SIndhirasoi Archives | Sindhi Rasoi |Sindhi Recipes

10 Winter Special Sindhi Dishes

Alka Keswani — Wed, 11 Jan 2023 08:49:07 +0000

Winter season in Mumbai is a boon for those who love to eat a variety of greens/leafy vegetables. Sarson ka Saag, Bathua, Saag of Hara bhara, fresh Methi, Paalak, green garlic etc make our meals so refreshing. Winters also bring a bounty of red juicy Carrots, plump pods of Peas, Kand, tender Radish and Sweet potatoes in the markets. Walking down the lanes of vegetable markets in this season means walking down the memory lanes, pausing at the carts loaded with winter produce, admiring the array of colors, sniffing the freshest vegetables and fruits, picking the best from the lot, remembering the food your parents/grandparents cooked, drooling at the thoughts of savouring your favorite seasonal food and eagerly heading towards home with the bag full of nostalgia. Winter season in Mumbai evoke memories of my Mother cleaning (picking) drumstick flowers by tilting the aluminium winnow to collect the rolling buds at one end. Memories of the friends in the neighbourhood chatting while enjoying Sawa Phota or the Choliya (fresh Garbanzo beans) picking pods from bunches of the Saag, memories of the family gathering on a Sunday evening to savour boiled D^adhri (Pods), the wonderful moments spent with the Aunt K in the neighbourhood slurping ‘Aur Jo Ras‘ made by her on a cozy winter afternoon eyeing on the preparations being done for making Thoom Ja Vada to be savoured as evening snacks. Here are 10 Winter Special Sindhi dishes that I would like to share with you all. Do try these, if you are blessed enough to find the seasonal produce in the markets around you. The list includes the winter special sweets that Sindhis love to indulge in! Suhanjhro Traditional Sindhi style curry made using Drumstick flowers or Sahjan ke Phool. It is a very delicious and nutritious curry though cleaning Moringa (Sahjan) flowers is a time consuming process but it is totally worth it. Do check the recipe here! Pali Pali or the fresh tender leaves of chana (Hara Bhara saag) cooked in rustic desi style is not a dish but an emotion, particularly for the elderly Sindhis who would often talk about the Golden era when the pali was cooked on logs/sigri, mashed (Ghotna) crazily with wooden whisker and was had with Chanvar Ji maani (Roti made from rice flour) and home made white butter, a pure winter bliss! Do check the recipe of this saag here! D^adhri The tender pods of Khesari, boiled and garnished with loads of amchoor and coriander powder are one of my most favorite snacks to enjoy at leisure. Have you ever tried these? Find more details about D^adhri here! Sawa Phota Fresh pods of Chickpeas/Garbanzo beans, also known as Choliya or Har bhara in local languages are either boiled and spiced up or roasted with spices. The boiled Sawa Phota are one of my most favorite Winter special Sindhi dishes. Thoom Ja vada Deep fried patties/tikkis made with pounded fresh green garlic, chillies, coriander leaves, flavored with Annardana and basic spices i.e the Thoom Ja Vada are simply irresistible and the garlic lovers would vouch for it. If it sounds interesting to you, then do check the recipe here! Vataran Ji Lilotari Vatana or fresh green peas rule the vegetable markets during winters.Do you, like me, buy the pods in bulk,shell and stock the peas for the rest of the year? If you have some fresh peas in your refrigerator then I would suggest trying this Vataran Ji Lilotari, a curry loved by Brahma Khatri Sindhis. Do check my blog post about the Brahma Khatris and about the Vataran Ji Lilotari here! Gogrun Ji Khatain Turnips and green garlic, both found during winter season are pickled with mustard seeds to make this lovely yellow colored kanji pickle. If you haven’t tried this pickle yet, then I would suggest you to grab some turnips and garlic and make this ASAP! The recipe of Sindhi style Turnip Pickle is shared here! Saandhyal Gajrun Saandhan in Sindhi means to preserve or to conserve something. Saandhyal Gajrun is a tangy, sweetish pickle made using juicy red carrots, mustard oil, Rai dal and basic spices. Do check the recipe of lip smacking Sindhi style carrot pickle here ! Khorak (Khhoraak) For Sindhis Khorak is an ultimate Khurak to ward off the evils of seasonal allergies and to boost the immunity. A mix of roasted flour, poppy seeds, dry fruits/nuts, ghee and edible gum makes Khhoraak an ideal sweet to consume in cold weather as it gives warmth and energy too. Find the recipe of Khorak here! Majoon Yet another body and soul warming sweet dish, Majun/Majoon, not to be confused with Majoun, a Unani medicine made using Cannabis, is a sweet made around Diwali and is had through out the winter season. A delicious mix of Chhuhara (dried dates) dry fruits/nuts, ghee, sugar and mawa and much more, this is a must try! Check the recipe here! Which one of the above mentioned Winter special Sindhi dishes is your favorite?

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Beeh Sawa Basar| Lotus stem And Spring Onions Curry

Alka Keswani — Thu, 15 Dec 2022 10:34:28 +0000

Beeh Sawa Basar (Lotus stem and Spring onions curry) There is a dish in Sindhi cuisine named Sawa basar patata i.e Spring onions and Potatoes Curry and though it is loved by many, I somehow find the texture and flavour of the curry to be very unappetising. A similar dish is cooked using Beeh (Lotus stem) and Spring onions. When cooked in a pressure cooker, the peculiar over-powering flavours of spring onion greens and slightly slimy, mushy texture is not something that I like and hence I seldom made that curry. Later, I learnt many variations of the recipe from the people I interacted with and I did find some better ways to cook with Spring onions. I intend to share the varying recipes on the blog. For now let me share this stir fried Beeh Sawa Basar (Kamal Kakdi aur hare pyaz ki subzi) or the Lotus stem and Spring Onion Curry that gets done in a jiffy, provided you have a stock of pre boiled lotus stems. Print Beeh Sawa Basar| Lotus stem And Spring Onions Curry Easy Stir-fry cooked with Spring onions and boiled Lotus stem Ingredients Spring Onions 1 Bunch Tomato 1 Large Green Chillies 1-2 Lotus stem 150 Gm (Cut in 1 inch thick slants and boiled till soft) Turmeric Powder ½ tsp Coriander Powder 1 Tbsp Salt to taste Oil 1 tbsp Garam Masala,a pinch (Optional) Method Clean and boil lotus stem in a pressure cooker (with salt and water)till soft.To read about how to cut, clean and boil the stem, check this link! Drain and keep aside. Chop one bunch of spring onions (white and green part separately). In a kadai/Pan, add 1 tbsp oil, and sauté onion whites till slightly pink. Add 1 large tomato and green chillies, chopped. Add a little salt and turmeric powder and cook covered till tomato is mushy. Add boiled lotus stem (make sure it is soft to bite). Add 1 tbsp coriander powder and some salt, if needed and cook on high heat for 3- 4 minutes stirring frequently. Add some green part of spring onions and reserve some for garnish. Cook for 2 minutes. You can add a fat pinch of garam masala too. Garnish with the reserved onion greens and enjoy the delicious dish with some Dal Rice and Roti. 3.5.3251 Need more recipes of Lotus stem (Kamalkakdi)? Check below! Check the recipe here! Sindhi Beeh Tikki, Kamalakakdi Tikki! Check the recipe here Suhanjhre mein Beeh (Lotus stems cooked with drumstick flowers or Moringa Flowers! Find the recipe here!

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14 Vegetarian Sindhi Thali meals

Alka Keswani — Sat, 29 Jan 2022 08:30:44 +0000

When I started sharing some Sindhi Thali spreads on Instagram (Sindhirasoiofficial) and Facebook page (Sindhirasoi.com), I started receiving many requests to share the recipes of each dish presented in the Thali. So I thought to share the details of all the Thali meals in a blog post for easy reference! Most of these meals were cooked across the year, though some are from the distant past. I haven’t meticulously planned the menus of these Thalis and the dishes were cooked depending on the seasons and availability of the ingredients during the lockdown, in the past year or so. Hence some dishes appear repeatedly in the Thali meals, shared below. Looking at the popularity of these Thali meals, I am now thinking of making well planned Sindhi Thali meals to share with you all. For now, do check some of these Sindhi Thali spreads and do let me know which of these appeals to you the most! Also do share with me your Sindhi Thali meal ideas. I will try to cook the combination in my kitchen and share it here! BTW my blog Sindhirasoi.com is now 14 years old! Yes, this blog was created on 29th January 2008 and to celebrate the 14 years of learning, un learning, of receiving awards, rewards, accolades and recognition, love and adulation, allow me to celebrate it by sharing 14 Vegetarian Sindhi Thali meals with you all! So here are some Sindhi Thali Combos! Sindhi Thali #1 Chithyal Gogrun (Mashed Turnips flavored with green garlic) Juar Jo Dhodho (Patted Jowar roti) Khichdi (Rice and Mung dal chilka cooked till soft) Gogrun Ji Khatain (Turnips Pickle) Curds and Salad Sindhi Thali #2 Beeh Palak (Lotus stem cooked with Spinach) Patri Khichn~i (Rice and Mung dal chilka cooked till porridge like) Basar Ji Khatain (Onion Pickle) Sindhi Thali#3 Palak Paneer Bhugha Chanvar (Rice cooked with caramelized onions and Khada masala) Gogrun Ji Khatain (Zero Oil Turnip pickle) Salad, Roti, Kheecho (Khichiya papad) Matho (Raita). I have made Bathua Raita and though it is not a traditional Sindhi dish but it is made in Sindhi style i.e boiled bathua leaves, chopped and added to beaten curds and flavored with finely chopped chillies and ginger. This is how we (The Sindhis) make the raita with bottle gourd/Drumstick flowers etc. Sindhi Thali #4 Masoor Dal made in Sindhi Style (Whole masoor dal added to caramelised onions and cooked with tomatoes, chillies, ginger, salt, turmeric and water till done and finished with a tadka of garlic, curry leaves and cumin seeds) Seyal Bhaji (Mix Vegetable curry) Patate Ja pakora (Potato fritters) Beeh Ji Tikki (Lotus stem Tikki) Salad, Raita (Bathua Raita), Papad and Roti Sindhi Thali #5 Beeh patata ( lotus stem and potato curry), Dal Suji jo seero (Sooji halwa) Beeh patate ji tikki (Mashed potato and Lotus stem tikki) Bheendi kadhukash (grated mango pickle) Kachri (Flower shaped fryum made from rice flour), Sindhi papad Vangi (cucumber) Rice Phulko (roti) Sindhi Thali #6 Beeh Patata (lotus stem and potatoes curry) Bhugha Chanvar with peas and Meha (Apple gourds) Sanna Pakora (Double fried, crunchy fritters) Dyamun/J^ammu (Gulab Jamun) Boondi Raita Roti, Papad, Salad, Fryums Sindhi Thali #7 Jhang Pulao (Mix vegetable Pulao) Soya (Nutrela) Daag^ mein (Nutrela cooked in Sindhi style gravy) Roti, Cucumber, Fryums and Boondi Raita Sindhi Thali #8 Boiled rice Dal (mix of mung dal and chanadal) cooked with tomatoes and chillies and tempered with ghee, cumin, hing and ginger) Matho (Doodhi i.e Bottle gourd raita) Kheecha (khichiya papad), papad Taryal Patata (Potato roundels, shallow fried and tossed with turmeric, salt, chilli powder and coriander powder) Roti Alu tikki Karela Aur Ji Ras mein (fried karela cooked in a soupy gravy of tempered mustard, coriander powder and turmeric, flavored with pounded black pepper) Kesar flavored suji halwa Sindhi Thali #9 Bhuga Chanvar ( Rice cooked with caramelized onions) Saibhaji (Sindhi style Spinach sabzi) Taye waara patata and vaangan (Tawa/pan fried potatoes and brinjal) Boiled and roasted Cholia ( Sawa phota/ Hara bhara) spiced with turmeric, coriander powder, chilli powder and amchoor. Roti, salad, curds and fryums Sindhi Thali #10 Dal Chanvar (Dal and Rice) Daas Karela ( Dhaage waale karele) Sanna Pakoda ( Double fried fritters) Macrolyun Phoolpatasha ( A traditional Sindhi dish made by cooking Elbow pasta and Makhana in onion tomato gravy) Gajrun jo seero (Gaajar Halwa) Gogrun ji Khatain (Turnips in Kanji style pickle) Kachumber (cucumber, onions and tomatoes spiced with salt, chilli powder and lemon juice) Papad and Roti Sindhi Thali #11 This is a Thali most suitable for a new mother. As per Sindhi tradition, a new mother is supposed to have home made, nutritious food without onions, garlic, garam masala, turmeric etc, for the first forty days. Known as Viyam Ja Khada (meaning, post- partum food or food after child birth) the above thali is made as per the dietary restrictions for a new mom. Carrots Chehro Phulko (Cumin, salt, pepper flavored roti) Methi (Fenugreek leaves) Singyun Tamate mein (Drumsticks cooked in tomato gravy) Tooryun (Sponge gourds) Phote mein Karela (Bitter gourds cooked in Cardamom flavored curry) Lolo (in the centre of the Thali). Rajgira ladoo (Not home made) Tring (placed out of the Thali) For More details about the diet or for the recipe of each dish, please click here! Sindhi Thali #12 Tidali (3 dal mix) Juar Jo Dhodho(Patted Jowar Roti) Vangan (Tawa fried Brinjal) Bartho (Brinjal Chutney) Kachumber (Onion rings marinated with salt, chilli powder and lemon juice) Mint Coriander chutney Sindhi Thali #13 Lun~ak (Purslane) (Recipe coming up next) Churi Khichdi (Dry Khichdi i.e rice and mung dal chilka cooked with salt and water) Karele Ji Chhill (Sun dried bitter gourd peels, toasted on a griddle with a tsp of ghee/oil) till crunchy. Mirchan Ji Khatain (Bhavnagri chillies pickled in lemon juice) Curds, Roti, Cucumber and Papad Sindhi Thali #14 The most Popular Sindhi Thali I have ever made!Starting from roti, in clock wise direction: Shikarpuri Phulko (Simple whole wheat flour Roti) Koki Baat Jo seero (A sweet made from broken wheat) Sindhi Kadhi Saibhaji (Sindhi style Spinach cooked with assorted vegetables and lentils) Dal (Yellow lentils) Das meha Boondi raita Kachalu and Alu Took(Crisp fried Taro root and potatoes) Sanna pakora (Double fried gram flour fritters) Attey ja Ladoo (Whole wheat flour ladoo) Tosho (A sweet made from flour and sugar syrup) Steamed rice topped with Sindhi Boondi Sindhi Papad and Kheecha (Khichiya papad) Gathri pickle /Bheendi/Kadhukash (Mango pickle, on the top left, outside Thali) So if you were to cook/share a Thali meal with your friends/Family, which of the above meals would you love to share? Do let me know in the comments. Also, if you think that this post is worth sharing, then please do so! Don’t forget to tag me so that I can thank you personally!

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Nasarpuri Seyal Bhaji |AlifBe~44

Alka Keswani — Sat, 20 Nov 2021 15:08:00 +0000

To watch the video recipe of Nasarpuri style Seyal Bhaji, please check my Youtube channel, SindhiRasoiOfficial. Click here to visit the link! The 44th ‘alphabet’ of Arabic Sindhi Script, AlifBe, is ن in Sindhi, न in Devanagari and ‘N’ in Roman Sindhi. N as in Nagpur, Nagaland, Nigeria or as in Nasarpur. And the corresponding dish is ‘ Nasarpuri Seyal Bhaji, with Dhokri (Dhokryun)’. Nasarpur (Nasarpur/Nasserpur): Nasarpur is one of the oldest known places in Sindh (now in Pakistan), that finds mentions in not only the history and geography of ancient civilization, but also in the legends associated with the Lord Jhulelal, an incarnation of Varun Dev, that the Sindhis have great faith in! It is in the small town of Nassarpur that the Lord Jhulelal was born and hence the place holds a great significance for the Sindhi community. Nasarpuri Sindhis are those whose ancestors came from Nasarpur and this Sindhi subset is a small community consisting of barely few hundred families, residing in India and abroad. Honestly speaking I was not aware of the culture, traditions and cuisine of Nasapuri Sindhis till I came across some people in Sindhirasoi fb group. And then I got in touch with Jyoti Mulchandani, a fabulous lady working on many aspects of Sindhi culture, language and people, who enlightened me more about the Nasarpuri culture. You can check her blog, SindhiKhazana to gain more insights. She also introduced me to her sister Geeta (Urvashi Dhama) and I got to learn so much from her, not only about the Nasarpuri community, but also about the Brahmakhatris, yet another Sindhi subset with lesser exposure in the so called mainstream Sindhi community. Thanks to the two sisters I came to know how popular the Seyal Bhaji (in green gravy base) is, in the Nasarpuri cuisine. I also came across some information about Dhokri (Dhokni) i.e the flat dough discs, steamed/ cooked in the seyal style base, consumed by some Sindhis. I was intrigued. I am utterly grateful to Pooja Abichandani who not only guided me about Nasarpuri food but also helped me connect with Ms Rashmi Chandani who shared helpful details about the community along with detailed recipes of some of the popular dishes from Nasarpuri cuisine. I am so eager to share all of her recipes, one at a time, on this blog of mine! Pooja Abichandani also introduced me to her mother Ms Rekha Khushalani and oh my! we kept on talking about Sindhi food, food and more food, for hours, till my voice started cracking. Got to learn so much from her about Nasarpuri food and it was such a pleasure to share food memories with each other. Of all the recipes she discussed with me, the Seyal Bhaji was one of the prominent. While she mentioned that Dhokri are added in Nasarpuri style Seyal Bhaji, Rashmi Chandani, on the other hand, believes that Dhokri is not a Nasarpuri addition. I was too intrigued with the idea of addition of Jowar/bajra dough discs in the seyal masala to give it a miss. But since the Dhokri part of the Seyal bhaji is not confirmed to be Nasarpuri style, I chose to name the dish just ‘Nasarpuri Seyal Bhaji’, a traditional dish loved by Nasarpuri as well as other Sindhis belonging to different subsets. The Nasarpuri Seyal Bhaji is basically a semidry curry made using a base of green paste made from coriander leaves, chillies, ginger and garlic. Some add onions in the paste, some add tomatoes as well. Some use chopped or grated onions and tomatoes. One can add any combination of vegetables to this green base, but the most preferred ones are potatoes, Okra, Apple gourds (Meha/Tinde) and small onions. Potatoes are always cut into thick roundels while other veggies are used whole. Some like to stuff vegetables with green masala while others just cook it without stuffing. You can make the Dhokri (also called Dhokni) from Jowar, Bajra or rice flour to which one needs to add the green masala paste, some salt and oil for moyan to make a dough. You can totally skip the Dhokri part and make the subzi with just the vegetables of your choice. Traditionally when such a subzi was made, the Dhokris were laid on a piece of the mulmul cloth that was tied over the rim of the vessel in which the Seyal bhaji was being cooked. The steam arising from the Seyal bhaji would cook the Dhokris and then these were added to the Seyal bhaji and cooked further to absorb more flavors of the Seyal bhaji. Many skip this tricky step and simply place the dough discs, the Dhokri as the top most layer on the Seyal bhaji, and cook it covered, on the low flame, without mixing it, till the Dhokris are steamed (i.e cooked) well. I found a middle path! I have the Idli steamer plate that fits well over the Kadai that I used for making Seyal Bhaji (Refer the Video) and I used it to steam the Dhokri. The recipe that I followed was a mix of many recipes that I picked from the SindhiRasoi group. Thank you Tanisha Makhija, Nana Kunwar, Pooja Abichandani, Rashmi Chandani and Rekha Khushalani ji for all your valuable inputs. Print Nasarpuri Seyal Bhaji |AlifBe~44 Ingredients For green paste: A bunch of coriander leaves 4-5 green chillies 1 inch piece ginger 10-12 garlic cloves Other ingredients 2 Onions 2 Tomatoes 2 Potatoes 7-8 Okra 2-3 Small tender Apple Gourds (Meha/TInde) optional 2 Small whole onions optional (I didn't use onions) 1 tsp Turmeric Powder 2 tsp Coriander Powder 1 Cup Jowar/ Bajra flour 3-4 tbsp Oil Salt as per taste Method Blend or pound using mortar and pestle, coriander leaves, chillies, ginger and garlic. Make a coarse paste. Save 2 -3 tbsp of this paste to make Dhokri. To make Dhokri, mix the above reserved paste with 1 cup of Jowar/Bajra/rice flour and add some salt and 1 tbsp of oil. Mix everything well and using water, a little at a time, bring together the mixture to make a firm dough. No need to knead the dough. Divide it in 7-8 portions and make small flat discs of each portion. These are called Dhokri (Dhokni). Grease each with some oil and keep covered till further use. Ideally one should make Dhokri just before steaming it but to avoid confusion I have mentioned the process in the beginning. Watch the video to understand the steps properly. Heat 2-3 tbsp of oil in a pan. Add 2 small onions, finely chopped. Cook on medium heat till translucent (slightly pink) Add the green paste Add a little of salt and cook till rawness of green paste disappears i.e for 4-5 minutes. This is an optional step but it gives more flavor to the whole vegetables. Remove 2 tbsp of this cooked mixture and use it later to stuff Tinde and Okra. You can use whole vegetables without stuffing too. Add chopped tomatoes, some salt (salt is to be added in various stages so add a little at a time), turmeric and coriander powder and cook on medium heat while the pan is covered with a lid. Meanwhile peel and slice potatoes in thick roundels and soak these in salted water till further use. Peel and slit apple gourds, onions, if using, into criss cross to make a space for stuffing. Tip off the ends of Okra and slit each from top (head) towards the tip. Coming back to the gravy, mash tomatoes and then add potato roundels. Stir to coat potatoes and cook covered on medium heat for 2-3 minutes. Stuff Apple gourds, onions and Okra with the cooked onions and green masala mix that we saved. Since potatoes take longer to cook, we added it first. Now add stuffed gourds and onions (if using) and gently mix the sabzi. Add 2 cups of water to the sabzi and place an idli steamer plate over it. Traditionally a muslin cloth was tied over the rim of the vessel but I found it to be tricky hence used the idli plate. Luckily my idli plate fits well over the kadai that I used for making the sabzi. Lower the heat to minimum. Place a clean piece of mulmul cloth over the plate. Moisten it slightly. Place the Dhokryun on the cloth adjacent to each other. Cover the lid of the pan and allow everything to cook on low heat. The stuffed vegetables will cook inside the pan and the Dhokri will get steamed above the pan using the steam arising from the boiling gravy. After 7-8 minutes, the Dhokri will be set. Transfer each on a plate carefully. Give the sabzi a mix, add few tbsp of water (or more if you need a little gravy) and make a layer of stuffed bhindi (okra) and steamed Dhokri above the sabzi. Cover and cook on low heat for 5 minutes. Flip once, very gently and cook covered, for 5 more minutes. The Nasarpuri style Seyal Bhaji with Jowar Dhokri is ready to relish. Ideally had with roti, but you can enjoy it as a side dish with dal rice or have it just as it is since the Jowar Dhokri is very filling and tastes amazing in combination with potatoes, okra and gourds. Here is a simpler version of the recipe: Blend 2 small onions, 2 tomatoes, coriander leaves, ginger, garlic and chillies to make a paste Use some of this paste to make Dhokri and add the rest of this paste in a pan with 3 tbsp of oil. Cook on medium heat till rawness of onions and garlic is gone.Add salt, turmeric and coriander powder. Add potato roundels and a little salt. Cook and cover for few minutes. Add 2 cups of water. Lay other whole vegetables (apple gourds, onions, Okra) and Dhokris above the potato and gravy mix. Do not mix. Cover and allow to cook on low flame for 10 minutes or so. Stir very gently so as to not break the Dhokri. Cook covered for 8-10 minutes more, till a knife pierced in Dhokri comes out clean. Make Dho 3.5.3251 And finally, a small video tutorial to learn how to write in Arabic Sindhi:

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Ghotyal Saag|Sindhi Style Spinach|AlifBe40

Alka Keswani — Mon, 04 Oct 2021 09:05:46 +0000

Ghotyal Saag or Sindhi Style Spinach Aisee Palak recipe video AlifBe i.e A-Z of Sindhi Food series is now at the 40th alphabet. I went crazy figuring out name of a Sindhi dish starting with this alphabet but couldn’t find any. The alphabet is گهہ i.e घ (in Devanagari) or ‘Gh’ in Roman Sindhi. ‘Gh’ as in Ghat or Ghee. In January this year when I was making a list of possible dishes for each Sindhi alphabet, I assumed that ‘Ghee’ or ‘Gheehar’ (a Sindhi sweetmeat) would be apt for this alphabet. But when I started referring dictionaries, I was flabbergasted to know that in Sindhi ‘Ghee’, the Golden liquid, is called ‘Geeh’ and hence the term starts with the letter ‘G’ (ग) and not with ‘Gh’ (घ). Somebody please tell me that this ain’t true !!!! And since none of the vegetarian Sindhi dishes start with this alphabet, here I am with ‘Ghotyal Saag^’, the Sindhi style Spinach. The term Ghotyal comes from ‘Ghotna‘ i.e to churn/whisk manually and the saag used could be any variety of leafy greens like spinach, mustard leaves, Amaranth etc. Saag (leafy greens) are prepared in many ways but the most rustic preparation calls for boiling the leafy greens with or without souring agents (tomatoes/curds/buttermilk), using basic spices like turmeric and coriander powder and churned vigorously till a homogenous chutney like texture is obtained. A tempering of ghee/ oil and chillies, garlic, ginger etc is generally given to enhance the flavors. While the Sindhi Saibhaji is made with spinach, sorrel, dill leaves, assorted vegetables and some chana dal, there are other ways that Sindhis love to cook and consume spinach. Ghotyal Saag^ (here, the spinach) is made by cooking greens with garlic, onions and tomatoes, in a pressure cooker. The subzi is then mashed/whisked with a wooden whisker for 10 -15 minutes at least. A spoonful of Jowar/Wholewheat flour is added while mashing so as to get a homogenous mixture. Some add garlic in the beginning, some add the garlic tempering after churning the saag while many add garlic twice i.e add it in the beginning and then add some more in the tempering towards the end of cooking process. Ghotyal Paalak (Sindhi style spinach) is also made in a pan/kadai instead of the pressure cooker and the dish is then called as ‘Aisee’ or ‘Nijji’ Paalak . If an iron kadai is used to cook ‘Aisee Paalak’ the color of the dish turns out to be darker in shade and hence the dish is then called ‘Kaari (black in Sindhi) Paalak‘ While it is mandatory to whisk all the saag preparations really well, the Aisee and Kaari paalak are more like whisked stir fry preparations. The Ghotyal saag (paalak) is smoother in consistency than Aisee but not as smooth as that in Paneer Palak where the spinach is blended instead of whisking. Using electric blender/ food processor/ mixie would alter the flavours of the rustic ‘Ghotyal paalak’ so make sure to mash it with wooden whisker only! Print Ghotyal Saag~ Sindhi Style Spinach ~ AlifBe~40 Spinach cooked with onions and tomatoes, flavored with garlic and whisked or mashed till homogenous. Ingredients Spinach 1 bunch Green chillies 2-3 Onions 2 small Tomatoes 3 (medium sized ) Garlic 8 - 9 cloves Ginger ½ inch piece Turmeric ¼ tbsp Coriander powder 1 and ½ tbsp Ghee/Oil 2 tbsp for cooking and 1 tbsp for tempering Salt as per taste 1 -2 tbsp of Jowar flour/ Whole wheat flour mixed with 3-4 tbsp of water (optional) Method Cut off and discard the hard stems of spinach. Rinse spinach leaves with water, a few times to get rid of mud/ dirt. Chop the leaves roughly and keep aside. Finely chop the ginger, green chillies and the garlic. Divide the garlic into 2 portions. In a pressure cooker, heat 2 tbsp of oil and add chopped ginger and one portion of the garlic. Save the other portion for the tempering. Add green chillies too. (I add chillies later to avoid strong fumes in the kitchen/home) When ginger garlic are light brown, add chopped onions. Cook the onions on medium heat till light brown in color. Add chopped tomatoes, salt, turmeric and coriander powder. Add chopped spinach and mix. Close the pressure cooker with the lid. No need to add any water. Wait for one whistle of the cooker and then lower the heat. Cook for 15- 20 minutes. Switch off the heat. When the pressure subsides, open the lid of the cooker. A little of water (extracted from tomatoes and spinach) in the sabzi would be there in the cooker. Start whisking using a wooden whisker (Mathni/Ghotna/ Mandhiyaro) and mash the sabzi well. (Note: Sometimes there is way too much water left in the cooker, In that case heat the sabzi further to evaporate excess of water) . Keep mashing and whisking the paalak for good 10-15 minutes. If the mixture still looks fibrous (non homogenous) then take 3-4 tbsp of water and mix 1-2 tbsp of jowar flour or whole wheat flour and add this paste to the mashed paalak sabzi. Whisk further till a nice chutney like texture is obtained. Heat 1 tbsp of ghee/oil and add the remaining garlic and when it turns brown, immediately add the tempering to the saag. This saag pairs well with Khichdi, roti, rice, Jowar roti (Dhodho) and even with the sweet Lolo. 3.5.3251 To learn how to write in Arabic Sindhi, do check my video tutorials about Sindhi Alphabet on my Youtube channel, Sindhirasoiofficial!

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