Freshly cooked Sarson Ka Saag {Mustard Greens} is a much awaited meal by many Punjabis at the first sign of fall. Served with a dollop of slow churned butter and some makki-roti-cornmeal-flatbread, it's always love at first bite!
Traditionally cooked on wood burning stoves, "sarson ka saag" is a slow cooked mixture of mustard greens and spinach . Spices are not a large part of this recipe, with the pungent, peppery taste of the leafy greens reigning supreme.
Health Benefits
Rich in Vitamins, Minerals and Antioxidants, mustard greens provide a multitude of health benefits. Nutritious on their own, according to healthline.com cooked mustard greens are even more nutritious.
This is served as a filling and nutritious meal to fieldworkers for this reason. Often accompanied by "lassi" (a yogurt smoothie) this provides much needed sustenance for the laborious nature of their work.
The Recipe
Typically, the leaves and a small part of the stems are chopped and cooked along with a handful of spinach. Luckily, I can usually find a bag of pre cut, chopped mustard greens at my supermarket.
The spinach is added to reduce the pungency of the mustard greens. The ideal ratio is 2:1 (2 parts mustard greens to 1 part spinach). To that, I add the onion, garlic, ginger, green chillies and some seasoning.
Recipe Variations
The basic recipe for preparing Sarson Ka Saag is the same all across Pakistan and India, with a few minor differences. In many Indian Recipes there is often the addition of other greens, such as fenugreek along with the spinach. In addition to this, many of these recipes call for the addition of a few tablespoons of cornmeal to the cooked mixture to help thicken it.
My Method
My method is simpler as I just cook the spinach till it thickens naturally. I like my Mustard Greens to have some texture so they taste as if they were slow cooked for hours and hand mashed. Unfortunately, most of us don't have all day to cook so I do resort to my food processor for a little help.
To achieve this, I slow cook my ingredients for an hour or two to allow them time to release their natural flavors. When I puree the mustard greens, I just give them a few pulses, so they retain some texture.
This makes them taste like the authentic version, without all the hard work.
The Tempering
In order to prevent the greens from tasting like boiled and mashed vegetables, they're usually tempered at the end. Once again, I keep it simple and add only onions and garlic to my mix.
The roasted onions and garlic add delicious flavor and aroma to the Sarson Ka Saag and the oil makes the mixture creamy and velvety. Add a dollop of fresh butter on top and your Mustard Greens are ready to be served!
Sarson Ka Saag {Mustard Greens}
Ingredients
- 2 lbs mustard greens
- 1 lb baby spinach
- 1 onion
- 2 Inch piece of ginger
- 20 garlic cloves
- 4 serrano chillies
- 2 cups water
- 2 tbsps red chili powder (SEE NOTES)
- 2 tbsps salt (SEE NOTES)
INGREDIENTS FOR TEMPERING
- ¼ cup cooking oil
- ½ onion
- 10 cloves garlic
Instructions
- Add all of the ingredients along with 2 cups of water to your pot. Cover and bring to a boil.
- Once you see steam coming out of the pot, uncover and stir to mix all of the ingredients.
- Cover again and simmer on low for an hour. The vegetables will release enough water to prevent the mixture from burning.
- After an hour, uncover the pot, turn the heat up to high and dry the excess liquid.
- Once the water is dry, puree the entire mixture and then return to the pot to cook more.
- Adjust any seasoning at this point and cook till there is no water left and you have a thick, slightly textured mixture remaining in the pot.
- Heat the ¼ cup oil for tempering.
- Add the sliced onions and chopped garlic and cook them till they are dark brown and then pour the entire mix on the Saag.
- Add a small dollop of butter on top and serve.
First time ever cooking Sarsoon ka saag!! Turned out delicious. My Punjabi husband called it “authentic”
(I decreased the amount of salt and red chillies)
Thank you for such an easy and delicious recipe!
Thank You Ayesha. Glad you liked it. Salt and Chilies are often a personal preference and need to be adjusted. I will go in and make a note in the recipe for people to err on the side of caution as I tend to cook on the spicier side ?