Sarson Ka Saag / Pureed Greens Soup

Today, I will be sharing with you the recipe for Sarson Ka Saag / Pureed Greens Soup (a green, leaf-based, pureed, thick soup) which actually is a staple dish in the Punjabi diet but it's one of my all time favourites so even though it is not technically a Gujarati dish, I will be showing you how my mother makes it. This recipe is packed with nutrients and is extremely healthy; it is traditionally served with Makki di Roti (unleavened Punjabi bread made of cornflour).

(serves at least 3 people)

Ingredients:

To steam in the pressure cooker:

1 large bunch of washed and medium chopped spinach leaves (it should come out to 200g when chopped)
1 large bunch of washed and medium chopped, Indian, mustard greens (it should come out to 200g when chopped)
0.75 bunch of washed and medium chopped fenugreek leaves (it should come out to about 75g when chopped)
1 medium, peeled and roughly chopped, red onion
3 mugs of water
3 cloves of garlic (peeled, washed and grated)
1 heaped tbsp ginger (peeled, washed and grated)
0.25 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp cumin seeds
2 tbsps salt (slightly heaped)
2 big green chillies (washed and chopped into small pieces)

In the fry pan (after blending):

1 big slice of butter about 2 mms thick
cornflour paste (1tbsp cornflour and 2 tbsps cold tap water - mixed well to form a paste)

Method:

1. Place the spinach, mustard greens, fenugreek leaves and onion into a medium-sized, pressure cooker.

2. Add in the water and place on the hob. Put the flame on the hob to a medium-high flame so that the greens start to wilt.

3. Add in the rest of the ingredients from the list above, in the order above, from the garlic all the way to the green chillies.

4. Close the pressure cooker and cook until 3 to 4 whistles sound from the pressure cooker at medium heat. Make sure that the pressure cooker you use is big enough so that the contents of the cooker doesn't start to escape from the cooker when it is cooking and make sure that there is enough water in the pressure cooker so that the contents do no burn.

5. Once the greens are cooked and the 4 whistles sound,  take the pressure cooker off the heat and let the pressure cooker cool down so that all the pressure from the cooker is released. This is very important so that when you open the pressure cooker, the contents of the cooker doesn't explode all over the kitchen and burn you. Only when all the pressure from the cooker is released is it safe to open the cooker.

6. Pour half the mixture into a jug blender and puree it until it is really fine. Then do the other half. The idea of doing it in two batches is so that the contents of the jug doesn't overflow when blending to a fine puree.

7. Put the butter into a frypan and heat at a low heat.

8. Add in the pureed greens into the frypan and turn up the heat to medium-high.

9. Add in the cornflour paste and stir well.

10. Simmer for 10 minutes on a low heat; this will thicken the pureed greens.

11. The Sarson ka Saag is ready to serve.

So there you have it! A delicious new recipe for you to try at the weekend ... savour and enjoy the Sarson ka Saag! It's delicious and we eat it with chapatis (also known in Gujarati as rotlis/rotis).

'Til next time ... enjoy!
Bon appetit! xx