What do you call it Sarson ka Saag or Mustard Greens curry? Is it Indian or Pakistani curry? Well, it’s Punjabi, a region divided between the borders of Indian and Pakistan. My mother-in-law is from Multan, Punjab, and trust me she was so fond of mustard leaves curry, that it is a winter must-have food at our home. I think Punjabis love their bitter veggies like Karela (bitter melon), sarson and kachnar (buhinea buds). They know how to handle bitterness at its best and enjoy it with hail and hearty; so eminent in Punjabi persona. Saron means mustard green or leaves of the mustard plant. Saag means curry. Saag is more commonly referred to as mustard greens and spinach curry in mustard green is the dominant taste. The spinach and mustard leaves are cooked in typical Indian spiced onion and tomato gravy. Sarson ka saag is a staple food enjoy all over Punjab in the winters.
What does it taste like?
It tastes like creamy, buttery curried kale but a little different. Don’t get deterred by the bitterness of this delicious vegetable. This bitterness can be undermined if cooked correctly. Enjoy the buttery spicy smooth gravy. It is quite satisfying and healthy to eat, sometimes I feel it is an acquired taste and quite addictively delicious. Check the health benefits here.
How to make it?
This is a very simple but incredibly delicious North Indian or Punjabi style mustard greens recipe.
What flour is used to thicken sarson?
Yellow maize flour also called makai ka atta is used to thicken sarson. If you can’t find it. You can use bajra flour too. Or just skip adding flour all together.
What to pair with sarson ka saag?
Any bread or rice can be paired with sarsoon ka saag but mostly it paired with Makai ki roti or Indian corn flatbread and some pickles. I usually get my mustard green from the market but this year I got these from a farm and that was (desi sarson) or organic mustard greens. When I cooked it, it was extremely bitter almost inedible. I thought, this sarson was bad and so I went this farm guy and almost blamed him for giving me bad inedible sarson. In return, this guy sent me a cooked bowl of the same sarsoon leaves which was delicious and far from bitter. Obviously, I took his secret recipe and will break it here.
How to reduce the bitterness of mustard green?
Now, the most important thing is trick to undermine bitterness of sarson. Since I’ve tried three tricks on the bitterest sarson. I can claim that these hack are tried tested and successful. There’ll be no trace of bitterness in sarson.
Wash sarson in hot water for 3-4 times. This leches some of the bitterness from sarson like blanching.Saag as I told you is greens, so you undermine the bitterness with the sweetness of spinach and other greens like radish green, broccoli, and fenugreek. In this curry, instead of adding raw and chopped mustard green in gravy to cook, you boil the greens separately for very long until most of its water dries. Then add it to the gravy. This boiling helps to curtail the bitterness. So, I recommend not to skip the boiling step.
Serve sarson ka saag in a bowl. Fry chopped garlic in ghee or butter and pour the tempering on the sarson in the bowl and serve. Have a look at my other veggies.
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📖 Recipe
