Thursday 10 February 2011

Sarson ka Saag & Makke ki Roti


It surprises me that I have never made a post of this favourite meal of ours inspite of
blogging food
for so long!

Sarson ka saag means Mustard greens/leaves.
Makke di roti means flatbread made from maize flour or corn meal.

Every winter, this is one dish that becomes a regular on my table.
While this city is pathetic when it comes to
the availability of fresh greens,
winter is one time when we do get some fresh bunches of methi, palak
and sometimes the sarson.

Last year, when I had cooked this, I had clicked some snaps.
But never got 'round to making a post.
So this time, instead of making this for dinner, I made it our lunch.
So could click ... and hence this post.


I never try to make this dish ... a complete meal ... at one go.
Becomes quite overwhelming that way.
What I do is ...
work with sarson ka saag one day ...
I clean, wash, boil in water, puree it ..
and freeze it.

Work on the palak next, when I get some time.
Exactly the same way ... and freeze it.
So, on the day I decide to make this dish, all I need to do is get the purees and cook!
Easy and quick again !!

I love the coarseness in the mustard greens' paste ...
so usually add the stems along with the leaves.
If you feel that will add to the sharpness
of the sarson,
just add a little more of the palak paste.

And I never use chopped onion or garlic in this.

And the fried garlic gives it a wonderful rustic flavour.
Pair it up with butter, and this dish is something that you will want to make again and again.

If you cannot make the makke ki rotis, you can still enjoy this with plain rotis.
But then, of course, it won't be the same.

I am posting the recipe the way I make it.
I do not claim this to be the traditional way it is cooked
in the North or the Punjab.
And so I do not want any rude comments on how this is not the authentic way, etc.etc.

Makke ki Roti


Need :

Makke ka atta / Maize flour - 1½ cups
Atta / Wheat flour - ½ cup
Cooking oil - 2 tbsp
Ajwain / Carrom seeds - 1 tsp
Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
Salt - to taste
Lukewarm water - to knead
Maida / apf - to roll the rotis

How to :

Knead all the above ingredients together into a soft but firm dough.
Keep aside, covered, for around 15 minutes.

Divide the dough into medium sized balls.
Roll out slightly thickish rotis ... use dry maida to roll them.

Heat a tawa.
Cook the rotis, flipping occasionally.
Use the spatulla or a thick, folded cloth to apply slight pressure on the rotis
so that they puff up slightly.
When done, remove and apply butter on them.


Serve hot.

The Sarson ka Saag / Mustard Greens

Need :

Sarson ka saag / Mustard leaves (boiled and pureed ) - 1 big sized cupful
Palak / Spinach leaves - ( boiled and pureed ) - ½ cup
Garlic - around 10 - 12 cloves
Ginger - 1" piece
Green chillies - 2
Kasuri methi / Dried Fenigreek leaves - 1 tbsp
Salt - to taste
Sugar - to taste
Oil - 2 tbsp
Corn meal - 1 to 2 tbsp


How to :

Crush the garlic, ginger and the green chillies into a rough paste ... seperately.
( Use a mortar and pestle for this).

Heat oil in a deep kadahi.

Add the garlic and on slow flame let them turn brown.
( Do not raise the heat ... let them cook slowly. )

Add the ginger and the chillies and fry well.

Now add the pureed palak and sarson.

Add salt and sugar.
Fry well for a while.

When it starts to boil,
add the corn meal and keep stirring so that no lumps are formed.

Add the crushed kasuri methi and cook till it turns thickish.

Remove from heat.Serve hot with a dollop of butter.

Keep this dish low on salt and
add the sugar to keep it very subtly sweet.

We enjoyed this rustic meal with a few green chillies crushed with sea salt.
And raw onions.

A perfect winter meal!

Another look !
Enjoy!!





25 comments:

  1. Makke Ki Roti looks just perfect soft and delicious along with the greens. I am hungry now.

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  2. roti looks perfect n soft....

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  3. New to me. sounds interesting :)

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  4. They look so so yummy< Delicious

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  5. Sarsoon da saag looks yummy Sharmila!And the blob of butter on top...sinful;)Tell me something..does there has to be some limit as to how much I need to puree the saag?Is it that it will taste bitter if I puree it too long?Lovely photos also,BTW!

    Cheers!
    Wit,wok&wisdom

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  6. Lovely.. never tried these rotis.. will have to. Sarson ka saag, yum! I love it!

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  7. Mouth-watering stuff here Sharmila..chobi dekhe bhishon khide peye gelo..and you are right onek baar ratri te chobi tulechi oto bhalo uthe na..natural light is best for food photography..hugs and smiles

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  8. The butter melting away on the saag looks soo tempting. I still remember the first time I had this at a fair in Delhi. I made this a few weeks back, but the mustard greens here are a lot less bitter.

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  9. ISG ... thanks ... they are soft yet crisp .. will break easily.

    Tina, Chitra, Happy, Nostalgia ... thanks!

    W3 ... thanks. No there is no such limit. Since they are already cooked, just a few whirs in the mixer should do the job perfectly. And no they don't taste bitter at all.

    Jaya ... the reason my blog does not have Chinese and Italian is I always make them for dinner ... so no snaps, no post. :-)

    Priya ... thanks. Bitter? The sarson does have a sharp flavour ... but bitter? No.

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  10. Hi , My God, that looks so delicious so so yum!!!. I am a big fan of Sarso ka saag and makke ki roti, but I have never cooked it .. :( now that I have this quick recipe shall try now. Well Delhi is the best place to cook this as we get fresh saags here in winter but now it is almost vanished. lovely..lovely.. keep it coming dear...

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  11. Sharmila,
    This recipe brings in memories of childhood days ...will surely make it and let u know.
    Most importantly its sooo gud to see u back ..chked ur blog on a whim today and u were back ..really missed you these days ..nw can again look fwd to ur blogs .
    Take care,
    Rumna

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  12. I am tempted to make this now but no saag and no makai ka atta!

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  13. SS ... this is indeed quick. Go ahead and enjoy! :-)

    Rumna ... thanks for the warm words. :-)

    Harini ... you can get some on your next grocery trip. :-)

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  14. ki shundor makki roti korecho! It takes me so much effort that I barely make sarson saag and makki roti. Kintu your idea is brilliant to work in batches. ebar besh khide khide pachey; gorom gorom makki ki roti ans slurp slurp the saag with butter.

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  15. Sharmila, tomar recipe try kore dutoi aajke banalam. Khub bhalo hoyechhe. Tumi recipe eto shahoj baniye lekho je it inspires others to try out.Thank you.

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  16. SV .. thanks!

    Soma ... making it in batches helps me enjoy this dish more than once when sarson is in season. :-)

    Madhu ... am so glad you liked it. :-)

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  17. Amar Airtel ja jalache last week these ar bolo na !! Was Not able to open any blog sites. Tai couldn't visit you earlier. Anyway how are you? It takes two days for me to serve this combination meal : Sarso da saag and makke ki roti, just like you :-) But this is most satisfying meal for my family

    Deepa
    Hamaree Rasoi

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  18. This definitely is one of my favorite combinations to make. There's something just so perfect about these two together. Yours has turned out beautifully, Sharmila.

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  19. Hi Sharmila,

    Recently found your blog & loved it.Tomar rosogolla ami try korte cholechi.tumi amar akta doubt ache.milk ta curdle korte suru korle besikhon tumi boil korte baron korecho, so how long i need to boil it?r tumi kichu bhalo baked goods r recipe dio.r tumi j Rose cookies r mould r kotha bolecho kotha theke kinecho aktu janio.besically I m from Bangalore.- RAJASREE.

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  20. Deepa ... very true ... this is the most satifying simple meal. :-)

    Vaishali ... thanks! They do make a wonderfully rustic combi. :-)

    Rajasree ... thanks for your kind words.
    For the rosogolla, curdle the milk and swtich off heat as soon as all the milk solids gather together and the water turns greenish. All the chaana will float and there will be watery whey below.
    You will get the rose cookies mould in any utensil store ... usually those that sell utensils for baking keep them.
    My blog has a lot of cakes recipes ... if you need any specific baked recipe do let me know.
    Hope this helps. :-)

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  21. Thanks for visiting my blog Sharmila. I couldnt fix the problem that you pointed out. Aami bujhtei parlamna keno purono page e jachhe.

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  22. Classic and delicious combination! Looks just perfect...

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  23. Looks very tempting. When are u going to make 'patisapta' n upload pictures? Ur coconut stuffing for idli inspired me to write a post on 'pithe puli - a dying art of cooking in W.Bengal'. Banking on people like u to promote ' pithe puli' of W B.

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    Replies
    1. Thank you so much Mashima! It is a huge compliment to me and I will always be in need of your blessings.
      I do have a post on the Patisapta ... I'll give you the link right away.
      Thank you again for dropping by.

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