Spinach Mustard greens is a one of the amazing nutritious and healthy dishes full of nutrients and should be eaten by one and all at least twice in a week. This is a very popular Punjabi dish and is mostly eaten during winters with Makkai ki roti or any Indian flat bread. This dish originally comes from the Punjab region of India, and now is popular all over India.
During mustard growing season, green fields of Punjab and North India are covered with ‘sarson ke phool’, the yellow mustard flowers. Green leaves of mustard are used like spinach and made into a delicious sag/saag. Sarson ka saag is a popular delicacy made of mustard greens and one of the famous dishes in the Punjabi cuisine.
It is served by many 'dhabas', the roadside truckers’ restaurants. This is a leafy curry absolutely delicious with a nice nutritious blend of mustard leaves and spinach. The luscious green sarson (mustard leaves), tastes fabulous with makki de roti and a dollop of butter. This dish can be prepared with any type of greens which makes it nutritious.
Mustard greens, increasingly common in supermarkets today, cook as quickly as fresh spinach. Their assertive taste is terrific. Mustard greens have been cultivated by people for over thousands of years and are known for their beneficial effects on human health and hygiene. They are of various types and come in a host of colors, like emerald green, dark red and deep purple.
A popular variety of cultivated mustard greens is the Mizuna. It is consumed in the raw as well as cooked forms. The pungent, peppery flavor of the vegetable adds spunk and zing to any recipe. The high vitamin and protein content of mustard greens have made them very valuable nutritionally and they have widely been incorporated in the traditional cuisine of a number of regions.
However, the vegetable is thought to have originated in the high altitude region of the Himalayas (India) about 5000 years ago. The prime cultivators are India, Nepal, China, Japan and the United States. The mustard leaves have an amazing spicy, pungent and slightly bitter taste and combined with spinach in the same proportion makes it a fantastic dish to taste.
Mustard or spinach greens are indeed one of the most nutritious green leafy vegetables. It has this earthy taste where you get to enjoy the Mustard leaves and spinach in full form. The spinach leaves subdue the bitterness of the mustard. But usually spinach is used half of mustard leaves for the dish to have a little earthy taste without being overly bitter.
It has minimal ingredients which can easily be adjusted to suit your taste.
To prepare this nutritious and delicious dish firstly, rinse and chop the greens roughly. In a pan put some mustard oil and when hot add mustard seeds, cumin seeds and wait till they crackle then add urad dal and sauté till golden in color.
Add finely chopped garlic and ginger, spring onions, green chillies, salt and hing. Saute well till the raw flavors are gone. Mix well and add all the mustard and spinach greens. Reduce the flame and cook them without closing the lid. Allow it to cook and add little water if the mixture dries out. Once the greens are cooked add a pinch of nutmeg powder to enhance its taste.
Switch off the flame. Add chopped onions and lime juice before serving. Do not cover the greens while cooking in order to retain the natural green color. A must try by all to give a nice nutritious and healthy dish to the whole family.
Do watch the making at:
https://www.vahrehvah.com/indianfood/spinach-mustard-greens
A wonderful dish full of nutrition that activates the taste buds and leaves you asking for more. A luscious green gravy refreshing making it a total delight ot relish. Have a taste of this delicacy in states like Delhi, Haryana and Punjab. Mustard greens are low in calories and contain a large amount of antioxidants.
They provide an excellent source of vitamins B6, C, and E, folic acid, calcium, carotenes, manganese, copper, and fiber. They also offer a very good source of phosphorus, vitamins B1 and B2, magnesium, protein, potassium, and iron.