Smita's Sarson Ka Saag And Makai Ki Roti

Certain traditional Indian meals may not sound very gourmet when you describe them, but OMG aren't they utterly yum.

Sarson Ka Saag And Makai Ki Roti is one such sumptuous dish that can be had for dinner or lunch, or even breakfast or better in the middle of the night when you suddenly get up ravenously hungry.

It's made of a bunch of non-descript winter greens. But when the saag is mopped up with buttery, crispy corn rotis, it's a meal fit for any maharaja or mantri.

There is only a small window to have this tasty fare, because mustard greens are in season for a few short months in the height of winter. Smita Kotian cooks up her saag in a large tapeli for over an hour in water and then spices it up with several rounds of freshly-pounded ginger-garlic-chilly paste.

Smita calls herself a foodie and likes dabbling with various cuisines, the more the merrier.

Sarson Ka Saag And Makai Ki Roti

Serves: 7-8

Ingredients

For the saag:

• 2 medium-sized bunches sarson or mustard greens
• 1 medium-sized bunch spinach
• 1 medium-sized bunch bathua or wild spinach or pigsweed or white goosefoot
• 3 litres water
• 20-22 pods garlic
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 2-inch piece ginger
• 5-6 green chillies
• 1 tsp garam masala
• 2 tbsp corn flour
• 1 tsp jeera or cumin seeds
• 2 pinches hing or asafoetida
• 2 tbsp ghee
• Salt to taste, about 2 tsp

For the Makai ki Rotis:

• 250 gm makai aatta (not corn flour or corn starch)
• 60 gm aatta or wheat flour
• 1½ tsp ajwain or carrom seeds
• Salt to taste, about 1 tsp
• Lukewarm water
• Oil or ghee or white butter for frying the rotis

Method

For the saag:

• Pound the garlic, ginger and chillies in a mortar and pestle.
  Divide into 3 portions.
  Keep aside.
• Wash and finely chop all the greens.
  Boil 3 litres of water in a large saucepan over high heat.
  When it comes to a boil, add the greens.
  Add the salt.
  Add 1 portion of the garlic-ginger-chilly paste.
  Keep churning the saag every 20 minutes over medium heat.
  After an hour, add the corn flour to thicken it.
  Boil for another 20 minutes.
  Keep aside.
• Heat 1 tbsp of the ghee in small frying pan or a kadhai over medium heat.
  Add the jeera, chopped onion and 1 pinch of the hing.
  Add a second portion of the garlic-ginger-chilly paste.
  Add into the boiled saag.
  Mix well.
  Put the saag back on the heat.
  Keep churning again.
  Add the garam masala.
  Boil for another 10 minutes.
  Keep aside
• Heat the remaining 1 tbsp of ghee in small frying pan over medium heat.
  Add the third portion of garlic-ginger-chilly paste and the remaining pinch of hing.
  Add this seasoning or tadka to the saag.
  Keep the saag aside while you make the rotis and warm again when the rotis are ready.

For the Makai Ki Rotis:

• Mix the flours with a little bit of lukewarm water.
  Add the salt, carrom seeds and gradually add more water and knead till you have medium-soft dough (not too hard, not too soft).
  Cover with a damp kitchen towel and keep aside for 15 minutes.
• Roll into 7-8 inch diameter rotis, sprinkling extra aatta to prevent sticking.
• Fry on a tawa or in a frying pan with lots of butter/ghee/white butter.
• It makes about 12-14 rotis.
• Serve the rotis hot, with the warmed saag, slices of onions and a cold glass of lassi.

Smita Kotian lives in Mira Road, a township north of Mumbai.

• REDIFF FOOD