BackDreaming of ‘sarson ka saag’ in Edinburgh
Melding a bit of Scotland in the North Indian classic for a warming soup for winter nights
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This time of year is the moment when the climates in Edinburgh and Delhi most resemble each other. On bad days, for instance, you cannot see further than your nose in either city. In Delhi, this is because of the city’s latest “accolade" as the most polluted city on earth; in the Scottish capital, it’s because we only see daylight for a couple of hours a day during the winter months and even then, there’s so much drizzle and fog it’s often difficult to tell whether it’s day or night.
But occasionally, in both, there will be a joyous day of brilliant blue skies, when there’s nowhere else you would rather be. In Edinburgh, it’s cold and crisp, low rays of sun glinting off the ice rink in Princes Street Gardens; in Delhi, it’s warm enough for a picnic among the monuments in Lodhi Gardens.
As the festive season approaches, I’m enjoying Scottish winter rituals for the first time in 10 years: investing in serious thermal wear, sipping hot chocolate at the Christmas market and choosing a great big bushy Nordmann fir tree far too big for the living room.
Whether in Delhi or Edinburgh, it’s a time when we crave warming, sustaining food. I’m relishing making lots of meaty casseroles and fruity tagines and enjoying the winter bounty of parsnips and Brussels sprouts.
But I’m also missing my winter kitchen in Delhi and the other day I found myself longing for the wonderful array of leafy green vegetables like mustard and bathua that topple from the vegetable stalls at this time of year. Specifically, I’ve been yearning for one of north India’s classic winter dishes, sarson ka saag with makki ki roti, the bright white home-made butter disappearing into the pool of deep green, all scooped up by crisp yellow- corn rotis.
This meal—spinach soup with a spicy cornbread—is my sort of Scottish equivalent, and for a moment, as I look out of my kitchen window through the relentless drizzle, all I can see are dazzling green Punjabi fields.
Spinach Soup
Scottish green leafy vegetables are actually more abundant in the summer months, but spinach is available in the shops all year round, so that’s what I’ve used for this soup. I’ve also cooked the spinach for a much shorter time than for sarson ka saag to keep the flavour fresh, and the colour bright.
Serves 4
Ingredients
50g butter
1 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 medium potato, peeled and cubed
1-litre vegetable stock
500g spinach leaves, washed
Freshly ground nutmeg and pepper
Cream to serve
Method
In a large pan, melt the butter, add the onion and cook for a few minutes, then add the garlic and cook for a further minute. Add the potato and stock and simmer for about 5 minutes. Put half of the spinach leaves into the pot, stir them into the stock, bring back to a simmer, cover and cook for about 10 minutes. Leave to cool for a few moments, then add the rest of the spinach leaves. Blend the mixture till smooth, either in a food processor or with a stick blender. Season with plenty of freshly ground nutmeg and pepper. Serve hot with a swirl of cream and the chilli cornbread.
Chilli Cornbread
Serves 8
Ingredients
150g plain flour
250g cornflour (makki ka atta)
Half tsp baking powder
Half tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp salt
3 eggs
350ml buttermilk (chaach)
1 tbsp honey
2 tbsp melted butter
2-3 green chillies, chopped
A large handful of chopped coriander leaves
Method
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius and butter an oven dish.
In a large bowl, mix together the plain flour, cornflour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt. In another bowl, whisk together the eggs, buttermilk, honey, butter, chillies and coriander leaves.
Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix well.
Pour the mixture into the oven dish, then bake for about 30-35 minutes.
The Way We Eat Now is a fortnightly column on new ways of cooking seasonal fruits, vegetables and grains. Pamela Timms tweets at @eatanddust and posts on Instagram as Eatanddust.
Also read | Pamela’s previous Lounge columns.
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