How to cook mustard greens in Indian style

Mustard greens are available in North India during the Indian winters. Lush fields with these seasonal vegetable dot the landscape and everyone starts dreaming of the traditional ‘sarson da saag‘.

Indeed, it is the must-have dish in north india during winters. If you are ever in this region after November, and upto March, and if you are wondering what you should order or which dish you should try in north india, this is it!

And for those wondering, no, it need not be the long and difficult way of making it that you will hear among the people living in the villages… while that is a truly delightful food for the north indian winter season, it is also not practical for all to make it.

An easy way to make the mustard greens into a tasty side dish!

This is my simplified version of how to cook mustard greens, in an Indian style. You will definitely enjoy this preparation, and it is as close as you can get to an authentic saag recipe, but without the fuss.

This food is ideal for the winter season. Eaten with a hot, fresh off the stove “makki ki roti”. With a dollop of ghee of fresh white butter, and a chunk of jaggery on the side.

Recipe Video

Just imagine a scene lit up with some lanterns, and this heavenly smell wafting around… some traditional foods just have to be tried, and I do hope you get to eat this when you are in the northern part of India.

In every household, it is consumed very happily. It is a great favourite among the young and the old.

I do hope you pay special attention to the ideal way to wash the greens that I have mentioned in the video of the recipe. It is extremely important.

Freezer friendly recipe

This recipe can be frozen and used when needed. I always make extra as it is not worth making this in small quantities. Just heat it through and proceed with a dollop of butter.

Well, time to enjoy the recipe!

Sarson ka Saag| Mustard greens in Indian Style

Recipe by Sheetal RabindranCourse: SidesCuisine: IndianDifficulty: Medium

Servings

8

servings

Prep time

20

minutes

Cooking time

45

minutes

Mustard greens are purchased fresh from the fields to make this popular winter special. The sarson ka saag is a seasonal and traditional dish that all enjoy during the North Indian winter months.

Ingredients

• Fresh greens from the local market: 1 kg
  Mixture of Sarson, Bathua, Paalak, Soya, Methi, Spring onions (Ask the shop keeper to give you maximum amount of sarson, and just little amounts of the rest)
  

• 1/2 inch ginger, peeled

• 1-2 pods of garlic

• 1-2 green chillies

• 1 heaped tbsp of ground corn (maize flour)

• 1-2 tsp salt

Directions

• Remove the roots and discard thick stems in the greens. Clean ginger, peel garlic. Wash the green chillies.
  
• Ensure you clean the greens well. Rinse in a large vessel of water.
  Lift and place on a strainer. Discard the dirty water. Repeat till all the greens are washed.
  At the end, wash again with clean water and strain off the water. 
  
• Roughly chop and add the greens and chillies.
  Add water, salt, ginger, garlic. Pressure cook for 10 minutes. Cool.
  
  
• Add ghee to a thick vessel. Drop in cumin seeds, a pod of garlic and a chilli. Now fry the cooked green mixture.
  
• After 5 minutes, add corn meal (makki ka atta) and fry well. Now cook on slow heat, stirring now and then.
  
• For a smoother paste, grind half in the mixie and return to pan.
  If you prefer a chunky version, just cook with frequent stirring on low heat.
  
• Cook till it thickens.
  Serve with butter or cream.
  

Notes

• This sarson ka saag tastes amazing with freshly cooked makki ki roti. But it can also be eaten with simple roties, rice or pulao.
• You can add a few chunks of paneer to it. Or boiled potatoes.
• Freeze half of it if you feel it will be a lot to finish at one go.
• In place of corn meal, you can add rice flour, or even idli batter.