Cuisine
Saryo(n) da Saag
SANCHITA CHOWDHURY
This Punjabi delicacy is famous throughout the world. While visualizing Punjab, one thinks of its yellow mustard fields, bhangra, lassi and, of course, makki di roti with saryo(n) da saag!
Saryo(n) - also known as sarso(n) - da saag is the mustard leaves which are found abundantly in Punjab. This dish is a rich and delicious preparation.
Two kinds of greens are used to prepare this recipe - mustard leaves and spinach leaves. These greens are cooked with a fragrant blend of spices and then ground into a thick, creamy curry.
So, try out this lip-smacking recipe of saryo(n) da saag and enjoy the flavours of Punjab at your home.
Serves: 3-4
Preparation time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes
INGREDIENTS
* Fresh mustard leaves - 5 bunches
* Fresh spinach - 1 bunch
* Onions - 2 (sliced)
* Ginger - 1 inch piece (grated)
* Garlic - 5-6 cloves (crushed)
* Green chillies - 2 (chopped)
* Turmeric powder - 1tsp
* Cumin seeds - 1tsp
* Besan (gram flour) - 1tbsp
* Salt - as per taste
* Ghee- 2tbsp
PROCEDURE
1 Clean and wash the mustard and spinach leaves properly with water. Remove all impurities.
2 After washing the leaves, chop them finely and keep them aside.
3 Heat ghee in a pan and add cumin seeds. Fry till the seeds start to splutter.
4 Add ginger and garlic. Fry for about 2 minutes on medium flame.
5 Add onions and fry for 5-6 minutes till they turn transparent.
6 Now add the mustard and spinach leaves to the pan. Mix well.
7 Add green chillies, turmeric powder and salt. Mix well and cook for about 5 minutes.
8 As water starts coming out from the leaves, add gram flour and mix well.
9 Once done, switch off the flame and allow it to cool.
10 When the saag cools down completely, grind this in a mixer into a coarse paste.
11 Heat the pan again and transfer this paste to it.
12 Simmer on high flame for about 2-3 minutes and then turn off the heat.
13 Once done, transfer the saryo(n) da saag to a serving platter.
* * * * *
The delicious saryo(n) da saag is ready to be served. The best combination with this utterly delicious dish is makki di roti or Punjabi bread made out of corn flour.
[Courtesy: Bold Sky. Edited for sikhchic.com]
July 25, 2013
Conversation about this article
1: R Singh (Canada), July 25, 2013, 9:51 AM.
Actually a lot of herbs/greens like "Baathu" and "Chalai," etc. are added too.
2: Dr. Harbans Lal (Dallas, Texas, USA), July 25, 2013, 11:07 AM.
"Steps 3,4,5 to a heart attack" is what came to mind as a suitable title for this article. I love makki di roti with saryo(n) da saag but want to cook in the old fashioned way so that I do not become a statistic of the highest rates of heart disease and diabetes in the world. The traditional recipe for this preparation that I was familiar with during my childhood days did not require frying of ghee in this manner and for so long of time. Nor could I find any reference to it in old literature. Saag was cooked without those three steps. The commercial interest added those to sell their product and make money in a fraudulent manner that plays with the health and longevity of our brave people. You are tempting our people to fry the good healthy ghee to poisonous trans-fats that are created in your three steps to damage our hearts, leading to living with cardiac failures or crippled with strokes.
3: Dr Pargat Singh (Nottingham, United Kingdom), July 25, 2013, 3:52 PM.
Sanchita ji, you have just presented Panjab on a plate. In my humble opinion, though (re no. 10) it would be more authentic to grind the saag using a wooden pestle rather than a mixer, as my dear old grandmother used to do!
4: Surinderpal Singh (USA), July 26, 2013, 7:49 AM.
I am sure the cooking time is more than 20 min.
5: Satvir Kaur (Boston, Massachusetts, USA), July 26, 2013, 10:01 AM.
As Dr. Harbans Lal ji mentioned, my mother always stresses how everyone used to love to eat saag without a tarka; doing tarka is a relatively new thing, specially in case of saag or, for that matter, anything that used to be cooked in a 'tauri' - desi slow cooker. And boy, did it taste good. I've tried saag, dudh and maah di daal cooked in a tauri and they all taste much richer even without a tarka.
6: Rimmy (San Diego, Calfornia, USA ), August 01, 2013, 5:24 PM.
I have not been cooking for a long while, but I have a few suggestions. Firstly, Ghee is a no-no from the heart-health standpoint. The leaves, ginger, peppers can be boiled in a pressure-cooker and once nice and mashed, can be mixed with besan so that the water doesn't separate from the saag. Once the above is done, you can make 'tarka'(fry onions, ginger, etc. in oil) separately and add it and simmer again for a few minutes. It's not about cooking in 30 mins., its more about having a healthy meal which is also delicious! Hope that helps!