Sagu is basically a veggie side dish, made in a kurma style with a freshly ground spice paste and is popular in the cuisine of Karnataka in South India. This here, is a Veg Sagu, which has mixed vegetables cooked with the ground masala paste as well as other basic ingredients like onion, tomato, curry leaves, split husked black gram (urad dal) and more. The Mix Veg Sagu recipe is also vegan and can be teamed with fried breads, chapattis, dosas, parathas or steamed rice.
About Veg Sagu
I first tried the Veg Sagu with Set Dosa in one of the restaurants while staying in Bangalore (now Bengaluru) in the south Indian state of Karnataka. It was complex in flavors and textures, and was so delicious, that we finished off everything at one.
The most important element of this Mix Veg Sagu recipe is the unique spice paste that is freshly ground while preparing this dish. Traditionally, this masala paste consists of cinnamon, cardamoms, cloves, black peppercorns, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, roasted chana dal, garlic, ginger, green chilies, coriander leaves and coconut.
One more very typical ingredient that goes in this spice paste is the Marathi moggu or kapok buds in English. These are a type of caper and is particularly grown and used in Karnataka as a flavoring spice in various dishes like this Veg Sagu, Bisi Bele Bath, etc.
Sometimes, it is also referred to as ‘mogga’ in Telugu and ‘moggu’ in Kannada languages. The fragrance of this spice is quite strong and spicy. However, it may be difficult to source this special spice and you may not even get it in your city. In that case, you can skip adding it.
The color of this Veg Sagu recipe is mostly greenish and this is because of the addition of coriander leaves in generous quantities. I have added about 2 tablespoons of it in my recipe. But you can also make it to 3 to 4 tablespoons for a more prominent green hue in the dish.
There are quite a few variations in the recipe of this Karnataka style Mix Veg Sagu and preparing it does take a good amount of time. So, make sure you make this mostly for special occasions with some time in hand. Even my Veg Sagu recipe is the one I usually make on occasions, to go with pooris or set dosa.
The method of preparing this Veg Sagu is similar to the method of preparing Veg Korma. Only that some of the ingredients are different in both the dishes. For vegetables, you can use your choice of veggies. I have used carrots, French beans and potatoes. You can even add green peas and cauliflower.
Even chow chow (chayote squash) and green capsicum goes well in this Veg Sagu recipe. If you only want to use potatoes (aloo), then you can make this Potato Sagu instead. This dish is best paired with set dosa, neer dosa, poha dosa or pooris, parathas and chapattis too.
How to make Veg Sagu
Making spice paste
1. First, take all the ingredients that will be needed to make the spice paste. If you do not have Marathi moggu (kapok buds), then skip it.
2. Add everything in a grinder jar.
3. Add ¼ cup water and grind to a smooth paste. Keep aside.
Making Veg Sagu
4. Rinse, peel and chop 1 medium to large onion, 1 small tomato and other the veggies that you will be using. You will need 1.5 to 2 cups of mixed veggies. You can use veggies like potatoes, carrots, French beans, cauliflower, green peas, chayote squash, capsicum. Keep aside.
5. In a thick bottomed pan, heat 2 tablespoons oil. Lower heat, add 1 teaspoon mustard seeds and let them crackle.
6. Next, add 1 teaspoon urad dal.
7. Fry the urad dal till golden.
8. Then, add 8 to 10 curry leaves, a pinch of asafoetida (hing) and 1 to 2 dried red chilies. Sauté for a few seconds or till the red chilies change color.
9. Then, add the chopped onions.
10. Sauté the onions on low to medium heat.
11. Sauté till the onions turn translucent.
12. Then, add a pinch of turmeric powder. Mix well.
13. Next, add the chopped mixed veggies and tomatoes.
14. Mix the veggies with the rest of the tempering mixture.
15. Now, add 1.25 cups water.
16. Season with salt as per taste.
17. Cover the pan with its lid and cook the veggies on low to medium heat.
18. Check a couple of times while the veggies are cooking.
Cooking Veg Sagu
19. When the veggies are almost cooked, add the prepared spice paste.
20. Rinse the sides of the grinder jar with ½ to ⅔ cup water and add this to the pan. If you have scraped the entire ground paste from the jar, then just add ½ to ⅔ cup water directly in the pan.
21. Mix very well.
22. Cover the pan with its lid and simmer gravy on low heat.
23. Simmer till the gravy thickens a bit and you see oil specks on top. This will take about 7 to 8 minutes on low heat. Stir a couple of times, so that the gravy does not stick to the base of the pan.
24. Serve Veg Sagu hot with pooris, chapattis, paratha or set dosa, poha dosa or neer dosa. While serving, garnish with chopped coriander leaves and some fried cashews. For cashews, take 10 to 12 cashews and sauté in 1 to 2 teaspoons oil till they turn golden.
Expert Tips
- While making the spice paste, if you don’t have the Marathi moggu, then you can make the paste without it as well.
- You can use veggies according to your choice – carrots, potatoes, cauliflower, French beans, green peas, capsicum and chayote squash go really well in this curry.
- If you want to have spicier saagu, increase the number of green chilies in the paste.
- For a darker green color in the dish, add about 3 to 4 tablespoons of chopped coriander leaves in the paste.
- The saagu can be cooked in coconut oil or ghee as well.
- You can garnish the saagu with some coriander leaves and fried cashews before serving. Just take about 10 to 12 cashews and fry them in 1 to 2 teaspoons oil till golden.
More Veggies Recipes To Try!
Curry Recipes
Maharashtrian Food
Tamil Nadu Food
Curry Recipes
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Veg Sagu | Vegetable Sagu
Ingredients
for spice paste
- 1 inch cinnamon
- 2 green cardamoms
- 2 to 3 cloves
- 2 marathi moggu (kapok buds)
- 18 to 20 whole black peppercorns
- 1 tablespoon coriander seeds
- 1 teaspoon cumin seed
- 1 tablespoon roasted chana dal
- 3 to 4 small garlic cloves, chopped
- ½ inch ginger, chopped
- 2 tablespoons chopped coriander leaves, for a more green color you can add 3 to 4 tablespoons chopped coriander leaves
- ¼ cup grated coconut
- 1 or 2 green chilies, for a spicy taste add 3 green chilies
- ¼ cup water or as required for grinding
other ingredients for veg sagu
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
- 1 teaspoon split husked black gram (urad dal)
- 1 spring curry leaves or 8 to 10 curry leaves
- 1 pinch asafoetida (hing)
- 1 to 2 dry red chillies
- 66 grams onions or 1 medium to large onion or ⅓ to ½ cup finely chopped onions
- 1 pinch turmeric powder
- 44 grams tomatoes or 1 small tomato or ¼ cup diced tomatoes
- 1.5 to 2 cups of mixed veggies like potatoes, carrots, french beans, cauliflower, green peas
- 1.25 cups water to be added for cooking veggies
- salt as required
- ½ to ⅔ cup water to be added later
for garnish
- 1 to 2 tablespoon chopped coriander leaves
(cilantro leaves)
- 10 to 12 cashews sauteed in 1 to 2 teaspoons oil
Instructions
making spice paste for veg sagu
- First take all the ingredients that will be needed to make the ground paste for veg sagu. If you do not have marathi moggu (kapok buds), then skip it.
- Add everything in a grinder jar or a chutney grinder jar
- Add 1/4 cup water and grind to a smooth paste. Keep aside.
making veg sagu
- Now rinse, peel and chop 1 medium to large onion, 1 small tomato and the veggies that you will be using. You will need 1.5 to 2 cups of mix veggies. You can use veggies like potatoes, carrots, french beans, cauliflower, green peas, chayote squash, capsicum. Keep aside.
- In a thick bottomed pan, heat 2 tablespoons oil. Lower the flame and add 1 teaspoon mustard seeds and let them crackle.
- As soon as they begin to crackle, add 1 teaspoon urad dal.
- Fry the urad dal lentils till they become golden.
- Then add 8 to 10 curry leaves, a pinch of hing, 1 to 2 dry red chillies. Saute for a few seconds or till the red chilies change color.
- Then add the chopped onions.
- Saute the onions on a low to medium flame, till they turn translucent.
- Then add a pinch of turmeric powder. Mix well.
- Now add the chopped mix vegetables and tomatoes.
- Mix the vegetables with the rest of the tempering mixture.
- Now add 1.25 cups water.
- Season with salt as per taste.
- Cover the pan with its lid and cook the veggies on a low to medium flame. Do check a couple of times when the veggies are cooking.
- When the vegetables are almost cooked, add the ground masala paste.
- Rinse the sides of the grinder jar with 1/2 to 2/3 cup water and add this to the pan. If you have scraped the entire ground paste from the jar, then just add 1/2 to 2/3 cup water directly in the pan.
- Mix very well.
- Cover the pan with its lid and simmer till the gravy thickens a bit and you see oil specks on top. This will take about 7 to 8 minutes on a low flame.
- Serve veg sagu hot with pooris, chapatis, paratha or set dosa, poha dosa or neer dosa. While serving garnish with chopped coriander leaves and some fried cashews.
- For frying cashews, just take 10 to 12 cashews and fry them in 1 to 2 teaspoons of oil. Here I have deep fried the cashews as I had made pooris and in the same oil, I fried the cashews.
Nutrition Info (Approximate Values)
This Veg Sagu Recipe from the archives was first published in March 2016. It has been updated and republished in April 2024.
Just tried this for lunch, super yum!!!! Authentic sagu flavor, thank you !
Great and thanks for the super feedback.
really Delicious… thank u so much for postibg this kind of great delicious food …
welcome poornima and thanks.
Have a quick question for you. Do you have any suggestions on how to use leftover pickles? I have some spare pickles which we don’t plan to consume directly. Can I use this in any dish? Thanks in advance!
you make achari based recipes with the pickles. i have on blog some recipes where pickle masala is used – achari paneer tikka, achari paneer masala, litti chokha.
Hi Dassana, I cooked veg sagu with Kohlrabi and fresh Lima beans. It was delicious!
Thanks so much for posting this recipe. I’m not very fond of Kohlrabi, but it turned out very well with the coconut and cilantro paste.
thanks z for this feedback. kohlrabi will taste good in this recipe. thanks also for sharing the variations.
hi dassana…. I did veg sagu and it came out very well… the texture, aroma and taste were so good… ur recipes are easy to follow… thank you
thanks a lot rajeswari for this positive feedback. welcome and happy cooking.
can dry coconut be used instead OK fresh?
yes dry coconut can be used. use same amount as mentioned in the recipe.
The sagu came out very well 🙂 Thank you Dassana !
welcome ranjini, thanks for positive views.
Hi dasana
Today i made veg sagu following your recipe… it was awesome…thanks for the recipe… I didnt get marathi mogu… Still it was delicious…
thanks sreepriya for this feedback. good to know that the veg sagu was awesome 🙂
Hi Dassana. Just tried this recipe now. It has come out great and smells and tastes wonderful. Thank you. I do have a quick question for you. In case I don’t have roasted chana dal can i substitute it with something else. The only issue ia that my sagu has become watery instead thickening. I do have to tell you that yours is my go to site while I cook. I have tried many recipes and all of them have turned out great. So thank you.
thanks shilpa. chana dal does help in thickening. there is no substitute for chana dal. but instead you can use moong dal. just roast yellow moong dal in a pan till they are golden and then use.