Where it comes from
A Punjabi winter ritual. Mustard fields turn the plains yellow in January, and every household cooks saag in enormous pots, thickened with makki flour and eaten with corn rotis and a slab of home-churned butter.
Method
- 1
Boil the greens
35:00Chop and boil all the greens with green chilli, half the ginger and a little water until completely soft.
- 2
Thicken
20:00Sprinkle in maize flour while stirring so no lumps form, and cook another twenty minutes on low heat.
- 3
Mash, don't blend
05:00Use a wooden madhani or potato masher. The saag should stay slightly textured, never a smooth purée.
- 4
Tadka
10:00Fry garlic and remaining ginger in ghee until golden, pour over the saag, and simmer together.
Cook's notes
- Never blend it smooth — texture is the whole point.
- A spoon of jaggery balances the natural bitterness of mustard leaf.
