Sarson ka saag (as it is known in
Hindi
Hindi ( Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been ...
/
Haryanvi
Haryanvi ( ' or '), also known as Bangru, is an Indo-Aryan language spoken in the state of Haryana in India, and to a lesser extent in Delhi. Haryanvi is considered to be part of the dialect group of Western Hindi, which also includes Kharib ...
or Sarson da saag in
Punjabi or Sareyan Da Saag in
Dogri
Dogri ( Name Dogra Akkhar: ; Devanagari: डोगरी; Nastaliq: ; ) is an Indo-Aryan language primarily spoken in the Jammu region of Jammu and Kashmir, India, with smaller groups of speakers in adjoining regions of western Himachal Prad ...
) is a popular
vegetarian
Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slaughter.
Vegetariani ...
dish from the northern region of the
Indian subcontinent
The Indian subcontinent is a list of the physiographic regions of the world, physiographical region in United Nations geoscheme for Asia#Southern Asia, Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian O ...
. It is made from
mustard greens
''Brassica juncea'', commonly brown mustard, Chinese mustard, Indian mustard, leaf mustard, Oriental mustard and vegetable mustard, is a species of mustard plant.
Cultivar
''Brassica juncea'' cultivars can be divided into four major subgroups ...
(sarson) and spices such as
ginger and
garlic. It is often served with
Makki ki roti
Makki ki roti is a flat Leavening agent, unleavened bread made from cornmeal, corn meal (maize flour), primarily eaten in the Jammu division, Jammu region, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, and Uttarakhand in North Indi ...
. Sarson ka Saag and Makki ki Roti is closely associated with
Jammu
Jammu is the winter capital of the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. It is the headquarters and the largest city in Jammu district of the union territory. Lying on the banks of the river Tawi, the city of Jammu, with an area of ...
,
Himachal Pradesh
Himachal Pradesh (; ; "Snow-laden Mountain Province") is a state in the northern part of India. Situated in the Western Himalayas, it is one of the thirteen mountain states and is characterized by an extreme landscape featuring several peaks ...
,
Haryana
Haryana (; ) is an Indian state located in the northern part of the country. It was carved out of the former state of East Punjab on 1 Nov 1966 on a linguistic basis. It is ranked 21st in terms of area, with less than 1.4% () of India's land a ...
and
Punjab
Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising a ...
and is considered a special dish in entire
North India
North India is a loosely defined region consisting of the northern part of India. The dominant geographical features of North India are the Indo-Gangetic Plain and the Himalayas, which demarcate the region from the Tibetan Plateau and Central ...
.
It is eaten especially in the winter season.
Etymology
''Sarson Ka Saag'' literally translates to leafy vegetable preparation of mustard. The word ''Sarson'' is derived from
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
word ''Sarśapa'', the Sanskrit word for mustard. The Dogri word ''Sareyan'' is derived from the same Sanskrit root, and the word ''Saag'' is derived from Sanskrit word ''Śāka'' ''(Shaak)'' meaning greens or leafy vegetable.
Mode of serving
The dish is regarded as the traditional way to prepare
saag
Saag (), also spelled sag or saga, is an Indian leaf vegetable dish eaten with bread such as roti or naan, or in some regions with rice. Saag can be made from spinach, mustard greens, collard greens, basella, finely chopped broccoli or other ...
and is usually served with ''
Makki ki roti
Makki ki roti is a flat Leavening agent, unleavened bread made from cornmeal, corn meal (maize flour), primarily eaten in the Jammu division, Jammu region, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, and Uttarakhand in North Indi ...
'' or ''
Bajra ki roti'' or even
wheat roti. It can be topped with either ''makkhan'' (butter) or more traditionally with
ghee (clarified butter). Some
spinach (''Palak'') may be added to enhance colour and thicken the dish, though this may alter the flavour.
Mustard is a winter and spring delicacy, and its relative abundance in North India has made it one of the most popular dishes in the region,
as mustard has been grown in the India for millennia.
See also
*
Palak paneer
Palak paneer () is an Indian dish consisting of paneer (a type of cheese) in a thick paste made from puréed spinach, called palak in Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati, and other Indian languages.
The terms palak paneer and saag paneer are sometimes ...
*
Saag
Saag (), also spelled sag or saga, is an Indian leaf vegetable dish eaten with bread such as roti or naan, or in some regions with rice. Saag can be made from spinach, mustard greens, collard greens, basella, finely chopped broccoli or other ...
References
Further reading
*
Indian vegetable dishes
Indian cuisine
Pakistani curries
Punjabi cuisine
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