A Culinary Pilgrimage to Punjab

Within five minutes of ordering three deluxe thalis at the large and bustling Bharawan da Dhaba in Amritsar, India, a waiter brought us round steel trays filled with our $3 lunch. There were a half-dozen bowls on each, which included spicy chickpeas with a hint of pomegranate powder, the black lentils known as daal and the Punjabi comfort food equivalents of macaroni and cheese — the creamy mustard greens called sarso ka saag and kadhi, a yellow chickpea flour and yogurt curry swimming wi…