Sarson Ka saag is a north indian dish prepared using leafy greens like fresh mustard and spinach. This winter staple punjabi saag is one of the most delicious recipe and is traditionally served with makki ki roti (maize flour flatbread) gur/gud (jaggery),white butter and onions.

I like to slow cook sarson ka saag without using pressure cooker.

During winters, the indian markets are flooded with green and growing up, dishes like palak paneer, methi (fenugreek leaves) chicken, palak aloo etc used to be cooked every other day.

I love to make a large batch of sarson ka saag as part of my meal prep. It stays well for 4-5 days in the fridge and is perfect for meal throughout the week.

What is Sarson ka Saag?

Sarson = Mustard. Saag translates to greens. Also known as Sarson da Saag or Punjabi Sarson da Saag, it is a rustic dish from north india made by cooking together mix of green leafy vegetables along with root vegetables like turnip & mooli (daikon).

The mashed or pureed greens are tempered in an authentic punjabi way in mustard oil browned onion, ginger, garlic, tomatoes etc . A well cooked saag is velvety and very addictive. It is considered comfort food in northern india during cold months.

Making sarson is not hard though a bit time consuming in terms of washing and preparing the greens, cooking them down and then tempering. Simply put, if you want a flavorful saag, give it time.

About My Recipe

A few notes about my sarson saag recipe :-

My saag recipe is very simple. I learnt from our cook during our stay in Punjab for a few years that the saag should taste of greens and not of spices.

1. I do not use any powdered spices in my recipe. The saag tastes fresh when it isn't heavily spiced.
2. I slow cook the greens and vegetables. It makes a LOT of difference in the taste of saag. The best part is that you dont really have to baby sit the greens while they cook. Just check on them here and there.
3. True blue Sarson Saag lovers are very divided on this - however I do use little bit of tomato in my recipe. I feel it adds a nice tang and tastes great, however, you may skip it if you wish.

Ingredients

Here are the ingredients you will need. The picture on the left shows everything that you will boil together. The picture on right is the tempering ingredients.

You will need :-

1. Mustard Greens Or Rapini Greens
2. Fresh Spinach bunch - Frozen spinach is fine too.
3. Daikon (or mooli)
4. Turnip (Shalgam)
5. Bathua leaves (If you are lucky to find do use, else skip)

In addition to the above greens, you can also add kale, turnip greens or radish greens or collard greens to the greens mix if you wish.

Using mooli is optional. Taste the daikon or mooli that you bought before adding. If mooli is smelly and pungent, the taste of saag won't be good.

Selection of Greens

Since sarson or mustard greens are the main ingredient of this recipe,the quality of mustard is very important. My most important tip would be to taste the mustard greens when buying. Tear a small portion of a few mustard leaves bunch and taste it.

Mustard greens are naturally pleasantly bitter sweet. However, the bitterness should be mild and not leave your mouth bittery. Sometimes the bunch is just not right and bitter mustard will lead to bitter saag. Additionally, choose the greens that look fresh, do not have yellow leaves or spots or holes in them.

Buying Sarson (Fresh Mustard Greens) in American Stores

Here are a few options:-

1. Go for curly leaf mustard in the greens aisle of superstores. I buy from Smiths, Whole foods or Sprouts. It looks very different from how sarson leaves look back in India but it tastes very close and does the job! It resembles kale, however the color is light green. When in season, the stems are very juicy and fleshy (which is great).

2. Rapini greens. You will see small broccoli like flowers at the end of its stems and its available again in the greens section.

Proportion of Greens

For the authentic taste of sarson saag, the quantity of mustard leaves should be more than other kinds of greens or vegetables you use.

Spinach and other vegetables tone down the pungency of the mustard greens as well as add a smooth texture to saag. Plus the nutritious value of saag goes up when we use a mix of vegetables.

How to cook Sarson Ka Saag

The beauty of saag is in slow cooking.

The greens cook slowly in their own juices, the stems soften and the mellow flavors of the leaves combines with spices and ginger.

Prepare The Greens & Vegetables - Sort, Wash & Roughly Chop

Making saag is super easy though picking and preparing the greens is what takes lot of time and effort.

One of the ways I ease my workflow is to wash and dry the greens a few hours or a day ahead. Pluck the leaves from the stems of mustard if the stems feel too fibrous. Peel the skin of stems and roughly chop them discarding very tough ones.You can use stems of spinach leaves if they aren't very fibrous.

Wash & Rinse 6-8 times to remove every speck of dirt. I usually fill a very large pot with super cold water and let soak for few minutes and rinse. I repeat it at least 6-7 times to make sure that the saag is clean.

Tip- If you are prepping them a day ahead- air dry for half an hour or so and store them covered in an air tight container the fridge until ready to use.

Cook The Greens

Add the greens to a large pot. Add daikon, ginger, turnip, garlic, salt and cumin. Cover and cook the saag until everything is mushy.

You can cook the saag in an instant or pressure cooker if you wish.

Traditionally, the saag is mashed using a long large wooden whisk or paddle. This process is called "ghotana". However I use my food processor or immersion blender and process the greens into a coarse paste.

Tempering

Dry roast the makki atta (corn flour) lightly. Adding makki atta helps thicken the saag and also imparts a unique velvety consistency to the cooked saag. Ofcourse it tastes great as well.

For the tempering you will need :-

1. Mustard Oil
2. Chopped Onion
3. Chopped Ginger & Garlic
4. Green Chillies
5. Tomatoes (optional)
6. Cumin Seeds
7. Butter, to finish (or vegan butter)

Tempering is where the real taste of the saag lies. It is the final touch and if you really put effort in making the tempering, the saag will taste hearty and delicious. Make it with a generous amount of mustard oil and onions, ginger, green chilies and tomatoes.

Note - Many people don't add tomato in the saag tempering. Feel free to skip it.

Finish the saag with dollop of butter.

Detailed instructions are in recipe card.

Step By Step Phictures of Cooking Sarson Saag

How To Serve Sarson ka Saag

Sarson Ka Saag is traditionally served with makki di roti (unleavened maize flour flatbread).

However I love it with regular roti, paratha or oats roti too.

Other things that make saag delicious are sliced onions, butter, winter achar, jaggery and radishes. This meal celebrates winter and the produce. It is warming and delicious.

Some Tips

1. You can use 1 cup broccoli florets while boiling saag if you wish. Taste great.
2. Keep the saag on a thicker side to begin with.
3. When you blend, dont puree to smooth. Sarson saag tastes good when it has a coarse texture not overly smooth. 
4. You may adjust the quantity of maize flour if depending on the thickness of saag you prefer.
5. Don't chop the onions, tomato etc very fine for tempering .
6. Cook the onions to golden brown on low medium heat. They will be sweetish and nicely browned that way. If you rush, they wont get time to develop that caramelized taste.
7. Dont skimp on oil or butter when making sarson saag.
8. Use vegan butter in place of ghee as need to make it suitable for plant based diet.

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