Sarson Da Saag
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Yield: Serves 4
Saag means greens; sarson da saag specified mustard greens, and palak da saag is spinach. This flavorful side dish often accompanies hearty whole-wheat griddle breads in Punjab, the wheat-growing capital of India.
Sarson Da Saag - Mustard Greens with Garlic
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Ingredients
- 1/2 cup coarsely chopped onion
- 1 tablespoon coarsely chopped gingerroot
- 4 large cloves garlic
- 2 tablespoons Ghee or vegetable oil
- 1/4 teaspoon hing (asafetida) (see Notes)
- 1 1/2 pounds fresh mustard greens, or fresh spinach leaves, finely chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1 large tomato, blanched, skinned, and finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon Garam Masaala
- 1 teaspoon salt
- Juice of 1 medium lime
- Makes about 1/4 cup
- 1 teaspoon cumin seed
- 1 teaspoon coriander seed
- 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
- 1 teaspoon cardamom seed (removed from pods)
- 1/2 teaspoon fennel seed
- 15 whole cloves
- 3 three-inch cinnamon sticks, broken into pieces
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Instructions
- 1. In a food processor finely mince the onion, gingerroot, and garlic.
- 2. In a wok or 3-quart saucepan, heat the ghee over medium-high heat; sizzle the hing for 5 to 10 seconds. Add the onion mixture and stir-fry for 3 to 5 minutes until golden brown.
- 3. Stir in the mustard greens and turmeric. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 8 to 10 minutes, or until the greens wilt and almost all the liquid leaching from the greens evaporates.
- 4. Add the remaining ingredients and cook, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes to blend the flavors.
- 1. In a small, heavy skillet, roast all the spices over medium-high heat for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring constantly, until the spices turn one shade darker, start to crackle, and become fragrant.
- 2. Transfer the roasted spices to a plate to cool for 3 to 5 minutes. Grind in a spice grinder until the mixture has the texture of finely ground black pepper.
- 3. Store in an airtight jar in a cool, dark place for up to a month.
- Hing is a very strong-smelling spice derived from a fennel-like plant. It is sold in brick form in Indian groceries and in powdered form in natural food stores.
- The slight bitterness of mustard greens provides a complex balance to this earthy dish. Trim off and discard the tough stems before use.
- You can substitute spinach leaves for a smoother, less bitter flavor, or use a combination of the two greens.
- To blanch a tomato, bring a small saucepan of water to a boil over medium-high heat. Simmer the tomato for 2 to 3 minutes until the skin starts to tear. Remove with a slotted spoon and cool until easy to handle. Core the tomato and slip its skin off easily with a paring knife or your bare hands.
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About The Show
In 1994, acclaimed food writer and cooking teacher Lynne Rossetto Kasper was receiving accolades for her debut book, The Splendid Table, which at that time was the only book to have won both the James Beard and Julia Child Cookbook of the Year awards. Among the many people enchanted by the book was producer and foodie Sally Swift, who thought the time could be right for a radio program on food.
