The rich cuisine of the holy city is a reflection of its centuries-old heritage. The city’s inhabitants take this culinary delight with them as they venture out into the world in pursuit of their careers.Amritsar-based halwais and makers of traditional food items, including papad, warian, achar and murabba, have engaged food couriers to dispatch these spicy pantry staples overseas to meet demand from Punjabi-origin NRIs.In majority cases, locals send these food items to their kin settled abroad.Amritsar residents Krishan Taneja and Surbhi Taneja said they dispatch the food items as per the desire of their children. Their daughter is married in the UK and the son lives in Australia. According to them, though some materials like clarified butter and spices are available globally, those living abroad long for the local flavour.Akash Seth said his family had been selling grounded spices for the past 130 years. They have been steadily maintaining the same formulation, which keeps the customer base intact. It the same, yet unique, taste that brings the young generation back to them.He said the trend of shifting abroad picked up around 2005 and the young generation takes along spices with them when they visit home. Easy availability of courier services has made shipping around the world possible, he added.Aditya, proprietor of a famous aam papad shop, which also sells warian, says all food items are supplied in small quantities to NRIs settled in Canada and the US. These are packaged at stores and dispatched through couriers, he added.He said people love to enjoy warian made from mah ki daal and moong daal. These are not just relished in Punjabi households, but also liked by Sindhi and Marwari families. Aditya’s shop is famous its aam papad, for which he brings unripe mangoes from Bengal. After processing, the final product is sold in different markets.