Sarso ka saag

Hello HTS community

Sarso ka saag is a mix of seasonal leafy greens into an amazing curry. Every household has its own recipe, and I have one with ingredients easily available in rest of India and abroad. So, I generally go for a mix of sarso saag (mustard leaves), palak (spinach) and mooli ke patte (radish leaves). Wash them thoroughly, chop roughly and cook them on slow heat for hours. The slow heat is what turns these peppery, slightly bitter leaves into a flavor bomb.

What’s Indian winter without Sarso ka Saag and Makki ki roti? I am just a big big fan of this traditional recipe from North India and just can’t imagine winters without it. The recipe is simple but it takes its own time to develop flavors. Also, saag is a powerhouse of nutrients and keeps well for a week when refrigerated. To make it vegan, substitute ghee with mustard oil, and skip the butter for garnish.

Ingredients you will need:

• Sarso saag (Mustard leaves)- 1 bundle
• Palak (Spinach)- 1 bundle
• Mooli ke patta (Radish leaves)- 1 bundle
• Onions- 1+2, roughly chopped
• Garlic- 2+4 cloves, roughly chopped
• Mustard oil- 2 teaspoon
• Rai (Mustard seeds)- 1/2 teaspoon
• Salt- to taste
• Water- as required
• Ghee (Clarified butter) – 1 tablespoon
• Green chilies- 3, finely chopped
• Haldi (Turmeric powder)- 1 teaspoon
• Lal mirch (Red chili powder)- 1 teaspoon
• Dhaniya (Coriander powder)- 2 teaspoon
• Makke ka atta (Maize flour)- 2 teaspoon
• Kali mirch (Black peppercorn)- 6
• Laung (Cloves)- 3
• Ginger- 1 inch
• Sugar- 1/2 teaspoon
• Makkhan (White butter)- 1 teaspoon, for garnish

Steps:

• Start with washing the leafy greens (mustard, spinach and radish leaves) thoroughly, you can soak the leaves in salted water for 10 minutes, and then drain the water. Remove stocks and chop the leaves roughly.
• In a heavy bottom pot, heat mustard oil and add mustard seeds, 2 cloves of garlic and 1 onion chopped. Cook at medium heat for 2 minutes until lightly golden.
• Add the chopped leaves in the pot and keep mixing. Add salt and enough water to cover the greens, approximately an inch above the level of greens.
• Cook this mixture on low heat for about 2 hours, stirring occasionally, add more water if required in between. The greens would have softened by now with a mellow flavor. Our base is now ready, you can either refrigerate this mixture and prepare tadka (tempering) later, or cook tadka simultaneously.

• For the tadka, start with heating ghee in a pot, and add 2 chopped onions and 4 garlic cloves. Cook until golden.
• Add chopped tomatoes and green chilies and cook until ghee separates. To this, add turmeric, red chilies powder, coriander powder and makke ka atta (maize flour), mix well. The maize flour will bind saag in a thick and creamy consistency.
• Time to put the prepared greens mixture to the tomato-onion paste, grate the ginger piece in it as well.
• In a mortar & pestle grind black peppercorns and cloves and add it to the saag. Cook for 15 minutes on low heat, add sugar and adjust salt as per taste.
• Cook for another 15-20 minutes as the saag thickens. Garnish with white butter and serve hot with makke ki roti (Indian maize flour bread), gud (jaggery) and mooli (radish).