Nosh on sarson da saag

Winter’s most-awaited meal, sarson da saag with makki di roti is a harbinger of the warmth that this season brings with it, writes Rameshinder Singh Sandhu

Saro da saag, as it’s popularly known in Punjab. PHOTO BY AUTHOR

Ask a true-blue Punjabi in any pocket of the globe about their favourite meal from their cuisine and saro da saag, makki di roti will be the prompt answer. Despite its simplicity, this delicacy is a harbinger of the warmth that the winter season brings with it. The mustard greens and flatbread (chapati or roti) of cornflour, culminates the arrival of the winter season as kitchens get busy preparing it. Garnished with homemade white butter, it also keeps featuring in several Punjabi songs, and is truly the best route to one’s heart.

Though some prefer to make it in their kitchens on gas, it rolls out its best flavour when made alfresco on earthen chulhas and in an earthen vessel and thus even in urban homes one can come across chulhas — either in the backyard or even on the terrace.

“Wood’s fire along with cow dung cakes turns out as a perfect fuel for the saag which chiefly requires water, salt and chillies in its first stage. One should also go for slow cooking for best results. The more you keep boiling and stirring it, the better it will be, and it may take even 3-4 hours. However, the wait is worth it. After all, good things take time,” views Gurmeet Kaur Bhullar, a housewife and Punjabi author, who lives in Patti town near Amritsar. “Then it can be mixed with other essential ingredients such as garlic, onion and more, which prepares it fully,” she adds.

For makki di roti, Navjot Kaur Cheema, another housewife from Khasa, a border village suggests that: “To prepare its dough, use warm water instead of cold since warm water will bind the flour and it becomes easier to flatten it with your hands. Although all rotis taste great with saag, this roti holds a special bond.”

Interestingly, the staler the saag becomes, the tastier it gets and even if you have been consuming it for the past one week for every lunch and dinner, no tongue can ever feel jaded — such is its magic.

Considering its popularity, it also features prominently on restaurant menus. Most dining places advertise it as the season’s special thali ensuring it carries authentic taste. “It’s a meal that excites all and hence it gets sold quickly. From petit eating places to lavish restaurants, it dominates menus everywhere, besides home kitchens making it,” shares one of the managers of a top restaurant in Chandigarh.

Indian restaurants abroad too, have patronised the dish, making it a favourite of foreigners as well be it Toronto, Sydney, Zurich or Hong Kong. Coming to its nutritive value, Prof Manbir Singh, who heads the food science department at Amritsar’s Khalsa College, says it is absolutely a healthy meal.

“It is loaded with dietary fibre, protein, calcium, manganese and many other vitamins and minerals essential to promote good health, including benefits to skin and vision. As spinach is also added, it aids in improving satiety value and helps in improving chronic constipation. On the other hand, makki di roti being gluten-free (wheat protein) forms an ideal substitute for wheat flour rotis as there are many who are wheat intolerant,” Prof Singh adds.

Interestingly, other than sarson, as winter progresses, many other varieties of saag also come up but for many saro offers the best taste, of course when prepared on an earthen chulha.