Punjabi cuisine is incomplete without the mention of sarson ka saag and makke di roti. This dish is prepared in every Punjabi kitchen during the winters when these mustard leaves are widely available. Again a recipe from Rajneet's kitchen.
Method
1. Clean 2 bunches of saag , 1 bunch of spinach and ½ bunch of bathu (if easily available). The general proportion of saag:spinach:bathu is 4:2:1. Scrape and use even stalks of saag as they enhance the taste.
2. Wash the saag leaves thoroughly and boil it for 15-20 mins on a low flame. Now add washed spinach and bathu leaves and boil it for more 20 mins. Then blend it in a grinder.
L--R Saag, Bathu, Spinach
3. Take a pan, add ghee and the above mixture. Add salt, red chilly powder ( or you can use finely chopped green chillies) and cook it for around 30 mins. Keep stirring to prevent burning.
4. We generally prepare this in the evenings till this stage and leave it overnight. The next day before eating add the tadka. This gives an uncomparable authentic tatse. Also saag is prepared in bulk traditionally, so it is stored in fridge after this stage and tadka is added to the quantity to be consumed.
5. For the tadka, take ghee in a pan and add cumin seeds. After they crackle add grated ginger garlic (2-3 inches piece of ginger and around 7-8 cloves of garlic) and sauté till they turn light brown. Then add the cooked saag. Heat it for more 10-15 mins while stirring in between. Adjust the water and salt.
6. Add little butter and serve it hot with makke de roti and onions.
For Makke Di Roti
1. Take 1 cup makki (maize) flour in a large plate and add little salt and pinch of ajwain. You can also add ¼ grated raddish (after squeezing water), finely chopped green chillies and cilantro if you wish as the original taste is quite bland.
2. Add little warm water and mix it thoroughly. Knead it to a soft smooth dough applying little more pressure than required for the normal dough. Divide it into equal parts.
3. This roti is not made with a belan but by flattening with your hands.
Now the traditional method goes this way. Take 1 part and roll it into a ball with your wet palms. Flatten it by applying little pressure in between the palms and then roll it to roti by just transferring the flattened ball from one hand to the other. Smoothen the edges with fingers and put it on hot tava. (This flour tends to dry quickly, so you can use few drops of water if required in this process).
4. The other modified techniques are to place the ball on the tava and flatten it directly over it with your palm taking care that you don’t burn your hand.
The most easiest way is to place the ball on a thick plastic sheet, sprinkle few drops of water. Then place another thick plastic sheet over it and apply pressure with your palm or a flat based plate. Transfer it to hot tava.
5. It will take slightly longer to cook this as it is thicker than the normal roti. Flip it over when one side is cooked and spread ghee over it immediately. Cook the other side too and again apply ghee.
6. Repeat this with all the remaining parts of the dough. 1 cup flour will make around 5-6 rotis. This roti is crispier and even the ghee required is little more than the normal rotis. (They should be consumed immediately after they are cooked as after storage it becomes difficult to eat them).
7. Serve it hot with sarson ka saag. The traditional bland taste of this roti goes well with the delicious saag.
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