Photo: Gannu03 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Punjab · Dinner

Sarson da Saag + Makki di Roti

Slow-braised mustard greens enriched with spinach and bathua, tempered with desi ghee and garlic — Punjab's iconic winter dinner served with hand-patted cornmeal flatbread. No other dish defines Punjabi winters more completely.

🧺 Ingredients

• Mustard greens (sarson): 600g, roughly chopped
• Spinach: 200g
• Bathua (chenopodium): 150g
• Makki ka atta (cornmeal): 3 tbsp (for thickening saag)
• Desi ghee: 4 tbsp
• Onion, sliced: 150g
• Garlic cloves, sliced: 6
• Ginger, julienned: 30g
• Green chillies: 4, slit
• Salt: to taste
• Butter (white, unsalted): 40g (to serve)
• Makki ka atta: 400g
• Warm water: as needed
• Salt: 1 tsp

👩‍🍳 How to make Sarson da Saag + Makki di Roti

1. Boil mustard greens, spinach, and bathua with green chillies and salt in a wide pot until completely wilted and very tender, 25 min.
2. Drain, cool.
3. Blend coarsely — leave some texture.
4. Return blended greens to pot.
5. Add makki flour dissolved in 4 tbsp water; stir constantly to prevent lumps.
6. Cook on very low flame, stirring every 20 minutes, until saag is thick, fragrant, and dark green.
7. Heat ghee in a small pan until smoking.
8. Add garlic; fry until golden, 45 sec.
9. Add onion; cook until caramelised, 8 min.
10. Add ginger.
11. Pour entire tadka over saag; stir well.
12. Knead cornmeal with warm water to a soft, slightly sticky dough.
13. Pat each roti by hand — cornmeal lacks gluten so roll gently on plastic.
14. Cook on a hot tawa; press with cloth.
15. Finish directly on flame for char marks.
16. Roti should feel slightly gritty and rustic.
17. Top saag with a generous cube of white butter.
18. Serve alongside makki roti, sliced radish, and jaggery.

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