Today we’re joined by Yogi Maharaj, a trailblazer making space for Desi cannabis lovers throughout the world. Celebrate Holi, the Hindu festival of colors, by taking home a bit of cannabis-infused culture dating back thousands of years. Yogi’s bhang-infused saag is a vegetarian delicacy that can be customized to your veggie flavor and cannabis dose preferences, and it’s a delicious, warm meal you can snack on all year round.
Bhang Infused Ghee & Saag
Happy Holi! Holi is the Hindu festival of colors. It’s a holiday honoring the end of winter and the arrival of spring. The South Asian diaspora across Fiji, the South Pacific, Caribbean, and Africa, refer to the holiday as Phagwa describing the Phalguna or 12th month of the Hindu calendar. This tradition was brought overseas in the 1830’s when Indian farmers were sold as indentured slave labor by Britain. Fun fact: this is also how bhang or cannabis migrated to places like Jamaica and Trinidad.
In South Asia, Holi is always celebrated with bhang. Bhang is consumed for medicinal and spiritual wealth; a tradition dating back thousands of years to the origins of Hinduism. Holi is a day when consuming cannabis is socially acceptable. While my family didn’t grow up with the tradition of bhang because of Britain’s discriminatory laws against cannabis in Fiji, we’ve built a lot of new traditions in America.
One of these traditions is our bhang saag. Saag is the Hindi word to describe leafy vegetables. Growing up, my dad would make huge pots of saag with a variety of greens he grew in our backyard. Mustard greens, amaranth greens, fenugreek, swiss chard, kale, all of it!
Saag is a staple South Asian dish that originated in Punjab: a state in North India that’s currently leading the farmer’s revolution in South Asia. Without the hard work of these farmers, we wouldn’t be able to celebrate the bright colors of Spring. My bhang saag is a tribute to the legacy of farmers across the world who fought and are still fighting to preserve our sacred land.
This recipe uses bhang-infused ghee to medicate our saag. The magic is in slowly adding ghee or clarified butter before turning off the heat so that the ghee browns and the greens kinda drown in the caramelized butter. Our recipe calls for bhang-infused ghee and vegetable oil (so you don’t get too high), but feel free to adjust to your preferred strength.
Recipe Yields: 4 servings
To make your Bhang Ghee you’ll need:
Ingredients:
- 2 grams cannabis
- ¼ cup clarified butter (or ghee)
Directions:
- Place your cannabis flower into the Ardent FX. Ardent has precision decarb technology, so grinding your weed is optional! Select A1 to activate the THC or CBG in your flower, or A2 to activate CBD, and press the power button. A red light means your machine is working and the light will turn green when ready.
- Add clarified butter to your decarboxylated cannabis. Return to the Ardent FX and press the M button until the Infuse button turns green. Press the power button to begin. The light will turn green when ready.
- Strain out the flower and discard, or blend it with ¼ cup of water for bhang paste that you can add to your smoothies, lattes, and salad dressings! (Yes, you can eat your weed. If you’re feeling brave, you can add it to your bhang saag, too!) Bhang apetit!
To make Bhang Saag you’ll need:
- A blender, stick blender, or handheld potato masher (this is what makes the greens “creamy”)
- Ardent Nova or FX (or just infused ghee made using another method)
Ingredients:
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 16-20 ounces any mixed greens, finely chopped (mustard, kale, swiss chard, spinach work well)
- ½ onion, diced
- 1 inch piece of ginger, grated
- 1 clove garlic, crushed
- 1 tomato, diced
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 cinnamon stick
- ¼ cup bhang infused ghee
- Salt and chili powder to taste
Directions:
- In a large pot, heat the vegetable oil under medium-high heat. Once hot, saute the onions, garlic, and ginger until golden brown.
- Add the tomatoes, cumin, and cinnamon stick; saute until soft.
- Add the greens and top with the lid. Lower the heat to medium.
- Check on your greens every 5 minutes and give them a little stir. They will slowly start to wilt, water, and turn dark green. Keep cooking them until all the water evaporates (about 15-20 minutes!)
- If you’re using a stick blender or a blender, turn the stove off and blend your greens until smooth and transfer back to pot. If you’re using a handheld potato masher, turn your stove to low heat and smash the greens while adding a teaspoon of water at a time to prevent burning.
- Turn the stove on to medium-high heat and add ¼ cup of your bhang-infused ghee. Let the ghee bubble and brown for a minute or two, then turn the stove off. Your bhang saag is ready to eat with hot basmati rice, makki roti (corn tortillas), or naan.
About Luv Kush
We founded Luv Kush to raise awareness in our community by sharing our experiences to normalize and honor our South Asian roots to ganja while uniting the global diaspora. For more bhang-infused South Asian recipes, visit our website and follow us on Instagram. Wishing you a very happy Holi and Phagwa from our home to yours!
Trying out Yogi’s bhang saag recipe? Tag us both on Instagram for the chance to be featured on our page!