Sarson ka Saag, a winter staple in the Northern parts of India, is a spicy buttery mustard greens preparation just popping with flavors.  While these pungent greens are simmering,  it is  mashed using an old school wooden spoon, giving a nice rustic yet creamy texture to this dish.  It is classically served with makki ki roti (a flat bread made with maize flour) and topped of with a dollop of unsalted butter.

Leafy greens such as mustard, spinach, fenugreek and many more  are in abundance at this time of the year and can be incorporated in many healthy and delicious  recipes, one such recipe is this saag.

If eaten on their own mustard greens can be quite bitter and pungent, so in this recipe while mustard greens are the major component, a few other kinds of greens are added to balance the flavors out. As with any other recipe, everyone will have their own variations for sarson ka saag and here is how I do it. Vegans can enjoy this dish by omitting butter and ghee.

 

 

 

Ingredients

2 bunches of Mustard greens – ( washed and chopped ).

1 small bunch of spinach – ( washed and chopped ).

1/2 bunch of fenugreek – ( washed and chopped ) you may omit if you don’t find fenugreek.

1/2 bunch of chenopodium –  (washed and chopped ) can be replaced by white chard.

1 shallot – finely chopped.

1 turnip -peeled and diced.

1 inch ginger – finely chopped.

2 cloves of garlic – chopped.

2 to 3 green chillies – chopped (Serrano maybe used )

1/4 tsp of Asafoetida – (optional)

Salt to taste.

2 table spoons of cornmeal flour.

For tempering:

4 cloves of garlic – chopped

3 table spoon of ghee or oil

I am using an instant pot to make this dish , you may use a pot to make this, just adjust the cooking time .

Wash all your greens 2 to 3 times in cold water and chop them. In your instant pot add all your greens, ginger, tomato, turnip, shallot, green chili, 2 cloves garlic and a cup of water. Cook all this for 10 mins on manual setting or until everything is soft and tender. Add salt to taste and a pinch of Asafoetida (if using). At this point  I start to mash the saag with my wooden masher and dry out some of the liquid. Once that starts to happen, add the corn meal flour one tablespoon at time while you still keep mashing. If you are using an electric hand blender you may mash the greens first dry out some of the liquid  and then add the flour. If you desire a nice rustic texture to your greens, while using the hand electric blender make sure you don’t puree the greens completely. Transfer saag to large bowl that can hold all of it.

For Tempering heat 3 tablespoons of ghee/or oil and add the 4 cloves chopped garlic. Once the garlic starts to turn pink add the saag to the tempering and quickly cover and cook for 2 mins to incorporate all the flavors. Serve hot with a dollop of butter and makki ki roti (maize flour flat bread) or any other flat bread. enjoy !

Included the picture of my wooden masher 🙂