Makki Ki Roti & Sarson Ka Saag

Hello, boys and girls!

Welcome to cooking with Varun. Back in 2011, when I made my first trip to Geneva, Switzerland, to visit my cousin, I planned it such that I could also meet up with a friend who lived in Zurich. My friend and I had been acquaintances for years (she was one of a host of North Indian students I had done my M.S. with) but we had never really hung out, so we started off chatting online as I was planning my trip. Over the course of a few weeks, as she helped me plan my trip, we became pretty good friends, and soon the time to leave couldn't come fast enough.

I left from Belfast, Northern Ireland on a Friday night for London, England to catch my connecting flight to Geneva, and 9 hours (and a cold hard floor at Heathrow Terminal 1) later, I was off. I landed in Geneva, and the next day, my friend, whom I very creatively dubbed, 'Ms. Zurich', came down to see me. I met her at the train station and we hopped on a tram to my cousin's place to drop her bag off before we could go exploring. After riding the tram from end to end twice (since we were so busy talking that we missed the stop!), we finally made it home and after we'd had a bit of a rest, set off on foot for Lake Geneva. It was a 20 odd minute walk that was quite pleasant, and since neither of us had seen the city before, there was plenty to keep us occupied as we shuffled down the busy streets to the lake. Once we were there, we walked around all the attractions set up for Fêtes de Genève until we reached a little area that had been gated off where people could go into the water for a swim. We made our way inside, past a crowd of sunbathers and swimmers and splashers and came to what can only be described as a multi-level diving platform a short swim away where people were jumping off into the icy water. Eager to get into the water (and eager to impress my lady friend), I changed into a pair of shorts and entered the water. Shivering, I swam over to the platform and climbed up the stairs to the highest level (because you know, 'Go big or go home!') and looked down. Big mistake #1. The second I looked, my fear of heights kicked in and my legs turned to jelly, but I was already up there and I could hear Ms. Zurich cheering me on, and even as I contemplated chickening out, a couple of kids made the jump to riotous applause. Taking a deep breath, I took a running start and jumped off and butt flopped into the water. Yes, it's like a belly flop but on your bum. As the icy water relieved the stinging on my bum, I got cocky (as I have been known to do from time to time) and made my way up the platform for a second jump. Having done it before, I was slightly less shaky and I decided to do a sort of back dive off the 30+ foot high platform. I looked across at Ms. Zurich who was grinning from ear to ear, and assumed the diving position. I pushed off and for reasons unknown, my stupid brain made me go for glory and attempt a flip. Big mistake #2. I faceplanted. And you know it's bad when 50 people collectively go 'Oooh' and wince, which is the last thing I heard as I hit the water. I broke to the surface and tried to arrange my features into what I hoped was a nonchalant look and swam over to where Ms. Zurich was sitting with a horrified expression on her face, where I sheepishly exited the water and headed to change.

Fortunately for me, I escaped with only a nosebleed and a bruise covering half my face, but you may not be so lucky. My advice to you is, if you want to impress a Punjabi girl, don't put yourself at risk by doing stupid things, cook her a Punjabi meal. And what meal is more Punjabi than Makki Ki Roti & Sarson Ka Saag?

For my Makki Ki Roti & Sarson Ka Saag, you will need the following:

Sarson (mustard leaves)	500 gms
Palak (spinach)	couple of handfuls
Onions	2 medium
Tomato	1 medium
Green chillies	2-3
Jeera (cumin)	1 heaped tsp
Dhaniya (coriander) powder	3-4 tsps
Red chilli powder	2-3 tsps
Jeera powder	1 tsp
Garam masala	tiny pinch
Makki ka atta (yellow corn flour, unrefined)	3 cups
Ghee	large dollop
Ginger garlic paste	2 tsps
Salt	to taste

Prep:

1. Clean (unless you like a fresh muddy taste) and roughly chop the sarson and the spinach.
2. Quarter the onions.
3. Dice/blitz the tomato.
4. Chop the chillies.
5. Knead the makki ka atta with water until you have the right consistency. (Add a splash at a time.)
6. Locate your blender.

Method:

Saag:

1. Toss the sarson, palak and the onions into a deep bottomed pan/patila.
2. Splash in a cup of water. (Don't add too much, you'll have to drain it and in draining it, you lose the vitamins and iron content in the sarson and the palak.)
3. Turn on the gas.
4. Bung the patila on the gas.
5. Wait for it to come to a boil.
6. Move the contents around to make sure they are boiling away nicely.
7. Simmer until the leaves have wilted and the onions are soft.
8. Turn the gas off.
9. Wait a few minutes for it to cool down a little.
10. Plug in your blender.
11. Blend the mixture until it is smooth. (I prefer it slightly coarse, but to each their own.)
12. Unplug your blender.
13. Turn on a smaller burner.
14. Bung a pan on.
15. Plop in the ghee.
16. Add in the jeera and watch it snap, crackle and pop.
17. Toss in the chillies, and the ginger garlic paste and take a step back to avoid the flying ghee.
18. Add in the tomato.
19. Sprinkle on the dhaniya powder, jeera powder, chilli powder, and garam masala.
20. Cook for a few minutes.
21. Turn off the gas.
22. Turn on the palak burner.
23. Stir in the contents of the pan.
24. Add salt to taste.
25. Simmer for a few minutes.
26. Turn off the gas. 
27. Drop in a blob of ghee.

Roti:

1. Grab a chunk of the kneaded makki ka atta.
2. Ball it up.
3. Slightly flatten it in your hands.
4. Place it on a flat surface. (I usually put butter/wax paper on the surface. It makes it easier to lift and slap onto the non-stick/tava.)
5. Use a belan/rolling-pin to roll out (reasonably) round, thickish rotis.
6. Turn on the gas.
7. Bung a tava on.
8. Lightly grease it with ghee.
9. Count to 30. 
10. Slap the rolled out roti on the tava.
11. Cook on either side until it browns. (Lovingly slather it with ghee every time you flip it.)
12. Repeat until all rotis are cooked.
13. Turn the gas off. 

Serve:

1. Spoon a big helping on saag on your plate.
2. Slide a fresh-off-the-tava roti next to it.
3. Stuff face.
4. Bask in the glory of your successfully executed dish.

Tip: Don't faceplant off a height into icy water. I cannot stress this enough.

And remember, overeating is a myth. A full tummy is a happy tummy!