What makes winter months the most exciting for any foodie? The local markets are taken over by the variety of beautiful nutritious greens.
From the tender baby palak (spinach) to the world famous sarsoon (mustard) to the lesser known varieties like bathua (lamb quarter) in the Northern plains of Delhi, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh, to the beautiful Kashmiri greens like haaq (Collard Greens), sochal ( whose English name I haven’t figured yet), winters are any foodie’s delight.
In the South there is a range of greens that come to the market - basale soppu (Malabar Spinach), gongura, brahmi and many more. It is a delight to spend time with the vegetable vendor. In winters, her stand is brimming with stuff and I find it really hard to decide which ones to buy every week.
A friend from Calcutta tells me that that shaakh (bengali word for saag) in the winter months is pretty special in Bengal too. It becomes an integral part of their eating and people enjoy it with almost every meal.
And winter greens aren’t limited to only the green leafy vegetables. There are other winter specials like green peas, cholia (fresh garbanzo beans) and cauliflower, without which winter really won’t be complete.