Sarson da Saag ( Mustard Greens)

Punjabi food conjures up images of sweet succulent chicken pieces dumped in a sea of red. Or even fiery char-grilled chicken legs/thighs oozing/dripping fat. For the vegetarians, it would be luscious Paneer pieces simmering in a creamy gravy accompanied by Tandoori Rotis dripping butter. Not to forget the smooth as velvet Dal Makhani. While these restaurant style recipes have a hell lot of mass appeal, the recipes that I hold close to my heart are the ones closer to home and hearth. Recipes that a loving mother/aunt or even a grandmother would have prepared by investing hours ( and patience ) to get it to the right texture and consistency. These are recipes that have the proverbial 'miiti ki kushboo' associated with them.

Today I am sharing one such recipe which is very close to my heart. The 'Sarson da saag' which never fails to transport me to the lush yellow-green mustard fields of Punjab. Doesn't it remind you of  DDLJ and SRK-Kajol singing 'Tujhe dekha to yeh jaana sanam'. That song remains a favorite till date. Read on for the very earthy recipe -

Preparation Time - 25-30 mins

Ingredients -

• 1 bunch mustard leaves
• 1 bunch spinach (palak) leaves
• 1 large tomato
• 2 medium onion
• 1 inch ginger
• 6-7 garlic cloves
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 2-3 dry red chilis
• 1/3 tsp turmeric
• salt to taste
• 2 tbsp ghee
• extra butter for final garnish

Preparation - Wash and clean the greens by immersing them in warm salt water for 1-2 hours. Drain the water and replace with fresh water. Repeat 2-3 times. This will remove all the insects, mud and sand.

Chop up the greens into small pieces. Peel and dice one of the onions. Roughly chop up the tomato ginger and garlic flakes. Transfer everything to a pressure cooker along with 1/4 cup water. Add turmeric and salt to taste.

Finely chop up the remaining onion.

Cooking - Cook for 3-4 whistles. Keep aside till steam escapes.

Use a hand blender to grind the cooked greens into a coarse paste.

Heat the ghee in a wok. Add the broken chilis and cumin seeds. Once the seeds start to pop, add the chopped onions. Fry till they start to brown at the edges.

Add the coarse paste and bring to a boil. Then turn down flame and simmer for 3-4 mins before removing from the flame.

Serve hot with makki ki roti or just normal rotis.

Note - One can also add some methi/fenugreek greens to this recipe. It adds a different flavour and makes it still healthier. 

Almond Muffins

The baking bug has bitten me hard. I do find some excuse to bake something every other day. These are the almond muffins i couldn't resist after making the eggless nutmeg muffins which disappeared in a single day.

Preparation Time - 30 mins

Ingredients - All purpose flour ( 1 cup), butter ( 1/2 cup ), sugar ( 1/2 cup, powdered ), egg ( 1 no), almond meal ( 2/3 cup ), milk ( 1/4 cup ), baking powder ( 1/2 level tsp ), chopped almonds ( 1-2 tsp), almond oil ( 1 tsp ).

Preparation - Take the butter and almond oil in a mixing bowl. Add the powdered sugar and beat well for 5 mins or till the mixture turns a few shades lighter.

Break egg into a separate bowl and beat well such that stiff peaks can be formed.
Stir gently into the butter-sugar mix. Add the milk also.( do not panic if you find a slight curdling at this stage )
Mix the flour, almond meal and baking powder together. Use a sieve to gently sift it into the batter in small batches. Mix gently till no lumps remain.

Grease a non-stick muffin tray. Pour into the molds till 2/3 full. Sprinkle chopped almonds on top.

Cooking - Preheat oven to 170 degrees. Put the tray inside and turn down heat to 160 degrees after 5 minutes. Bake for another 10 mins. Insert a toothpick at the center of muffin and check if it comes out clean. Else bake for another 5 mins.