correcting you.

What to know before you use these

  • The best classroom in the house — Everything is concrete, everything repeats, and every mistake is corrected within seconds. No other setting gives you that.
  • Kitchen Punjabi is bare imperatives — "Pyaaz katt de", "chaul charha deo", "gas hauli kar deo". Short commands, thrown across a room, with no softening at all.
  • "Chakkh ke dekho" is the real measurement — Taste and see. Punjabi recipes are calibrated by tasting, not by quantities, which is why the phrase comes up constantly.

All 20 phrases

Cover:
What shall we cook today?
ਅੱਜ ਕੀ ਬਣਾਈਏ?
Ajj ki banaiye?
They say
ਚੌਲ ਚੜ੍ਹਾ ਦਿਓ
Chaul charha deo — Put the rice on
Knead the dough
ਆਟਾ ਗੁੰਨ੍ਹ ਲਓ
Aata gunnh lao
Roll the rotis
ਰੋਟੀਆਂ ਵੇਲ ਲੈ
Rotiaan vel lai
💡 ਤੂੰ form, natural within family; ਵੇਲਣਾ = to roll with a rolling pin
Chop the onions
ਪਿਆਜ਼ ਕੱਟ ਦੇ
Pyaaz katt de
💡 ਤੂੰ form; say ਕੱਟ ਦਿਓ (katt deo) to be polite
Add a little salt
ਥੋੜ੍ਹਾ ਲੂਣ ਪਾ ਦਿਓ
Thorha loon pa deo
💡 ਲੂਣ is the Punjabi word for salt; ਨਮਕ is also heard
Taste it and see
ਚੱਖ ਕੇ ਦੇਖੋ
Chakkh ke dekho
They say
ਮਸਾਲਾ ਹੋਰ ਚਾਹੀਦਾ ਹੈ
Masala hor chahida hai — It needs more masala
The tarka smells amazing
ਤੜਕੇ ਦੀ ਖ਼ੁਸ਼ਬੂ ਕਮਾਲ ਦੀ ਹੈ
Tarhke di khushboo kamaal di hai
💡 ਤੜਕਾ = the fried onion-garlic-spice base
Turn the gas down
ਗੈਸ ਹੌਲੀ ਕਰ ਦਿਓ
Gas hauli kar deo
The milk is boiling over!
ਦੁੱਧ ਉੱਬਲ ਕੇ ਡੁੱਲ੍ਹ ਰਿਹਾ ਹੈ!
Duddh ubbal ke dullh riha hai!
💡 ਡੁੱਲ੍ਹਣਾ = to spill over
They say
ਗੈਸ ਹੌਲੀ ਕਰ ਦਿਓ
Gas hauli kar deo — Turn the gas down
Wash the daal
ਦਾਲ ਧੋ ਲਓ
Daal dho lao
Put the rice on
ਚੌਲ ਚੜ੍ਹਾ ਦਿਓ
Chaul charha deo
💡 ਚੜ੍ਹਾਉਣਾ = to put on the stove
The roti is burning
ਰੋਟੀ ਸੜ ਰਹੀ ਹੈ
Roti sarh rahi hai
Is the sabzi ready?
ਸਬਜ਼ੀ ਬਣ ਗਈ?
Sabzi ban gayi?
They say
ਹਿਲਾਉਂਦੇ ਰਹੋ, ਨਹੀਂ ਤਾਂ ਲੱਗ ਜਾਊ
Hilaunde raho, nahin taan lagg jaoo — Keep stirring or it'll stick
It needs more masala
ਮਸਾਲਾ ਹੋਰ ਚਾਹੀਦਾ ਹੈ
Masala hor chahida hai
It's too spicy
ਬਹੁਤ ਤਿੱਖਾ ਹੈ
Bahut tikkha hai
💡 ਤਿੱਖਾ (lit. sharp) is the Punjabi word for chilli-hot
Mum, teach me how to make this
ਮੰਮੀ, ਮੈਨੂੰ ਇਹ ਬਣਾਉਣਾ ਸਿਖਾਓ
Mummy, mainu eh banauna sikhao
They say
ਪਹਿਲਾਂ ਤੇਲ ਗਰਮ ਕਰੋ
Pehlaan tel garam karo — First heat the oil
First heat the oil
ਪਹਿਲਾਂ ਤੇਲ ਗਰਮ ਕਰੋ
Pehlaan tel garam karo
Keep stirring or it'll stick
ਹਿਲਾਉਂਦੇ ਰਹੋ, ਨਹੀਂ ਤਾਂ ਲੱਗ ਜਾਊ
Hilaunde raho, nahin taan lagg jaoo
💡 ਲੱਗ ਜਾਣਾ = to stick to the pan; ਜਾਊ is spoken future
Serve the food
ਰੋਟੀ ਪਾ ਦਿਓ
Roti pa deo
💡 ਰੋਟੀ ਪਾਉਣਾ covers serving the whole meal, not just rotis
The food has turned out delicious
ਖਾਣਾ ਬਹੁਤ ਸੁਆਦ ਬਣਿਆ ਹੈ
Khana bahut suaad bania hai

Other situations

Eating & Hospitality At Home Emotions & Expressions Travel & Directions At the Doctor Emergencies On the Phone At the Gurdwara Weddings & Parties Talking with Elders With Children Encouragement & Compliments Apologies & Making Up Daily Routine Asking for Help Airport & Journeys At School & With Teachers Renting & Household Problems At the Bank & Sending Money Taxis & Buses Festival Greetings Condolences & Comfort Catching Up & Small Talk

Smaller topics — meeting someone new, the weather, shopping, work, family — live in the full phrasebook, alongside every phrase on this page. See the phrasebook index for the whole set, or the dialogues for these phrases inside whole conversations.