The northern region is the largest area in India, comprising of five states – Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and Jamu & Kashmir and three Union Territories, Delhi (capital of India), Chandigarh and Ladakh.
The sacred rivers, Ganga and Yamuna, flow through the region and so does the Indus river. The Indian Himalaya ranges, the Thar Desert (known as the Indian desert) and the Indo Gangetic plain dominate the natural beauty of Northern India and are attractive for tourists. They have many architectural sights too.
Some of the Himalayan ranges stand as natural barriers between India and China beautifying and as well as protecting the country.
The northern region shares its international borders with Pakistan in the West. Afghanistan in the North and China in the north as well as in the east.
The Indian states, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, and Madhya Pradesh in the east and Gujarat in the South.
Pulse farming in northern region.
Pulse farming in the northern zone of India is a impotant agricultural activity. Rajasthan, Punjab and Haryana the leading pulse producing states in this region.
Main pulse crops are chickpea (gram) black gram (urad), lentil (masoor) pea (mater). Punjab and Haryana produce wheat and rice in abundance beside pulses.
These three states, Rajasthan, Punjab and Haryana are known as the “Food bowl”of India. Punjab and Haryana being the largest producer of wheat, are together known as the “Breadbasket”of India.
As always, the recipes of dal will be tried out alphabetically starting with Chandigarh, Delhi, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jamu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Punjab and Rajasthan.
Coming up next ……… Dal from Chandigarh.
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Dal On The Table 