palak saag recipe, how to make palak saag recipe | spinach greens

by Dassana Amit | 37 Comments
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palak saag recipe with step by step photos – this palak saag recipe is exactly the same way i make sarson da saag. i do not get sarson in goa, so i have made the saag with spinach and radish. and spinach is very good for you and your family…

one punjabi delicacy combination i love in the winters is sarson da saag (mustard greens) and makki di roti (flat maize flour  bread).

spinach-saag

whilst our stay in delhi in the winters, we used to make both sarson da saag and makki di roti almost once a week at home. and it would be awesome, with white butter on top of both the roti and the saag.

i was not much of a lover of punjabi food. i preferred my goan and south indian food always over punjabi food. but after getting married to a punjabi man, i started to make, relish and savor punjabi cuisine.

initially, i was actually shocked to see how much of ghee goes over the parathas and then to top it up with butter and then finish of with lassi. too much for me to handle :-0

palak saag - spinach greens

you can make the saag with any greens of your choice. a combination of spinach and fenugreek leaves/methi is also good. if you can get mustard leaves, then make the same recipe with mustard leaves, spinach and bathua leaves (also known as chenopodium/goosefoot/fat hen in english).

two more variations of saag you can make are:

palak saag recipe

i have also made the saag in microwave as we ran out of cooking gas. in the step by step post i will write  the microwave method and in the notes section below i have mentioned the usual cooking method for palak saag.

also remember to use fresh and tender greens. you don’t want the saag to be fibrous. if you do not eat onions and garlic, you can skip the garlic and onions entirely. for the tempering, fry some ginger with the ghee and then add the saag to it.

we usually make saag at home and then keep it for 3-4 days in the refrigerator. before serving, we temper the saag and then serve it with the rotis. in fact the saag always tastes better the next day.

few more curry recipes for you!

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palak saag recipe

4.82 from 11 votes
palak saag recipe - authentic punjabi palak saag recipe in microwave oven and in cooking gas
palak saag recipe
Author:Dassana Amit
Prep Time:15 mins
Cook Time:35 mins
Total Time:50 mins
Course:main course
Cuisine:punjabi
Servings (change the number to scale):4
(1 CUP = 250 ML)

INGREDIENTS

For the Saag:

  • 2 bunch of spinach (palak), chopped
  • 2 to 3 radish with tender leaves (mooli), chopped
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 2 to 3 medium size tomatoes, chopped
  • 1 green chili, chopped
  • 1 inch ginger (adrak), chopped
  • 5 to 6 small to medium garlic cloves (lahsun), chopped
  • 1 teaspoon red chili powder (lal mirch powder)
  • 2 to 3 tablespoons butter
  • 1 tablespoon maize flour (makki ka atta)
  • ½ cup water
  • salt as required

For tempering the saag for 2-3 servings:

  • 1 medium sized onion, finely chopped enough for saag meant for 2 people
  • 1 small green chili, chopped (optional)
  • 1 teaspoon chopped ginger, optional
  • 1 to 2 tablespoons ghee (clarified butter)

INSTRUCTIONS

Preparing the Saag:

  • combine all the greens, onions, tomatoes, ginger-garlic-chili with water in a microwave safe bowl and microwave for 7-8 minutes on high power.
  • add the butter, maize flour, salt and chili powder.
  • microwave again on medium power for 12-15 minutes.
  • when cooled, blend the whole mixture coarsely or smoothly... whatever you prefer.
  • microwave the pureed mixture for 4-5 minutes on medium power.

Preparing the Tempering for 2-3 servings:

  • in another microwave safe bowl, take some ghee and microwave for 1-2 minutes.
  • add the onions and microwave for 7-8 minutes till they get light browned.
  • add the 2-3 small bowls of saag to the browned onions and microwave for some 2-3 minutes more.
  • top the spinach saag with homemade butter and serve with makki di roti.

NOTES

for cooking palak saag on fire, follow this method:
  1. add all the greens, onions, tomatoes, ginger, garlic, green chilies with salt and water in a deep pan or a pressure cooker. add around 1 cup water to the veggies.
  2. cook the whole lot in the pan for 7-10 minutes or in a pressure cooker for 3 to 4 minutes. also add maize flour and butter. 
  3. once cooled blend into a smooth or coarse paste. add the saag in another pan and simmer for 7-10 minutes till it thickens a little bit.
for the tempering: 
  1. brown the onions in ghee and then add the saag to it.
  2. simmer for 3-4 minutes.
  3. for a saag serving 2-3 people, 1 medium sized onion is enough with 2 tbsp ghee for the tempering. the remaining saag you can refrigerate and use as when required.
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step by step palak saag recipe in microwave oven:

1. wash and chop the spinach leaves.

chopped spinach for palak saag

2. do the same with radish leaves. use fresh and tender radish greens. also peel the radish roots, chop them and add to the spinach.

adding chopped radish for palak saag

3. now add chopped onions, tomatoes, ginger, garlic, green chili with 1/2 cup water.

adding other veggies for palak saag

4. and microwave for 7-8 minutes on full power. after this add maize flour, red chili powder, butter and salt. note that these ingredients can also be added later on to the pureed mixture. mix well.

adding maize flour butter for palak saag

5. again microwave for 5 minutes more.

microwave 5 mins - saag recipe

6. i felt the need to microwave more, so again i microwaved the greens on medium power for 5 minutes.

microwave saag for 5 mins more

7. and yet still i felt i have to microwave more…. you will see how much liquids the greens and other veggies have released.

microwave saag again for 5 mins

8. let the whole mixture be cooled, and then blend everything in a mixer or blender either coarsely or smoothly, without adding any water.

pureed greens for palak saag

9. now microwave again for 4-5 minutes… see the difference below. the saag has thickened…

microwave saag for 5 mins

10. for the tempering melt the ghee in a microwave safe bowl on full power for 1 minute. add the chopped onions .

add onions to palak saag

11. microwave for 7-8 minutes till the onions turn a light brown

microwave for 8 mins

12. add the amount of saag that you are going to serve. microwave for 2 or 3 minutes more.

add saag and microwave for 2 mins

top up the serving bowls of saag with some homemade white butter and serve palak saag with makki di roti and some onions and green chilies.

palak mooli saag

Dassana Amit

Dassana Amitnamaste and welcome to vegrecipesofindia.com which i started in feb 2009 and is a pure vegetarian blog. i have been passionate about cooking from childhood and began to cook from the age of 10. later having enrolled in a home science degree greatly enhanced my cooking & baking skills and took it to a different level which i now share as foolproof recipes. i was formally trained both in mainstream indian as well as international cuisines.

About Dassana Amit

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37 comments/reviews

  1. Tried this recipe and i can say that it made a very ordinary tasting vegetable like palak taste extraordinary. Loved it. Thanks.5 stars

  2. hi,
    thanks for your recipes, they are very useful and savoury. I noticed in this particular recipe, you added butter and maize flour to the microwave version but skipped the same for the cooking gas version. Was the intentionally or are they required?

  3. Just now tried this, n loved every bit of its flavour and texture. Heavenly yummy with butter. Just that made without maize.
    A must try guys…5 stars

  5. tried this palak da saag. added groundnut powder instead of maize. came out super. thanks a lot for this recipe5 stars

  7. Hello Dassana! Thank you for all the wonderful recipes. I too am fond of greens and have some form or the other everyday. Please could you tell me whether I can combine kale and spinach? Thanks a lot!5 stars

    • welcome mimi. for this recipe you need greens that become mushy. kale does not, so in this recipe i would not suggest it. but yes in another recipe you can combine both kale and spinach.

      • Thank you Dassana. I’m preparing this right now in a pressure cooker and noticed that butter/maize flour is not required if cooking in a pressure cooker as compared to the microwave method. Is that right? Thank you again for patiently answering all our queries.

        • Thank you Dassana for the information. I have one last question about this recipe☺️….I made this and it turned out very good, however, I have a whole lot left and we have already had 4 meals of it….is there anything else that can now be made with the remaining palak saag preparation…like hara bhara or a palak pulao? Thank you again so much for your patience and guidance.5 stars

        • thanks mimi. good to know that the recipe turned out good. you can make palak rice and even palak kabab. for kababs, just add the leftover saag to mashed potatoes. add roasted gram flour and spices. shape them to patties. pan fry or shallow fry. for rice, cook rice first. then make a tempering with onions and a few spices, add the saag. heat it. then add the cooked rice. stir very well. for paratha, make a dough with the saag and whole wheat flour. add some spices powders. then make parathas.

  8. hi….u do get sarson ka saag in goa…..on certain days of the week…..u can ask the vegetable vendors about the same…… :0) …….. and by the way………..u have posted a mouth-watering recipe…..5 stars

  9. I tried almost all tha paneer recipes of ur and they r just so delicious …i never explained but thanks goes to u for all whtaever i m able to make today is bcoz of u ..thanku …in this recipe in microwave cooking maize flour is added and in gas stove didn’t … So it is rite or by mistake

  10. loved the recipe. ..grt way of cooking palak n radish leaves together. .vl definitely try dis for my family. thnks for posting the same.4 stars

  11. I’m definitely trying this saag this week, I love it and with those rotis I can’t wait, sounds lovely!!

  13. Hi,

    I stumbled on your web page while running a search for mooli paratha & guess what
    i saved it on My Favourites.

    I’m loving each & every recipes of yours. I’m gonna as many as i can.
    One more thing, i’ve got a fussy 3 yr old brat at home, my son likes vareities & trus me i’m running out of ideas. would really appreciate if you could post some kiddie recipes.

    Thanks & Regards,
    Sowmya

    • thanks sowmya for all your lovely comments. i have some recipe for kids, where you can also involve the kids in making them, but they are all sweet recipes. i will keep your request in mind and post some kiddie recipes both sweet and savory.

  14. I am a recent subscriber- have enjoyed reading all the recipes to date. Have tried the rasam – very good and easy (important when you little time and even less patience in the kitchen!) Will try the saag in winter- very hot right now in Melbourne.

  17. Hey missing Delhi’s Sarso da Saag and Makki di roti after seeing your post…Its really a healthy option for winters thou ignoring dollops of ghee that goes in :)..We too dont get Saag here and always crave for it, will definately try your version as a substitue for it!! Thank you for sharing.