Sai Bhaji

Sai Bhaji is a signature Sindhi dish made with spinach, khatta leaves (Green sorrel), channa dal and vegetables. Sai means green and bhaji means vegetable so literally translated  sai bhaji means green vegetable. This dish is super healthy and nutritious and makes an appearance on our dinner table atleast once a week. All of us absolutely love sai bhaji. It can be eaten with chapattis / rotis or rice. Traditionally it is eaten with khichadi made with rice and split green moong dal and served with a side of boondi raita. The boondi raita served with sai bhaji is on the sweeter side and is also called as meetha boondi which means sweet boondi. However, lately we have been eating Sai Bhaji with brown rice and we really like this combination.

I have been trying to replace white rice with brown rice given its nutritional benefits. Brown rice has a nutty flavor and I think it goes really well with strong gravies like Sai Bhaji and Dal Makhani. We did not quite like it with the timid yellow dal and still prefer to have the soft and fluffy white rice with the milder dals.

Sindhi cuisine is very simple yet amazingly tasty. I was not aware of Sindhi food till I met my husband. Growing up in Mumbai I had eaten a lot of North Indian Punjabi food which I love, but never really had a chance to sample Sindhi food. I fell in love with the simple but distinct flavors of Sindhi dishes. They were just so different, flavorful and sans the over powering masalas. Not many places in Mumbai serve Sindhi food. Kailash Parbat is probably the most famous restaurant serving Sindhi dishes. If you have not already, you must try their Koki (Koki is a Sindhi flat bread made with whole wheat flour, onions, spices and pomegranate seeds). There is also a small restaurant near Khar station (dont remember the name) which offers a wide variety of Sindhi dishes.

As with every dish, Sai Bhaji is prepared in different ways. I have seen some recipes which include garlic, corriander powder and dill leaves. But I have never tried adding these to the bhaji. Maybe I should experiment and try adding them and see how different it tastes from my version. You can add any vegetables you want and I think carrots, lauki(doodhi) and eggplant are added and will go quite well with the bhaji but I dont add them. I also dont get khatta leaves (green sorrel) here. So i just leave it out and garnish the bhaji with lemon juice instead.

Here is the recipe for my version of Sai Bhaji. You can ofcourse add / subtract the quantities as per your taste.I normally just eyeball the ingredients but have noted them down just for posting on the blog.

 

Ingredients

• 5 - 6 tbsp channa dal
• 11 oz packet of organic spinach
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1/4 tsp asafoetida powder
• 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
• 2 green chilles minced
• 1 inch piece of ginger grated
• 1 onion chopped fine
• 1 potato cubed
• 2 Roma tomatoes
• 1/2 - 1 tsp Red chilli powder
• 1/2 tsp lemon juice
• oil for tadka
• salt to taste

Method

1. Soak channa dal in water for 30-45 minutes.
2. Heat oil in a pressure cooker. Add the asafoetida, turmeric powder, cumin seeds, minced green chillies and grated ginger and fry for some time.
3. Add onions and fry them for some time. Add tomatoes, cubed potatoes, chopped spinach and the channa dal.
4. Add red chilli powder and salt.
5. Add 2 cups water . Close the lid and pressure cook for upto 3-4 whisltes.
6. After some time open the cooker lid, add more water if required to get the desired consistency and mix the bhaji with a whisk. Add the lemon juice.
7. Serve hot with brown rice / rice and boondi raita.