Sarson da Saag – a family recipe from Punjab

Saag as mentioned elsewhere on the blog (this Haak ka Saag is delicious!) is a staple during the winter months in Punjab and, Punjabi households wherever they may be. I do not recall one winter when my parents didn’t make saag. It was on the menu, as often as possible, while the supply of mustard greens lasted. Sarson da Saag is made using sarson i.e. mustard greens, spinach or bathua and methi and served with makki di roti – corn flatbread.

When I wrote about Saag the first time I detailed what its meant to me and winters in Punjab. The word saag, in Hindi and other Indian languages, refers to a variety of greens cooked in varied ways. While the consumption of mixed greens is not unique to Punjab, this preparation definitely is!

Sarson da Saag – Punjabi for Sarson ka Saag – is a simple dish. But like most cooking it is slightly difficult to get right. The ingredients used matter as in any other recipe and also the way they are cooked and blended. So, let’s break it down to its constituent parts before the recipe.

Select the best greens for good Sarson ka Saag

Saag is made of greens and fresh, in-season leaves make the best saag. If there is one principle to follow for making good saag each time, it is this. That’s it. The greens used in saag are:

1. Sarson or Mustard Greens/Oriental Mustard
2. Palak or Spinach
3. Methi or Fenugreek
4. Bathua/Baathu or Goosefoot

Notes on the greens:

• Mustard greens used in saag are similar to the mustard grown for seeds and oil. If you were to sow some Rai/Mustard seeds you would get tall plants that will produce yellow flowers and broad leaves closer to the bottom. Though there is a huge variety and some leaves might be thin and wiry. These are often called rai ka saag. For sarson ka saag you typically need a fresh bunch of the broad leaves. Here, in the US, I can easily find curly leaf mustard (image on left, above) that is very commonly used in Chinese cuisine. Its just as peppery as sarson found in India. There are many kinds of mustard greens and they overlap in flavor. So go for it!
• Baathu/Bathua/Goosefoot is an easily grown weed. Yes, weed but it is edible and almost similar to spinach in flavor and texture. Though I have to admit I’ve never eaten raw baathu unlike spinach which is a great salad green. Growing up my parents preferred using spinach in saag instead of baathu. I learned recently that bathua is a cheaper alternative and can be grown very easily. So, it is often substituted for spinach in this recipe. Did you know it is related to Amaranth and Quinoa? Neither did I! Baathu is rarely available in my local Indian store, so I often use spinach too.
• Methi adds another elements of pepperiness and that slight salty tang that only this herb can produce. You know if you know! And if you don’t, please try methi in your cooking. Before you take a deep dive into this recipe perhaps try a methi paratha, makki methi roti or thepla. Or simple garnish a dish of creamy lentils or chicken with dry kasuri methi. Try to find fresh methi if you can. Most Indian stores carry it but if you cannot then go for frozen methi leaves.

Use that elbow grease if you can, or just get the blender. But read below before you do!

After the greens have been cooked, it is this step that truly defines saag. Good saag is slightly stringy and lacy with a luscious texture. The leaves and stems have to be broken down just enough to become a cohesive whole but not so much that you get a chutney like dish. In a traditional kitchen and until my mother was cooking even in her modern one, the best way to get this consistency was to use a wooden churner called madhani. As you churn the leaves cellulose and other components break down and dissolve into a thick lump. The tougher sections from tender stems might remain. Those unbroken bits provide a texture that is hard to replicate while using a blender.

Having relied on an immersion blender myself, I suggest blending in spurts of a few seconds and then stirring with a wooden spoon to break down more leafy material. This alternating technique has produced results that mimic a wooden churner of yore.

Tadka: keep it simple and savor the peppery-bitter greens

Sarson ka Saag is slightly bitter and very peppery. So the first time you taste it you might be taken aback and that is ok. Its a dish that grows on you especially as you get older and start appreciating all five tastes – sweetness, sourness, saltiness, bitterness and savoriness or umami. I like to enjoy saag without too much extra masala. I keep the tadka minimal and simple. My Naniji – maternal grandmother – shared what she adds to her saag. As my notes show above, no quantities are specified. She knew that as a home cook I’d figure them out and adjust to my taste.

Simple peasant food from my family’s Jatt roots

Simple is the keyword in this recipe. Also missing in Naniji’s list are any ground spices. To enhance the warm notes of this recipe I sometimes limit myself to using only ginger in the tadka. You can adapt it to your tastes. But, in our Punjabi Jatt households – majority of whom are/were farmers and landowners – it is usually made as I do, sans tomatoes or overpowering spices. Homemade saag is single minded in its focus on the greens.

Recipe note:

Sarson ka saag is a no recipe recipe. Which is to say there is a certain proportionality of ingredients that will be your guide in this process. Beyond that there is scope to alter and switch between the greens and how you process and flavor them. The ratio for greens that I saw my mother and grandmother follow and I continue to use is in decreasing order; 1 part mustard to 1/2 part spinach to 1/4 part methi. So this could mean: 2 bunches mustard with 1 bunch spinach or baathu (bathua, goosefoot) and 1/2 bunch methi.

Preparation Time ~ 1 hour, Active: 45 minutes, Prep: 15 minutes

Ingredients for Sarson da Saag

For the saag:

• Sarson/Mustard leaves ~ 2 bunches
• Palak(spinach) or Bathua (goosefoot) ~ 1 bunch
• Methi/fenugreek leaves ~ 1/2 bunch
• Lehsun/Garlic 3-4 cloves
• Adrak/Ginger 1″ piece
• Hari Mirch/ Green Chillies 3-4
• Pyaaz/Onion ~ 1/2 (optional)
• Namak/Salt, to taste
• Haldi/Turmeric ~ 1 tsp
• Makki Ataa/Corn flour ~ 1 tbsp (could sub with whole wheat flour or besan)

Tadka:

• Oil or Ghee ~ 1 tbsp, (preferably mustard oil/sarson ka tel)
• Adrak/Ginger 1″ piece, chopped
• Lehsun/Garlic 2-3 cloves, chopped (optional)
• Green chillies 3-4, chopped (optional)
• Dhania/Coriander powder (optional) ~ 1/2 to 1 tsp
• Laal Mirch/Red chilli powder (optional), to taste
• Kaali Mirch/Black Pepper (optional), a few cracks
• Additional butter or ghee for serving

Let’s make Sarson da Saag

First, wash the greens in lots of water. Try to give each at least three water baths. I detail how to do this in my post on Haak ka Saag. The aim is to remove any loose dirt or debris and any rotten or wilted leaves. Once clean, trim the ends of mustard leaves. I used curly mustard which had slightly thick stalks at the base. So, I removed the ends but kept the rest of the stem intact. Bathua is usually very tender. Clean the cut off any ends that are dirty or wilted. Similarly clean spinach, if using it instead of bathua, and methi too. I like to use methi with its stems, some might prefer to pick only the leaves. Either is fine.

Clean and chop aromatics

Cut two 1 inch pieces from fresh ginger root. Wash it well. Then, finely chop one piece and keep it aside for later. Roughly slice the other one. Also, smash and peel 3-4 garlic cloves. Wash and trim 3-4 green chilies. Sometimes I add onion to my saag and sometimes I don’t. If you’d like to clean and chop half an onion.

Steam everything together

Next step is to steam all the greens with aromatics. This can be done in both, a pressure cooker or an instant pot.

Add all the greens and sliced ginger, peeled garlic, salt, turmeric, onion (if using) and green chillies to either cookware you are using. Let them warm up for a few minutes uncovered. For a pressure cooker – keep it on medium heat. While in an Instant Pot simple turn on the Sauté mode on normal for 10 minutes. In about that much time the greens will begin to wilt and release some moisture. This is enough to steam them. I do not add extra water. If you are worried about water content, add 1/4 to 1/2 cup, no more.

• Close the pressure cooker’s lid and turn the heat to high. Let it cook until the first whistle. then lower the heat to medium low and allow to cook until a second whistle. Turn off the heat and let pressure drop naturally.
• If using an Instant Pot, close the lid and turn the vent to sealed position. Turn on steam mode for 10 minutes. Allow pressure to release naturally at the end of this period.

Churn and blend the saag

Open the lids of pressure cooker or instant pot carefully. Mix the cooked greens with a wooden spoon and churn with it by continually stirring for a few minutes. You’ll find that the leaves disintegrate easily and start becoming a thick mush. This is what we want and more. Add one tablespoon of cornmeal/flour (not the thickener, the flour) to saag. Stir well and continue to cook on low heat for a few minutes. Flour will do two things: thicken the saag and also add a slight sweetness to counter the bitterness, especially corn/maize flour. I highly recommend using corn/makki atta for this. Other flours aren’t as sweet.

Then, using an immersion blender blend it slightly in short spurts. Do not over blend and make it like palak in palak paneer. It should retain some strands of steamed mustard. You can then proceed to make a tadka and serve it right away or even cool and freeze this for later. I’ve done that several times. I try to make a big batch of saag and freeze some for later which I temper just before serving.

For the tadka:

I prefer using sarson ka tel i.e. mustard oil. Elsewhere on the blog I have mentioned how this oil is used differently in Punjab and Bengal. In Punjab where the pungency of mustard isn’t common in our diets except the winter months, the oil is brought to smoking point before being used. Whereas in Bengal it is used as is. Another issue with mustard oil that has made the “For External Use Only” label common in USA is the presence of erucic acid that has been associated with development of heart disease. With this information you can decide whether to use it or not. I still do but in small quantities.

To make the tadka, heat about 1 tablespoon of oil in a pan. I do not use any seeds like zeera/cumin in this tadka and most of the time neither did my family. Once oil is hot, sauté chopped ginger and any other aromatics like garlic and green chillies. Continue to sauté until golden brown. Add any dry spices you plan to use. I did not add any.

Next, pour this tadka into the saag or if like me you froze the saag, add it to the pan and cook until combined. Serve hot with ghee or butter on top and fresh flatbread. I served it with Makki di Roti, a green chilli pickle, makhan/butter and some gur/jaggery to sweeten the meal.

Make Sarson da Saag this winter!

It’s the perfect meal to enjoy while soaking in the winter sun with a cup of masala chai and thinking of the nap that will follow.

Want an easy winter snack?

Look no further than this simple mix of Gur-Chana. Gur as you can probably guess is much loved by Punjabis and it is devoured in the winters when freshly processed sugar cane yield the most delicious, soft, melt-in-mouth Gur.

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