Sarson ka saag recipe
Equipment
- pressure cooker
Ingredients
Boiling Saag
- 1 Kgs Mustard leaves/ Sarson Rinsed , washed , and roughly chopped/ or use 1 can of saag
- 500 gms spinach leaves refer notes in the post
- 1 whole garlic cloves
- 2-3 inch slice of ginger
- 4-5 green chillies
- 1/8 tsp hing (asafoetida powder)
- Salt to taste
First tempering/ tadka
- 2 tbsp Mustard oil
- 2-3 whole red chillies or use 1 tsp chilli flakes
- 1 tsp cumin seeds / Jeera
- a handful crushed kasoori methi leaves
Tempering/ Tadka
- 4-5 Tbsp Ghee
- 2 onions chopped
- 2-3 green chillies chopped
- Other ingredients (ginger/ garlic / tomato ) optional Read post and notes for details
Instructions
Cleaning and cooking the mustard leaves
- Rinse all the leaves , along with the stems (If the stems are tender , no need to throw them, you can use them ).Rinse with enough water around 4-5 times making sure any soil is removed.Roughly separate from the stems, tear them and these are ready to be prepared.
Preparing the saag for blending
- In a pressure cooker add the leaves, roughly chopped ginger, garlic, green chillies, salt, and hing.
- Do not add water, as the leaves will release enough moisture . Now pressure cook on slow heat for almost 30 -40 minutes.
- Let the saag cool down. If there is some water, just pass it through the sieve and keep aside. Do not throw the water.
- To the saag mix, add Makki ka aata( cornmeal). Mix well and blend the saag roughly with a hand blender , ensuring there are no lumps.We do not want a very smooth paste like consistency . Just blend/ grind it enough not to make a smooth paste
- Then cook saag on low heat stirring continuously binding it together with the cornmeal flour. Cook it till the raw taste of the flour goes away.ensuring that makki ka aata is cooked properly and has no raw taste
First tempering / Tadka
- Heat some mustard oil to its smoking point- Instructions in the post.
- In the oil add Jeera (cumin seeds), Whole red chillies (or chilli flakes if you want a mild heat), kasoori methi . Let everything crackle for a few seconds and add it to the cooked saag, and mix well.
Second tempering/ Tadka
- Heat ghee.
- Fry chopped chillies for 2-3 minutes in ghee
- Add chopped onions to it. Fry till the onions are golden brown.
- Add a little deghi mirchi powder (for a nice colour). Immediately add it to the cooked hot saag.Mix well.
- Serve saag topped with white butter , butter or ghee with a side of hot Makki rotis, raddish ,and some green chillies .
Notes
Instructions to use mustard oil
Mustard oil is most often heated in the pan, with no other ingredients, until it reaches a temperature where the first wisps of smoke appear (about 480°F/250°C). Immediately take it off the heat and allow to cool to a more reasonable frying temperature (around 360°F/180°C) before adding other ingredients. This procedure removes the acrid taste of the raw oil and renders it quite pleasant.
Storing and freezing saag
After the mustard oil tadka, or even after the ghee tadka, the saag can be easily stored in the fridge or frozen. If you want to store for longer, take out the amount of saag you want to use immediately and freeze the rest in a container.
Keep it in the freezer. Thaw it on the day you want to use. Heat it thoroughly . Prepare fresh tadka with simple ghee and deghi mirchi powder or ghee and onions (check more options for tempering in the post), and serve it. It will be even more delicious than the first time.