Saturday, August 20, 2011

Makke Di Roti Te Sarson da Saag


We Indians love the rain. Maybe because our movies have romanticized them for long. Walking hand in hand in the rain, sharing an umbrella, eating bhutta* by the roadside…gets us reminiscing of those college days? Or perhaps daydreaming of our favorite bollywood songs? Hai na?


It was such a lazy Saturday. Garam-a-garam ginger tea, marie biscuits, the fresh smell of wet soil, the downpour outside and non-stop Miu chatter inside…in short, a beautiful morning!


Anshuman’s cricket got cancelled. Aww, poor hubby! *evil grin*


…And the next thought I had was, Yay! Let’s make a good weekend lunch he’ll enjoy. :) It’s been a while since we had a hardcore Punjabi meal.


So, it was – Makke di roti te Sarson da saag! Nothing gets more “Balle balle” than this!


Sure enough, he was EXCITED to hear about the menu.


Honestly, I’m not a big fan of the makke di roti, it’s too dry for my liking. But what to do? These days, I’m a big fan of Michelle Bachmann, so I tend to be very submissive to my husband (kidding!) Jokes apart, I wanted to give it another chance. And it would just not sound right if I ate saag with regular roti or bread or rice, would it???


So here it is -


For the Saag*


Ingredients:
2 bunches of mustard leaves
1 bunch of spinach leaves
1 big red onion
1 inch cube of ginger
2 cloves of garlic
4-6 red chillies
2 green chillies
Garam masala
Jeera (Cumin seeds)
Methi seeds
Ghee/ Butter :)


Recipe:
* Wash the greens thoroughly.
* In a pressure cooker, put the greens, salt to taste, shredded ginger, garlic, green chillies and cook it all together for around 10-15 minutes.
* Spin them around in a processor for a few times.

Tip: Let the mix get at room temperature before you put it in the processor. Don’t churn it too much; I like my saag to have a little texture than smooth paste.



* Take a wok or kadhai and add ghee/ butter, based on your preference.
* Temper with jeera and methi seeds.
* Add chopped onions and sauté them till they become translucent.
* Add 2 red chillies
* Add the crushed greens.
* Let it cook for another 10-15 minutes till it all comes together.
* In a separate pan or tempering vessel, take a spoon full of ghee (I know, I know! Sorry!).
* When it’s hot, add a pinch of jeera, 2 red chillies and a pinch of garam masala, and top off the saag with this “Tadka” RIGHT BEFORE serving.


For the Makki Roti


Ingredients:
Corn Flour
A pinch of kasoori methi
Salt
Warm water


Recipe:
* Make corn flour dough using warm water and adding salt to taste and a pinch of kasoori methi.


Rolling them out is tricky!
* You’ll have to use a wax sheet or a foil/ plastic wrap as the base.
* Make a ball of dough. Use your hands to spread out the dough by pressing it instead of using a rolling pin. Make sure you spray the surface below the dough with a lot of PAM or grease. Scoop up the pressed dough using a flat spatula, or lift the entire wax sheet if using one.
* Transfer to a hot griddle pan or tawa rom the wax sheet directly. Cook both sides.


Makke Di Roti te Sarson da saag are ready! Don’t forget to top off the saag and roti with a dollop of Amul butter. Pair with a cold lassi and you’re ready to do the “burrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrraaaaaaaaaaaaa”.


Meh kya – twaade vaaste ae vi kar lita :) Not bad, eh?




*Saag = Greens
*Tadka = tempering
*Bhutta = Corn on the cob








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