Sarson ka saag/Punjabi style Sarson ka saag- is a winter special dish mainly served with Makka ki roti and homemade butter, very popular in north India, especially in Punjab state. It is a blended curry of green vegetable leaves made with mainly Sarson, palak, methi, bathua, and radish leaves.
About the recipe
The recipe of saag is quite easy but the pre-preparation needs a lot of time and patience. First, we have to do sorting, washing and chopping of all the vegetables. Then do boiling, blending, and further cooking is a time-consuming process. Finally, the result is a delicious curry that makes your taste buds happy.
In the making of this saag recipe, we need mainly five vegetables- Mustard or sarson, Spinach or palak, Chenopodium or bathua, Fenugreek leaves or methi, and radish leaves in a calculated proportion.
What should be the proportion of greens in the saag recipe
As, it is called sarson ka saag, so half of the proportion comes from sarson leaves then little more than one fourth comes from palak and the rest one fourth is bathua, methi, and radish leaves. To enhance the digestion and taste we also add ginger, garlic, green chillies, and coriander leaves.
Some people also add green chana leaves or tomato to give a tangy taste to the saag. Although they enhanced the flavour and taste. But you can add these only if you are going to finish the saag immediately because if you store it for a long time, the taste become rancid due to the presence of tartaric acid. or you can add tomato in tadka and enjoy the tangy taste.
What is the role of adding makka atta flour to the saag
To give a thickness and nutty taste we add makka atta flour mixture to the saag. In the desi language it is called “aalan” After grinding, transfer saag to pan and cook further for few minutes. We can add either makka flour mixture or if it is not available add chana atta mixture to the saag and stir continously till it well blended with the saag. Now cook saag till the flour is cookewd well.
What to do for a long shelf life
For a longer shelf life of the saag only use mustard, spinach, bathua, methi, and radish leaves, don’t add chana leaves or tomatoes. To give a tangy flavour add tomatoes to the tadka only.
I also observed that the taste of saag improves when we eat it after a day or more. It is a winter special dish mainly served at lunchtime with Makka ki roti(maize flour chapatti) and fresh homemade butter with a glass of lassi.
How to store sarson ka saag
Once the saag is cooked, we can store it for up to a week in the refrigerator. Take out the amount you required, add tadka to it and enjoy. We can also freeze saag for 1-2 months. Pack saag in ziplock bags and freeze them. When needed just thaw it and add tadka and serve.
Step by step preparation of sarson ka saag
- First, sort and clean all the greens. Chop off the lower thick ends of the mustard stems just a few centimetres from the base. The same has been done with spinach and radish stems, keep them aside. Sort methi and bathua leaves, remove the hard stem and keep the part with leaves.
2. Then wash them with water several times till no dirt is left. Transfer to a basket with holes to strain out extra water.
3. Chop them and transfer them to a pressure cooker. Add chopped ginger, garlic, green chillies, salt, and water. Close the lid and pressure cook up to 4-5 whistles or till the greens become soft.
4. Once the pressure is released, open the lid and let it cool a little bit.
5. Then blend them in small batches in a blender and make a medium-thick paste.
6. Transfer this paste to a deep vessel, start boiling on medium flame.
7. In a bowl, add 2-3 tbsp maize flour or black gram flour and make a paste with water. Add this to the saag and stir it continuously till the saag starts bubbling.
8. Cover the vessel and lower the flame to a low setting and cook further for 5-7 minutes. Do not forget to stir in between. Then switch off the flame and serve hot saag with maize flour chapatti and butter.
9. Let the rest of the saag cool completely and store in an airtight container and put it into the refrigerator. Next time, when you want to eat saag, prepare a tadka with onion and cumin seeds and add to the saag and enjoy!
Serving suggestion
Serve sarso ka saag with fresh homemade butter, Makki ki roti and lassi on the side. Can also be enjoyed with missi roti or multigrain chapatti as well.
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Tips and tricks
- Choose fresh greens with soft stems for making saag. As hard or tuff stems take more time to cook and leave threads after grinding.
- Add makki atta or chana atta to saag for an authentic taste. After adding you should cook it for 5-7 minutes till it is well blended with saag.
- Stir the boiling saag carefully as it will bubble hot and you will get injured.
- Add fresh homemade butter and Makki ki roti with saag for best taste.
Recipe card
Sarson ka saag/ Punjabi style sarson ka saag
Ingredients
Main ingredients
- 600 gmm sasro green mustard leaves
- 400 gm palak or spinach
- 100 gm radish leaves mooli ke patte
- 100 gm bathua leaves
- 100 gm methi leaves
- 20 gm hara dhania
- 8-10 garlic cloves
- 2 inch ginger piece
- 2-3 green chillies
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ glass water
- 2 tbsp makki atta or channe ka atta
For tadka
- 1 tbsp mustard oil
- ½ tsp cumin seeds
- 1 small onion chopped
Instructions
- First, sort and clean all the greens. Chop off the lower thick ends of the mustard stems just a few centimetres from the base. The same has been done with spinach and radish stems, keep them aside. Sort methi and bathua leaves, remove the hard stem and keep the part with leaves.
- Then wash them with water several times till no dirt is left. Transfer to a basket with holes to strain out extra water.
- Chop them and transfer them to a pressure cooker. Add chopped ginger, garlic, green chillies, salt, and water. Close the lid and pressure cook up to 4-5 whistles or till the greens become soft.
- Once the pressure is released, open the lid and let it cool a little bit.
- Then blend them in small batches in a blender and make a medium-thick paste.
- Transfer this paste to a deep vessel, start boiling on medium flame.
- In a bowl, add 2-3 tbsp maize flour or black gram flour and make a paste with water. Add this to the saag and stir it continuously till the saag starts bubbling.
- Cover the vessel and lower the flame to a low setting and cook further for 5-7 minutes. Do not forget to stir in between.
- Then switch off the flame and serve hot saag with maize flour chapatti and butter.
- Let the rest of the saag cool completely and store in an airtight container and put it into the refrigerator. Next time, when you want to eat saag, prepare a tadka with onion and cumin seeds and add to the saag and enjoy!
Video
Notes
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