Spinach Saag (An Easyy Recipe)
Palak ka Sag Curry
Mamta Gupta
This is a popular dish in restaurants, quite easy to make. It is best served with Tandoori Roti 1 or Bajrat Roti or Missi Roti or Nan, but can be eaten with any Indian bread.
Serves 4-6
Anda Saag Adding hard boiled eggs to saag gives you a variation of this dish, especially when you have some leftover saag and you want to have a slightly different dish next day or when you have unexpected guests.
Ingredients
500-600 gm. spinach leaves
100 gm. fenugreek or methi leaves (if fresh not available, use 2 tbs. dry 'kasoori methi' ). If none are available, do not worry, it will still be okay.
2 inch piece ginger, peeled and finely chopped (1 heaped tbs. chopped). Pieces of ginger taste nicer than ground ginger in this dissh.
3-4 cloves garlic, peeled and grated or finely chopped (optional)
2-3 green chillies, or to taste, finely chopped
1 level tsp. turmeric powder
Salt to taste
2 tbsp. maize/corn meal (flour) or makka atta
2 tsp. sugar
For tempering or tarka;
2-3 tbsp. ghee or olive oil
1 tsp. cumin seeds
A pinch of hing or asafoetida
2 medium onions (250-300 gm.), peeled and grated or chopped finely (optional)
3-4 whole dry red chillies
1/4-1/2 tsp. chilli powder (to taste)
Instructions
Clean and wash spinach/fenugreek leaves well. Drain and chop roughly.
Boil the leaves with garlic, ginger, green chillies, turmeric, salt and a little water for 20-30 minutes. You can pressure cook them for 2 whistles/pressures/minutes. Turn heat off and cool.
Blend to a paste with a hand blender, along with corn flour.
Cook in a pan for a further 5-10 minutes, with the lid closed (it splashes a lot), until it is bubbling gently. It should be of custard like or 'pouring' consistency.
Tempering or tarka:
Heat ghee or oil in a tarka ladle or small pan.
Add cumin seeds and asafoetida and wait for seeds to splutter or turn brown.
Add onions (if used) and fry until nicely browned.
Add whole red chillies and chilli powder, stir quickly with a small spoon and pour over the hot saag.
Serve hot, with Makka Roti or Missi Roti or Millet Roti or Tandoori Roti with lashings of fresh butter.
