Sarson ka saag is a classic winter staple from North India. It’s made with a mixture of fresh greens (especially mustard greens) and tempered with onion, and garlic in ghee. This saag is topped with white butter and served with makki ki roti and sides (jaggery, sliced onions, pickle).
Prep: Remove and discard the tough stems of mustard leaves and keep the leaves in a large bowl of water for around 5-10 minutes and let the dirt, and sand settle at the bottom of the bowl. Then gently without disturbing the water too much remove the leaves, lightly squeeze out the water and chop them roughly. Because we are pressure cooking, no need to chop them finely.
Similarly, clean the spinach and bathua. Amongst all the greens, bathua will have the maximum amount of dirt sticking to the leaves. So you have to do this cleaning process 2-3 times until the leaves look clean.
No need to chop spinach and bathua leaves.
Also, chop the ginger, garlic and green chili into big chunks. Do not chop them finely otherwise pressure cooking makes them flavorless.
To make saag, take all the greens (mustard leaves, spinach, bathua), chopped ginger, garlic, green chili, salt, and jaggery in a pressure cooker (or instant pot liner). Add water and cover it with a lid.
Instant pot: Keep the valve to sealing position and cook on manual (high pressure) for 5 minutes. Let the pressure release naturally and wait for the pin to drop.Stovetop pressure cooker: Cook on medium heat for 2 whistles and let the pressure go down by itself.
Once the pressure is released open the lid. Now using a hand blender, crush them roughly into a coarse texture gravy. If you want then you can make a smooth puree in a blender.
Now add makki ka atta and mix.
Simmer again (on saute mode in instant pot or on medium-low heat on stovetop) for 5 minutes or until the saag thickens. It may splutter a lot, so you can partially cover it while simmering. Also, do stir in between to make sure that it is not sticking to the sides and bottom.
To make Tempering, heat the ghee in a pan on medium heat. Once hot add cumin seeds and let them sizzle a bit.
Add dried red chilies and saute for 30 seconds or until they start to darken.
Add hing and immediately add minced garlic and saute for 40-50 seconds or until the raw smell of garlic goes away.
Add onion and sprinkle some salt (just enough for onions because we already added salt in the saag while pressure cooking). Cook until onions turn light brown and soft.
Add this mixture into the prepared saag and mix. It is ready to serve.
Notes
Prepping greens: You can pluck the leaves earlier in the day or a day before. But always wash them right before cooking otherwise they start to wilt.
Chopping greens: Because we are using a pressure cooker and hand blender, no need to chop them finely. Even chop the mustard greens roughly and keep spinach and bathua whole. If making the traditional way (using madani to mash the saag) then chop all the greens finely and cook for a little less time. So mashing will be easier if you’ve chopped them earlier.
Substitute for makki ka atta (maize flour): If you’re in the USA then you can find fine cornmeal easily in the grocery stores, use that. Or you can use besan (chickpea flour) though it will alter the taste slightly.
My saag turned out bitter, what to do? - Cook some spinach, puree it, and add it to the prepared saag to reduce the bitterness. - Add some more makki ka atta and it will tone down the bitterness.