ONE thing that Punjabis love the most is food. Good food, made with love and served with dollops of desi. So, it’s natural that when there is a Punjabi wedding on the cards Punjabi wedding food is the first thing that takes centrestage and wedding buffet ideas catapults to the top of the wedding list. Be it any marriage, in US, Canada, UK or India, the wedding dish menu has to have an entire course of traditional Punjabi marriage food. And why not! Food is the ultimate projector of love. It’s a conversation starter, it stands for tradition, love and respect, for mehmaan-nazaazi and khatirdaari. Food is at the heart of Punjabi weddings. No one will remember the decor or what colour lehenga you wore, but the food and drinks - now that everyone will talk about for days to come.
In fact, the first ceremonious tradition in Sikh/Punjabi weddings is ‘karahi chadana’. Five days, or a week before the wedding, as the custom goes, Sikh families cook all meals in a large wok or karahi. The brand new karahi is tied with a sacred thread (gaana), and warhiyan (lentil dumplings) and gogale (sweet fluffy doughnuts) are made and served as shagun.
Now, for the Indian marriage food to be catered - If you’re craving for some real scrumptious yet traditional wedding buffet ideas, then scroll through this Punjabi food menu list to find out the delectable all time favourite treats and preparations:
The Delish Dish - Wedding Buffet Ideas: 
Punjabis live for good food and take pride in presenting an impressive buffet spread, and here’s a look at the Indian wedding dishes and Punjabi food menu. You can also check out Sodjila and work out the number of Indian wedding dishes and Punjabi marriage food here.
A for Appetizers
The first thing one looks for at a wedding venue is the snack cart and the bar counter. Your wedding dish menu is incomplete without the sumptuous starters. Any Indian wedding food, be it US, Canada or UK, the appetizers have be arresting and welcoming enough especially for the baraatis (groom’s side) - so, in the non veg section, make sure, as part of wedding buffet ideas list there is creamy malai chicken, delicious cardamom spiced Afghani chicken, spicy chicken tikkas, the minty Pudina Chicken, melt in your mouth galouti and seekh kebabs and beer battered crispy fish pakoras and fish fingers. In the veg section of the Punjabi marriage food starters, go for the unforgettable and amazingly soft dahi kebabs, the spicy soya galoutis and soya champs, succulently flavoured achari paneer tikkas and a full fledged chaat-papdi-bhelpuri-golpappe counter .
The Main Course
The Indian wedding food is a smorgasbord of some of the most flavoursome dishes made from recipes handed down generations. So, get cuisine-creative with your wedding buffet ideas and curate up a traditional main-course fare with these lip-smacking all time Punjabi wedding food favorites:
- Saag makki di roti - Traditional and tasteful, saag-makki di roti with dollops of ghee and white makhan is an integral part of Punjabi culture and Punjabi marriage food. A must-have.
- Savory dum aloo - Spicy and full of flavour, do add this to the wedding buffet ideas because everyone loves potatoes!
- Kadhai paneer - Enjoy layers of flavour in this traditional and loved Indian wedding food item at your marriage.
- Pindi channa - Nothing compares to a bowl of hot, piping as Punjabi as it can get Pindi channa topped with green chillis, onion rings, chopped tomatoes and lots of coriander. It’s a favorite Indian wedding food item.
- Chhole bhature - In the same line, fill your plate with Amritsari chhole-bhature, a Punjabi marriage food dish you cannot afford to miss.
- Mutton - The soaked in spices and flavours ‘Raan’ and meat/mutton curries paired with rice is something that is a must have on your wedding food menu.
- Chicken - From marinated in curd with loads of spices Chicken curry or karahi chicken, Indian marriage food cannot do without the Punjabi chicken dish.
- Assorted Vegetables - Mushrooms, cauliflower, carrots, beans, capsicum, peas - mixed veg is a dish loved by all, be it US, UK, Canada or India. Keep it in the wedding dish menu.
- The Delectable Dals: The yellow dal tadka and the quintessential ghee laden dal makhani - Indian food at weddings is incomplete without these two Indian wedding dishes.
- Tandoori Nights: From the hot sizzling embers of the tandoor: Chicken, butter chicken, soya champs - add these to your wedding buffet ideas.
- Tawa Sabzi - Even those who do not eat bhindi, karela, baingan at home will load their plate with these typical Punjabi veggies dry roasted with masalas on a gigantic tawa. Punjabi wedding food has to have a merry melange of tawa sabzi.
- Handi Effect: The gift of Mughals - the pulaos and biryanis loaded with vegetables/chicken and paired with raita - a must have on the Punjabio wedding food menu list, and also very popular in US and Canada.
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Mixed breads: All those sabzis and dals have to be had with hot naans, stuffed kulchas, paranthas, tandoor rotis, missi roti
Sweet Deals
Finally, kuch meetha ho jaye - Punjabi wedding food favorite is crispy, syrupy, sweet jalebis served with creamy cook rabri, hot kheer full of nuts, delicious kulfi sticks and piping hot ghee laden moong dal halwa or gajar ka halwa. Add all these to the wedding dish menu.
