Sarson Ka Saag - An Authentic Punjabi Recipe of Spicy Mustard Greens

Sarson Ka Saag - Indeed a magical winter dish!  A traditional Punjabi Recipe of Mustard leaves or greens cooked in ghee, butter, with other leafy greens. Boiled and tossed with spices, makki ka atta and tempered with loads of garlic and red chilies. Sharing this fool proof delicious sarso ka saag recipe that will bowl you over!

Having that tendering bite of sarso ka saag loaded with authentic Punjabi flavour, is pleasing to eyes and luscious to palate. The mouth - watering beginning with dried red chili and garlic tadka itself states the taste of the meal.

The wonderful coarse texture and the natural colour of leafy vegetables is extremely mesmerising to see as well as serve. Yes, this is how an amazing winter meal looks like.

The best combination to sarso ka saag is none other than Makki Ki Roti, a cornmeal flat bread.

Sarson Ka Saag

Also known as Sarson da saag in Punjabi, is cooked with only few ingredients but flavourful. An authentic taste from the backyards of North India, it is an ultimate vegetarian dish to satisfy all your taste buds.

Well, going into the detail of the dish, sarson ka saag is traditionally cooked with combination of other saag i.e spinach saag (palak), Bathua saag (goosefoot) and sometimes even with radish saag (mooli) and fenugreek saag (methi)

Most noteworthy, ideally, palak and bathua are added to cut the bitterness or I would rather say it as to balance the extreme pungency.

Do you want to make sarso ka saag without spinach or bathua? Then skip any one of them or add radish greens to it instead. Provided, you may find the slight alter in taste as the sarson da saag recipe is an amalgam of specific saag mix. So, go on ahead with whatever suits you.

By now, you must have known that Sarso ka saag is referred to as Mustard greens in English. (mustard=sarso and greens=saag) 🙂

How do you make sarso ka saag recipe?

1. To make sarso ka saag recipe, I have takes a combination of sarso saag, palak saag, and bathua saag in the ratio of 2:1:1
2. First, we clean the  mix saag, wash it very well and then chop it. 
3. Then, we boil all the saag mix with green chilies.
4. Now, blend it into a coarse puree. You can either do it in a mixer, or use hand blender. Traditionally, blending is done using wooden whisk to which we call mathani in Hindi.
5. Then, cook the saag in butter and ghee with onions, mooli, tomatoes, and spices like red chillies, turmeric, ginger garlic, cumin seeds.
6. Finally, for sarso ke saag ka tadka (tempering ), heat ghee, add garlic and dried red chilies, fry and pour over the saag.
7. Top it with blob of butter. Serve the lip smacking Sarson Ka Saag with makki ki roti and jaggery along the side.

How to Clean and Cut Sarson ka Saag?

Before heading forward, I have to tell you that, making sarson ka saag indeed has NO SHORT CUTS! And, I am not afraid at all to say that, if you want to devour the traditional majestic sarson saag recipe, then you have to DEVOTE TIME into it. 

Well, the cleaning, washing and cutting can be done a day before. To begin with, chop of the roots of the greens, and sort them well.

Once the leaves are sorted well, take a huge utensil filled with clean water, then all the leaves into it. Allow it to soak for good 4-5 minutes. This will help in settling the dirt and mud at the bottom.

Now, carefully take the saag out, and discard the water. Repeat this process for at least 3 times. you may need to do it more even for 5 times until water runs clear.

Finally, keep the saag in a colander or on clean kitchen towel to drain off the excess water. Now, chop them and proceed with making the recipe of sarso ka saag.

Important Tips to make best sarson ka saag recipe

1. Always, clean and wash sarso ka saag very well before proceeding with the recipe.
2. You can do the cleaning, washing and even boiling of saag, a day before and keep.
3. Sarson leaves may have thick stems, you can either discard it, or if you are cooking with it, then chop them finely and cook well.
4. Traditionally, sarson ka saag was boiled in earthen pots for authentic taste. But, I have boiled them in a vessel and not pressure cooker. You can surely go on ahead with boiling of saag by pressure cook method.
5. Always, make sarson ka saag recipe either in ghee or butter or a mix of both, for the best of the flavours.
6. Adjust the spiciness of the dish as per you liking.
7. I usually prefer coarsely pureed texture of the saag to indulge in every bite of it. But, you can choose to puree it either fine or coarse
8. To make sarso ka saag without onion and garlic, simply, skip both from the recipe and proceed with the rest

Can we freeze sarso ka saag?

Yes, we can easily freeze boiled and coarsely pureed sarson ka saag in a clean airtight container upto 2 months. It stays very well without loosing any flavour. Whenever you wish to make the saag recipe, then thaw it first in refrigerator overnight then on the counter for an hour, proceed with the recipe.

How to serve Sarson ka saag

SERVE Sarson ka saag with delicious Makki Ki Roti, Divine Match!

 DO NOT forget to top the saag with lots of white butter or yellow butter for best taste. Also, serve some jaggery, radish and onions on the side

Variations of Sarson Saag

These saag recipes like Sarson ka Saag aur Mah Ki Dal, Bathuey ki Dal, Methi ka Raita are winter oriented and is majorly served in the northern India.

You can simply add paneer cubes to make sarson saag paneer. Combine sarson saag with mince mutton or lamb to make keema sarson ka saag recipe

Add it along with loads of tomato to mutton or chicken to make semi dry preparations.

 How to Make Sarson ka Saag - Step by Step

First of all, clean the leaves well and wash thoroughly but gently to remove all the dirt.  Drain them well and chop them roughly  

In a heavy bottom pan, put all the greens together along with roughly chopped green chilies (photo 1 below)

Add ½ cup water, cover and cook until the leaves are done well (photo 2)

Note: The water released from the greens will cook the greens well. It took me good 15 minutes to cook the greens in the pot

Once greens are done, cool them a bit and process them into processor or blender to puree it coarsely (photo 3)

Add makki ka atta and mix well (photo 4)

To cook sarso ka saag:

In a heavy bottom Handi or kadhai, heat together butter and ghee. Add cumin seeds and allow it to crackle. Now, add whole red chilies and fry for another few seconds

Now, Add garlic and ginger, green chillies, fry until they are aromatic. Then, add heeng and mix. Add onion and fry until just pink.

Once the onion turns soft, add grated mooli and cook for another minute. Add tomato and sauté on high until they are soft. 

Now, add boiled saag puree and combine well. Then, add red chilli powder and turmeric powder and mix. Cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally

For tadka, Heat ghee in a pan, add garlic and fry, add red chilies and fry for few seconds. Pour the tadka over the saag. Dish out and top with some butter or ghee and serve Sarson ka Saag with Makki ki Roti.

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Sarson Ka Saag

Sarson Ka Saag - Indeed a magical winter dish!  A traditional Punjabi Recipe of Mustard leaves or greens cooked in combination with other leafy greens. Boiled, tossed and then tempered with garlic and chilies, sharing this delicious sarso ka saag recipe that will bowl you over!

Course Main Course

Cuisine Indian, Punjabi

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 45 minutes minutes

Servings 6

Calories 181kcal

Author Farrukh Aziz

Ingredients

 

1x2x3x

• ▢ 300 grams mustard greens ((Sarson ka Saag))
• ▢ 100 grams spinach ((Palak))
• ▢ 100 grams Bathua ((goose foot greens))
• ▢ 2-3 green chilies (roughly chopped)
• ▢ 1 onion (finely chopped)
• ▢ ¼ cup radish (grated)
• ▢ 1 tomato (finely chopped)
• ▢ 3-4 garlic cloves (chopped)
• ▢ 1 inch ginger ( grated)
• ▢ ½ teaspoon turmeric powder
• ▢ 1 tablespoons cumin seeds
• ▢ ½ teaspoon chili powder
• ▢ 2-3 dried red chilies (whole)
• ▢ 4 tablespoons makki ka atta ((corn meal))
• ▢ Pinch of Heeng ((Asafoetida))
• ▢ Salt to taste
• ▢ 2 tablespoons ghee 
• ▢ 1 tablespoon butter

For sarso ka saag tadka

• ▢ 5-6 garlic cloves (finely sliced)
• ▢ 1-2 red chilies
• ▢ 2 tablespoon ghee

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Instructions

• In a heavy bottom pan, put all the greens together along with roughly chopped green chilies. 
• Add ½ cup water, cover and cook until the leaves are done well Note: The water released from the greens will cook the greens well. It took me good 20 minutes to cook the greens in the pot
• Once greens are done, cool them a bit and process them into processor or blender to puree it coarsely
• Add makki ka atta and mix well
• In a heavy bottom Handi or kadhai, heat together butter and ghee. Add cumin seeds and allow it to crackle. Now, add whole red chilies and fry for another few seconds 
• Add garlic and ginger, green chillies, fry until they are aromatic. Then add heeng and mix. Then, add onion and fry until just pink.
• Now, add grated mooli and cook for another minute.
• Add tomato and sauté on high until they are soft. 
• Now, add boiled saag puree and combine well.
• Then, add red chili powder and turmeric powder and mix.
• Cook for 10-15 minutes on low, stirring occasionally.
• For tadka, heat ghee in a pan, add garlic and fry, add red chilies and fry for few seconds. Pour the tadka over the saag.
• Dish out and top with some butter or ghee and serve Sarson ka Saag with Makki ki Roti.

Nutrition

Calories: 181kcal | Carbohydrates: 14g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Cholesterol: 30mg | Sodium: 113mg | Potassium: 544mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 5000IU | Vitamin C: 63.1mg | Calcium: 113mg | Iron: 2.9mg

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