Sarson Ka Saag is a popular North Indian winter recipe prepared using mustard greens and spices. Serve it with makki ki roti (corn flour bread) for a complete vegetarian meal.
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Recipe card
Sarson Ka Saag | Mustard Greens Recipe
Equipment
- Pot
Ingredients
- 1 bunch Mustard greens 250 grams approx
- 1 bunch Spinach or any mixed greens like spinach (palak, bathua (chenopodium), turnip, collard greens, radish leaves (mooli ke patte), fenugreek leaves (methi)) 250 grams approx
- 2 tablespoon Ghee or butter or oil
- 1 teaspoon Cumin seeds
- Hing or asafoetida pinch
- 1 Onion finely chopped
- 6 to 8 Garlic cloves finely chopped
- 2 tablespoon Ginger grated
- 2 to 3 Green chilies slit
- 2 Tomatoes chopped
- 2 tablespoon Maize flour or corn flour
- ½ teaspoon Garam masala powder or red chile powder
- Water approx 1 ½ to 2 cups
- 1 teaspoon Salt or adjust to taste
Instructions
How to cook mustard greens for sarson ka saag?
- Traditionally, all the ingredients are cooked together in a pressure cooker or instant pot and then added to a mixie jar or blender. But I do it a little differently to retain the green color.
- Nicely wash and chop the greens.1 bunch Mustard greens, 1 bunch Spinach
- Bring water to boil in a pot. To this, add chopped leaves and cook them uncovered until the leaves are cooked. This will retain a bright green color.
- Drain and keep it aside. Let this cool down.
- Grind the leaves in a mixie jar or blender to a coarse paste.
How to make sarson da saag?
- Heat oil in a pan. To this, add cumin seeds and saute for a few seconds.2 tablespoon Ghee, 1 teaspoon Cumin seeds
- Add hing, onion, garlic, ginger, and green chilies and saute until onion becomes translucent.Hing or asafoetida, 1 Onion, 6 to 8 Garlic cloves, 2 tablespoon Ginger grated, 2 to 3 Green chilies
- Add the tomatoes and cook until the tomatoes become soft.2 Tomatoes
- Now add maize or corn flour and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes or until any rawness goes off completely.2 tablespoon Maize flour or corn flour
- Now add garam masala powder, salt, coarse green paste, and water as needed for desired consistency and cook for 15 minutes or until oil separates.½ teaspoon Garam masala powder, Water, 1 teaspoon Salt or adjust to taste
- Serve hot with makki ki roti and a dollop of butter, and enjoy. (You can temper if needed, read tips)
Notes
- Vary the spices and all ingredients to taste.
- The dish is tasty the way it is prepared. If needed, you can give a classic Punjabi tadka or temper to the Sarson da saag; in a pan, heat 2 tablespoon of ghee or oil. Add a pinch of hing, one finely chopped onion, and three garlic cloves, and saute until the onion becomes translucent. Add this to the gravy and serve with a dollop of butter.
- I simply add 1 :1 ratio of mustard greens and spinach most of the time. But if you have green available where you stay, feel free to add them.
- For authentic taste, you can add radish roots, turnips, or red radishes.
- You can saute the ingredients with oil for the vegan version and ghee for the traditional dhaba-style vegetarian version.
Nutrition
Punjabi sarson ka saag
Sarson ka saag is a winter recipe prepared using mustard greens and other green-leaf vegetables. Sarson means mustard in English, and saag means spiced greens.
Mustard greens are bitter, and to balance the taste, other greens are combined. I love to add spinach as it is easily available. You can combine any greens that are in season, from spinach (palak), bathua (chenopodium), turnip, collard greens, radish leaves (mooli ke patte) to fenugreek leaves (methi)
This dish is prepared during the Lohri festival along with peanut chikki, carrot halwa, etc.
Ingredients
Mustard greens: Also called sarson is, a key ingredient that adds a unique flavor to the dish. These are leafy vegetables with a bitter taste.
Spinach: This balances the bitterness of mustard greens and adds a bright color to the dish.
Other green leaf vegetables: You can add half spinach and substitute the other half with bathua (chenopodium), turnip, collard greens, radish leaves (mooli ke patte), fenugreek leaves (methi) for extra flavor.
Spices: I have used cumin seeds, hing, and garam masala powder.
Step-by-step instructions
How to cook mustard greens for sarson ka saag?
- Traditionally, all the ingredients are cooked together in a pressure cooker or instant pot and then added to a mixie jar or blender. But I do it a little differently to retain the green color.
- Nicely wash and chop the greens.
- Bring water to boil in a pot. To this, add chopped leaves and cook them uncovered until the leaves are cooked.
- Drain and keep it aside. Let this cool down.
- Grind the leaves in a mixie jar or blender to a coarse paste.
How to make sarson da saag?
- Heat oil in a pan. To this, add cumin seeds and saute for a few seconds.
- Add hing, onion, garlic, ginger, and green chilies and saute until onion becomes translucent.
- Add the tomatoes and cook until the tomatoes become soft.
- Now add maize or corn flour and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes or until any rawness goes off completely.
- Now add garam masala powder, salt, coarse green paste, and water as needed for desired consistency and cook for 15 minutes or until oil separates.
- Serve hot with makki ki roti and a dollop of butter, and enjoy. (You can temper if needed, read tips)
Chef tips
- Vary the spices and all ingredients to taste.
- The dish is tasty the way it is prepared. If needed, you can give a classic Punjabi tadka or temper to the Sarson da saag; in a pan, heat 2 tablespoon of ghee or oil. Add a pinch of hing, one finely chopped onion, and three garlic cloves, and saute until the onion becomes translucent. Add this to the gravy and serve with a dollop of butter.
- I simply add 1 :1 ratio of mustard greens and spinach most of the time. But if you have green available where you stay, feel free to add them.
- For authentic taste, you can add radish roots, turnips, or red radishes.
- You can saute the ingredients with oil for the vegan version and ghee for the traditional dhaba-style vegetarian version.
Store and Freeze
- Saag tastes best the day after it is made. Any leftovers can be stored in the refrigerator for three days and reheated just before serving.
- Once the dish is done, let it cool down completely. Store in a freezer bag and freeze for up to 1 month. Thaw the saag, reheat, and temper to make it fresh again.
Serving suggestions
- Traditionally, makki ki roti and sarson ka saag are very popular combos served in restaurants and dhaba.
- You can serve it with Indian naan, simple roti, or even paratha.
Recipe FAQs
Maize flour, also known as cornmeal, is used to thicken the gravy. If unavailable, use besan or rice flour.
More recipes to try during winter
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Note: We originally posted this Punjabi vegan sarson ka saag recipe in Sept 2015. It has now been modified in Jan 2024 with Expert Chef Tips, FAQs, Storage Instructions, etc.
Sundari
Wow!! Yummy!! love the vibrant color!!
Kushi
Thank you Sundari 🙂
Traditionallymodernfood
Wat a lovely color u achwuved after cooking green.. Looks delicious
Kushi
🙂 Thank you so much !
marudhuskitchen
excellent dip really..yumm
Kushi
Thank you dear 🙂