Can anyone tell me what a saag bhaji is and what the main ingrediant is? Cheers (its for a quiz for charity)

Saag, Sag or even Saaj (as spellings are very much dependent on who/where/when people have seen it..)

Is Spinach, and a bhaji is taken in England to be what is known as "Pakora".. a spicy batter mix that the ingredients are mixed up in (or coated with, depending on the ingredients) and then deep fried..

hope you do will for the charity...

(ps if you want a recipe, look for pakoras with the SEARCH facility... at the moment there isn't one for Saag, but it will give you the idea)

By the way, Bhaji in its real(Indian) terms just means a vegetable mix/dish.. usually as a starter/side order..

Hello Amy

Depends on who is judging your quiz. If it is someone who knows Hindi, the word 'saag' means a green/leafy vegetable, mostly spinach. The word 'Bhaji' is used for either a fresh vegetable or a cooked vegetable dish. So, 'Sag bhaji' will be a vegetarian dish, cooked with a leafy vegetable like spinach. They may even describe it as 'Curried Spinach' or 'Spinach Curry'. Often it is cooked with potatoes.

In UK, Saag Bhaji/Bhajia may also be used to describe spinach fritters/pakoras by some restaurants, as in .onion Bhaji.. But, this is not a correct use of the word.

Good luck with you Charity Quiz!

Hello Steven

All the words for spinach that you have given are correct, except .saaj., which mean a .musical instrument., usually a string instrument. The word Bhaji has nothing to do with the word .starter. but you never know in England ;-)!

Mamta

Mamta I'm sure you are quite correct with the Saag, Saaj etc.. but as I mentioned it gets miss spelt, (translated differently etc) depending on who, what and where.. If you look for Saaj it does come up with hits against spinach as many people obviously use that spelling incorrectly or not... :-)

and the Bhaji bit about being a starter was merely an observation about how its used in England.. not that it actually means its a starter...

Oddly though.. Saag being green/leafy vegetables and Saaj being a musical instrument... we call "peas" .."musical fruit" but thats another topic entirely... LOL

LOL! Saag and saaj saga!! It sounds almost like poetry :-)!

I was only teasing you Steven! Of course, many words get spelt differently from other languages.

What is this about musical peas, tell me more?

Mamta

lets just say that the effects of peas earned them the name "musical fruit" and it you wanted to know which section of the orchestra to put them in, try the wind section... LOL

"Beans, beans, the musical fruit.

The more you eat, the more you toot!"

Bart Simpson :-)

Jesus Djkrysa!!!

Well, whatever you call it, I like it in any form, size and shape. You name it, I have tried it- just sag, aloo sag, meat sag, chicken sag, yoghurt sag, sag roti and anything else you can throw at me. Good recipes Mamta by the way!

Dan