saag and makki di roti

Why saag and makki di roti?

The common man's swag and makki di roti with a dollop of butter on it which melts and makes everyone salivate far and wide. It even finds mention in the newest  controversial wikipedia which states it as a spinach or mustard leaf based dish eaten in South Asia with bread such as makki( roti made of corn flour /maize flour and is yellow in color). This dish is eaten by Punjabis daily , and is tempered with garnishing served with pickles and radish to bring out its flavor served with buttermilk or the common man's lassi!

The combination of saag with makki di roti brings forth memories of mouth watering food, a manna from heaven. It might be loosing out to fancier , quick ,instant food but nothing can match the dish which is slowly cooked best outdoors in a pot on wooden logs. This method of slow cooking brings forth the inherent strong flavors making it a must for every punjabi worth his makhan.

Jugraj Dhillon Sohi , says , 'I can eat it everyday for winters three times a day.This rustic soulful ,nutritious delicious food is Number in everyone's household. No one can pinpoint why , but it is the staple ,and is the trademark of Punjab along with Butter Chicken, rajmah, alu ke paranthe.Sammy Gill says, love to eat it but with bajra or wheat chapatti. 

Saag and makki di roti ,, an unbeatable combination and every Punjabi swears by it ! India andPakistan sarson is entwined with village life. Sarson is a resilient plant that resists infestation an fit is not easily affected by adverse weather. It is therefore immensely suitable to an unsophisticated rural economy. 

Sarson fields also form an important part of Bollywood movies. Since time immemorial the romance na dthe budding love has been immortalized in the fields of blooming yellow mustard fields. Every movie which has a love story angle shows the hero romancing the heroine in the fields of sarson symbolizing love blossoming .

The mustard fields thus prove to be unimportant export , a) for movie locations, b) for producing which is agreeably the soul food of every Punjabi , be it in India or abroad !. Infact , taking a cue from this Markfed started packaging sarson da saag , an fit has cornered the niche where ever there is a considerable Asain Population reaching to Middle East , UK , USA, Canada and other European nations.

As an NRI living in England Dr .Nirmal says, I enjoy it immensely but the flavors which one gets in punjab cannot be matched by England's mustard leaves. Interestingly , on websites to Punjabis can't pinpoint why they love it , they just do .Nothing can explain the weakness , it's in the blood.

Ravneet sangha