Makke di roti.. de sarso da saag... Healthiest Saag ever...

When it comes to winter and perfect Punjabi style food.. who can miss out on Makke di roti.. de sarso da saag.. and if there is jaggery and glass of buttermilk on the side.. Oye Hoye Hoye..
But when it comes to cooking those tender leafy veggies.. they are cooked till death.. and what remains after an hour long cooking is just the taste with negligible nutrients, but today we will be looking at recipe of addition to our series of "Taste bhi, Health bhi".. style Saag recipe with minimal cooking required.. Trust me u will get original taste of all leafy veggies, and benefit of all the nutrients as well.

So, here you have the perfect nutritious Saag and Makka recipe.. with a bonus of  Missi roti.. Try it and enjoy.. :)

Serving: 4 servings

Perfect nutritious Saag:

Ingredients:

1. Saag: 
   300 gm/6-8 cup Sarso also known as gandal, it has sharp taste
   80 gm/1 bunch palak
   50 gm/1 bunch methi
   50 gm/1 bunch bathua
   50 gm/1 cup chana/choliya saag: it has a tangy taste
   50 gm/handful raddish leaves
2. 4 tbsp makka atta/roasted besan
3. 4 cloves garlic (increase/decrease quantity as per liking)
4. 2 green chilli (increase/decrease quantity as per liking)
5. 1inch ginger (increase/decrease quantity as per liking)
6. 1 big/ 2 small onion finely chopped /thick slices as per liking: I like both ways. Sometimes, few people don't like big slice of onion, so use finely chopped version and they will just be fine.. :) Keep some onion rings aside for topping. 
7. 4 tomatoes finely chopped
8. Salt to taste
9. Mustard Oil
10. Butter preferably homemade: 1 tbsp + for topping
11. Pinch of turmeric
12. 1 tbsp Ghee
13. 4 whole red chilies
14. 2 tomato+ 1/2 cookie sized fresh coconut paste (optional)

Recipe:

1. cook saag+garlic+chilli+ginger on lowest flame for 1 whistle in cooker or around 10 mins in a vessel with 1/4 cup water. I always focus on and suggest slow cooking on lowest flame to retain nutrients. After opening lid, add ~1/4 cup water to stop further cooking so that nutrients and color is intact. Blend it well and keep aside.
2. Prepare tadka: In a pan: add sarso oil, chopped onion, chopped tomato, turmeric and saute at lowest flame for 1 min. Add roasted besan/makki atta for binding and mix well. Now, add saag puree, salt and cook on lowest flame for 5 mins and turn off gas.  Add 1 tbsp butter. Add tomato+coconut paste. let it sit with closed lid for 10 mins. Even if you are not adding coconut paste, let it sit so that all the flavour and aroma is infused in the saag.
3. Prepare a tadka for top: In a tadka pan: heat ghee, add whole red chilli and saute for 30 sec.
4. Serve with prepared tadka, white butter, onion rings on top.
5. Serve along with makka/missi roti, buttermlk, jaggery, mooli.
   
   

Nutrition & Tips Dose:

1. In traditional Saag recipes, saag is cooked initially for 40 mins or longer. In this recipes, we have cooked saag initially for just 10 mins. :)
2. You don't need to wait for winters to try this recipe. I make saag even with minimal leafy like Palak+Methi.
3. Green leafy veggies are rich in Iron and Vitamin C from Tomatoes helps in Iron absorption. So, don't skip adding tomatoes.
4. Green leafy veggies have lot of water content. Makka atta/roasted besan helps bringing everything to a binding consistency.
5. turmeric is not actually required for this recipe but adding it enhances the color of saag.
6. Coconut paste is a slightly weird addition to Saag you might say, but before you judge, trust me this gives really good taste. In addition, coconut is an excellent source of healthy fat which helps in absorption of fat soluble Vitamins such as Vitamin A,E,D and K and keeps your fuller for longer. Sometimes, I make Saag with this and sometimes, without this. Would suggest you as well to try out both ways and choose which one you like better.
   

Makka roti:

Ingredients:

1. Makka atta
2. Salt 
3. Lukewarm warm

Recipe:

Knead makka atta+salt with lukewarm water. As with any other non gluten roti, flatten it by rolling on kitchen top with your hands. Cook it like normal roti. 

Bonus/Saviour Missi roti:

What if we don't have Makka atta !! Will we skip enjoying the delicious wholesome Punjabi meal? Not at all, here comes the bonus/saviour Missi roti which goes equally well with Saag and is very tasty as well ....

Ingredients:

1. Besan: Wheat flour 1:1/2 ratio
2. Salt 
3. Kasoori Methi crushed
4. Normal water

Recipe:

Knead atta+salt+kasoori methi with water and form dough. Roll and make it like normal roti but slightly smaller in size for the look of authentic missi roti. 

These are must try recipes.. Do try and enjoy... :)

Love & Health, 

Priyanka with MindBodySoul team