Cooking the mustard green

Mustard green, locally known as Rayo ko saag in Nepali, is one of the most popular green vegetables in Nepal. Almost every household cook this vegetable throughout the year. It is locally available and the vegetable market is usually adorned with this green leafy vegetable bundled up in a doko (traditional bamboo bucket used for carrying grass and sometimes people in the hilly areas where there is lack of transportation).



There are basically two types of mustard green, one is young mustard green, known only as rayo and another is well grown with steam and is locally called Duku or rayoko duku. However, the process for cooking both types is same, except for the process involved in cutting and readying the saag.

Ingredients:

1 mutha (bundle) Mustard Green (rayoko saag)

1 tsp thyme seed

Salt to taste

2 whole pieces red chili

1 tbsp mustard oil

1 tbsp finely crushed ginger

Procedure:

First of all, break off the roof of the mustard greens and wash it properly (check both sides carefully for mud or worms). Cut it into small pieces and if you are preparing duku then, break the stems and stripe out the fibers from the stems properly and cut it into small pieces. Now, heat the oil in a pan and add thyme seed when the oil is heated. Break the red chili into two halves and put it in the oil carefully. Add the saag when the chili turns golden brown. Now, add salt over it and mix it well. Stir the saag occasionally. It starts to shed water after some times. Let the water dry and then, add ginger and mix it well with the mustard green. Let it cook for a minute or so and then turn off the gas stove. Your rayoko saag is ready to eat.