Sai Taaje Thum Jo Varo, A Sindhi Winter Favourite
Sai Taaje Thum Jo Varo is a seasonal dish made from the much-anticipated green garlic that make their appearance in the markets during the winter months.
Beyond the usual suspects — koki, kadhi chaawal, dal pakwaan — Sindhi cuisine remains largely unknown to the outside world. These classics are delicious, of course, which is why they have (rightfully) achieved cult status, but they hardly scratch the surface when it comes to showcasing the diversity of the cuisine. As enterprising as this community has been in the decades since the mass immigration from Undivided India, they somehow have been reticent about explaining or sharing the intricacies of their cuisine and culture with anyone, often, not even amongst each other. This recipe is but a small start in this movement. It’s distinctive to the specific sub-community that my family belongs to within the larger spectrum of the Sindhi community, called the Chhaaproo community. They largely hail from Karachi, Sindh (in present day Pakistan) and nearby towns and now live in clusters in and around Bombay and even certain towns in Gujarat.
Sai Taaje Thum Jo Varo translates to Fresh Green Garlic Vada and as the name suggests, the varo is made of delicious fresh green garlic shoots which only arrive at the markets in the deep winter months along with other highly anticipated, annual winter vegetables. It’s something we wait for all year and snap up promptly upon arrival!
The beautiful young garlic bulbs along with its green peppery shoots are pounded down in a mortar and pestle with loads of fresh coriander leaves and stalks, pungent green chillies and jaada namak (coarse sea salt) to create a vivid green and coarse pesto.
The magical balance in this dish comes from the quintessential Sindhi and Punjabii ingredient, anardana. Called daadoon khatta in Sindhi, it is much like the Marathi daadimba. Dried and crushed pomegranate seeds are perhaps an inheritance from the cuisine of ancient Persia, dispersed through the Indus Valley Civilization. It’s the anardana that brings that innate khattaas (tartness)to the heavily spiced Amritsari chhole, Sindhi koki and even this Sai Thum jo Varo.
When fried, it has a crusty dark leafy exterior and soft interior thanks to the green pesto underneath; it’s a textural beauty.
This annual appearance on our plates is never taken for granted and is lapped up with a ghee drenched Sindhi phulko; maybe even some dal to go with, all with much excitement, at least once a week, in the winter months.
During the rest of the year, one could even put together a very convincing replacement of the green garlic varo with tender green cauliflower stalks and regular garlic bulbs; but this taajo thum is certainly worth the wait. If you are lucky enough to spot it at your market, do not think twice before picking it up. Other than this wonderful varo, green garlic can be used to garnish your everyday dal and khichdi for a fresh garlicky finish. It’s also an important ingredient in the Gujarati Undiyoo. You could make a chutney out it, even stuff it into your parathas with some salt, chillies and ghee for the best seasonal winter breakfast.
Note: If anardana is not available, the same amount of amchoor (dry mango powder) is a great substitute.
Recipe: Sai Taaje Thum Jo Varo
(Makes 5-6 varas)
Ingredients
100 grams fresh green garlic
50 grams chopped coriander leaves and stalks (two generous handfuls)
7 dark green pungent chillies, cut into large pieces
1.5 - 2 teaspoons crushed anardana (dried pomegranate seeds)
3 tablespoons aata (whole wheat flour)
Oil for frying
Salt to taste
Method
Wash and clean the fresh green garlic. Chop away their white fibres, leaving only the garlic bulbs and the green shoots and then finely chop it.
Add the fresh green garlic, chopped coriander and green chillies with some salt to a mortar and pestle and pound down to a chutney texture. A regular grinder can also be easily used for this, if care is taken not to liquify the mixture and keep it solid and coarse. I find that a manual chilli crusher machine with blades also works really well.
If using a mortar and pestle, layering of the materials one by one after a few poundings works well not to overcrowd the mortar, if you have a medium-small sized one.
Add the crushed anardana last and mix through.
You may want to have a taste at this stage to check for and adjust seasoning, tartness from anardana, pungency levels of the chillies and the herbaceous fresh hit from the greens, which should all strike a good balance.
Decant into a bowl, dust with the whole wheat flour and mix well. It should form a paste-like mixture, not too watery, which can be patted together.
Oil your hands. Take small amounts of the mixture, roll into round balls and pat it down with your hands into a round patty.
Heat adequate oil in a kadai for deep frying. The oil should be completely heated through before adding in the varas. Adding it into cold oil will cause the vara to disintegrate into the oil. Adding it to smoking hot oil will have it turn black and burn immediately.
Once the oil is heated through but not to smoking hot, deep fry the varas on a medium high heat until they turn deep dark green and lightly crisp (but not black) on both sides.
Serve with ghee phulkas with a side of dal or tamaatar ka ras or as is, if you please.
Amrita Amesur is a corporate lawyer by profession and is deeply passionate about food. She has spent the last few months dedicatedly scribing, studying and documenting all of her family’s food experiences while learning to develop her own voice as a cook and a writer. You can follow her adventures on Instagram.
ALSO ON THE GOYA JOURNAL
