Sarso Ka Saag in Instant Pot with Makki ki Roti

Sarson Ka Saag  is a popular vegetarian dish from the northern region of the Indian subcontinent. It is made from mustard green  (sarson) and spices. It is often served with Makki ki Roti (unleavened flat bread made out of cornmeal)  . Sarson Ka Saag and makki ki roti is considered a special dish in entire North India especially in Punjab where you can acres adn acre of Mustard farms.  It is only eaten in winter season as the fresh mustard leaves are in abundance.    It can be topped with either Makkhan (unprocessed white butter or processed yellow butter) or more traditionally with clarified butter or Ghee.

Some other  greens like spinach, Bathua (goose foot or Chenopodium), Radish leaves, collard green, turnip green are some of the examples may be added to enhance color and reduce sharp bitterness of mustard leaves,  although the mustard leaves that you get here in USA are not very bitter or sharp, therefore you can get away with just using mustard leaves. I did not add any other green as I did not have any I used green onions with its green shoots,  I will post the recipe without  the green but you can certainly add a small chopped bunch of desired green but remember not to overpower as you can loose the original flavor of Mustard greens.  I will post the recipe for Makki ki roti (unleavened flat bread made out of cornmeal) separately.  One other thing I wanted to mention, if you like smooth saag then you can blend it other wise you can leave the leaves intact, and thus have a little chunky consistency but here is how I made it

 

Ingredients: 

• One large bunch of Mustard greens
• If you are using any other green you can use a small bunch 
• 1 medium yellow onion chopped
• 5-6 garlic cloves chopped
• One inch fresh ginger peeled and chopped
• One bunch of green onion with greens
• One 3" Diakon radish (mooli) chopped
• 1/2 can of crushed tomatoes (they come in 20 oz can here) or you can use 4 roma tomatoes chopped 
• 2.5 cups of water
• 2 tablespoon of corn meal (I use PAN brand precooked corn meal it comes in yellow and white, I used white and used the same one for bread)
  

• 2 tables spoon of butter
• 2-3 tablespoon of Mustard oil
  
• 2 teaspoons of cumin seeds
• 2 dried red chili pods 
• 1/4 teaspoon of asfoetida
• 1 teaspoon of salt to taste
• 1 teaspoon of turmeric powder
• 1 teaspoon of cayenne pepper powder
• 1 teaspoon of  coarsely ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon of cumin powder
• 1 tablespoon of mango powder (amchoor)
• 1 teaspoon of garam masala
  

Method:

• Wash and chopped the greens, chop green and yellow onions, garlic, ginger, and radish set aside separately.
• Heat the instant pot to saute setting, I entered 30 min time so I have enough time at high setting. (you may not use all 30 min)
  
• Add butter and oil to heated pot, when oil is hot add cumin seeds, when these crackle, add hing (asfoetida) and chili pods.

• Add chopped green and yellow onion, saute until light brown and translucent then add, garlic,  ginger and saute for couple of more minutes.
• Add chopped diakon radish  and then saute for 3  more min then add crushed tomatoes.
• Add chopped greens and  saute for 1-2 more min then add water.
• Cover the instant pot and change the setting to pressure cook at high pressure for 6 min, with seal closed.

• Then let the pressure release naturally, if you don't have instant pot you can use regular pressure cooker for and cook for same time, or you can cook on stove top for  20-25 min until soft.
• Open the instant pot or pressure cooker when all the pressure is released.
• Use immersion blender to puree the saag to desired smooth or chunky consistency, if you don't have immersion blender you can wait until it cools down and then puree in regular blender.
  

• Transfer the saag to another pot on stove top and cook over medium low heat
• Add 2 tablespoon of corn meal (again as I said I used PAN brand precooked white corn meal it comes in yellow variety too, I love this corn meal they use this to make Mexican tortillas, I used this one to make Makki ki roti, I will be posting the recipe of this soon).
• Corn meal helps thicken the saag.
• Set the heat to low, add all the spices listed above.
• Let the saag simmer for 20-25 min on low heat. Stir occasionally as it will thicken as it simmers.
  

• Serve hot with Makki ki roti (unleavened corn meal bread).

Hints: 

•  If you use regular corn meal (if can not find PAN brand in store), it may be helpful to roast it on low heat  before adding to the saag,
• You may add boiled potatoes cubes to the saag if desired , may have to adjust the salt and spices accordingly.
• You can do one more Tempering/Tadka just  before serving on cooked saag.  Just heat 2 tablespoon of ghee and add on teaspoon of cumin seed, pinch asfoetida (hing) , dry red chilly pods and some cumin powder or paprika for color and top it over the saag for additional flavor, but this is totally optional step.
  

Enjoy !!

Recipe and Photographs by Surekha.