Sarson ka Saag, Curried Mustard Leaves

Name: Sarson ka Saag, Curried Mustard Leaves
Ingredients: 500 gm. ‘sarson ka sag’ (green mustard leaves). You can cook it with Kale leaves, cut off and discard thick, central leaf stalk.; 100 gm. fresh spinach or palak leaves; 100 gm. fenugreek or methi leaves (if fresh not available, use 2 tbs. dry 'kasoori methi'; 2 inch piece ginger, peeled and finely chopped (1 heaped tbs. grated). Pieces of ginger, rather than ground ginger, taste nice in this dish.; 3-4 cloves garlic, peeled and grated or finely chopped (optional); 2-3 green chillies, or to taste, finely chopped; 1 level tsp. turmeric powder; Salt to taste; 2 tbsp. maize/corn meal (flour) or makka atta; 2 tsp. sugar; <b>For tempering:</b>; 2-3 tbsp. ghee or olive oil; 1 tsp. cumin seeds; A pinch of hing or asafoetida; 2 medium onions (250-300 gm.), peeled and grated or chopped finely.; 3-4 whole dry red chillies; 1/4-1/2 tsp. chilli powder (to taste)

Sarson ka Sag

Mamta Gupta

IndianMainVegetarian

This dish originally comes from the Punjab region of India, but is now popular all over Northern India. During mustard growing season, green fields of Punjab and North India are covered with ‘sarson ke phool’, the yellow mustard flowers. Green leaves of mustard are used like spinach and made into a delicious sag/saag. It is served by many Dhabas, the roadside, truckers restaurants in northern India.

Serves 4-6

Edited August 2023

Ingredients

500 gm. ‘sarson ka sag’ (green mustard leaves). You can cook it with Kale leaves, cut off and discard thick, central leaf stalk.
100 gm. fresh spinach or palak leaves
100 gm. fenugreek or methi leaves (if fresh not available, use 2 tbs. dry 'kasoori methi'
2 inch piece ginger, peeled and finely chopped (1 heaped tbs. grated). Pieces of ginger, rather than ground ginger, taste nice in this dish.
3-4 cloves garlic, peeled and grated or finely chopped (optional)
2-3 green chillies, or to taste, finely chopped
1 level tsp. turmeric powder
Salt to taste
2 tbsp. maize/corn meal (flour) or makka atta
2 tsp. sugar
For tempering:
2-3 tbsp. ghee or olive oil
1 tsp. cumin seeds
A pinch of hing or asafoetida
2 medium onions (250-300 gm.), peeled and grated or chopped finely.
3-4 whole dry red chillies
1/4-1/2 tsp. chilli powder (to taste)

Instructions

Clean and wash mustard, fenugreek and spinach leaves well. Drain and chop roughly.
Boil the leaves with garlic, ginger, green chillies, turmeric, salt and a little water for 20-30 minutes. You can pressure cook them for 4-5 whistles/pressures/minutes. Turn heat off and cool.
Place in a blender, along with corn flour, and grind to a paste.
Cook in a pan for a further 10-15 minutes, with the lid closed (it splashes a lot), until it is bubbling gently. It should be of custard like or of a pouring consistency.
Tempering or tarka:
Heat ghee or oil in a tarka ladle or small pan.
Add cumin seeds and asafoetida and wait for seeds to splutter or turn brown.
Add onions and fry until nicely browned. Add whole red chillies and chilli powder, stir quickly with a small spoon and pour over the hot sag.
Serve hot, with Makka Roti (corn bread) or Tandoori Roti or Missi Roti or Millet Flour Roti and a piece of jagary or gur, with lashings of fresh butter.

Notes

If you can't get hold of mustard leaves, fresh 'cabbage greens' leaves are a reasonable substitute.

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