Culinary Chronicles
By Yasmin Rahul Bakshi
“It’s the other way round, I have to keep my staff officer in good cheer,” Colonel Shamsher Singh would often say amusingly for Tiger.
Life in the army had been a bliss. A close fraternity, an extended family that cared for each other in all ups and downs on both professional and personal fronts.
Long ago when I was carrying the Cub, the colleagues and superiors of Tiger looked after me well. From admonishing me for enjoying the Royal Enfield bike rides to fulfilling my pregnancy cravings.
Not once or twice but for weeks and months together Tiger’s boss and his wife would send full meals to save me from the nausea that the Maillard reactions would give while cooking.
“Yasmin, I got back home early to send you hot makki rotis and saag with some fresh butter. Rather than Rahul buttering me, I have to butter you both,” he said gaily over a phone call.
Many times before Mrs Veena Singh could reach home after work, Colonel Shamsher would dispatch the lunch trays ensuring everything was right and adequate especially when it would be “sarson saag” (mustard greens cooked the Punjabi way) because it was one out of the few dishes that I would relish in those days.
Invariably with the sight of “saag” the nostalgic memories surface of the good old days and people.
Ingredients:
- Mustard leaves (sarson) – 2 kg
- Spinach (palak) – 1 kg
- Lamb’s quarters (bathua) – ½ gms
- Garlic cloves – 20 (medium size)
- Ginger – 2 inches
- Onion – 3 medium
- Ginger garlic paste – 2 tbsp
- Green chilies – 4 (or depending upon the taste)
- Salt – according to taste
- Clarified butter (desi ghee) – 50 ml
- Corn meal (makki atta) – 150 gm
- Whole dry red chilies – 4
Method:
- Clean the mustard leaves, spinach and lamb’s quarters. Use the mustard stems if they are good by peeling the outer skin.
- Chop all the leaves and wash in running water until the mud clears out.
- Put all the leaves with ginger garlic paste and salt in a pot with adequate water to boil (can be pressure cooked if desired). Boil on low flame until tender and soft.
- Switch off the flame and start mashing the greens with a wooden muddle and gradually keep adding the corn meal (can be done in a food processor too but the texture varies).
- Once done, switch on the flame and cook the saag for another half an hour stirring regularly.
- Meanwhile finely chop the green chilies, onions, garlic and ginger.
- Heat the clarified butter in a pan and fry the whole dry red chilies, green chilies, onions, garlic and ginger until crisp and golden brown.
- Pour the tempering over the saag and mix well.
- Serve hot with a dollop of butter.
(Yasmin Rahul Bakshi is an accomplished senior consultant Chef and a food historian. A widely travelled Army wife from the Mussoorie hills with exposure to international cuisines & preserving recipes with the medium of food photography and digital content creation in the form of stories.)
