All The Greens Saag

When all the greens from the farm meld together into one delicious dish. And by all the greens I literally mean all the greens! Carrot greens (tops), radish greens (tops), kale, chard, broccoli stems, broccolini stems, beet leaves, fennel fronds and the list goes on. I have found saag to be an extremely versatile dish that always cooks up delicious. It is a great way to eat all your greens. 

Saag is traditionally made in North Indian in the winters with mustard greens. Mustard greens have a piquant quality that helps warm the body in the cold winter months. Since mustard is not so easy to find in the US I have often made it with spinach. But having lived here for some time I started experimenting with other locally available greens and discovered that saag made from the other greens was equally delicious. 

My Tera Farm box just raised my experimentation to a whole new level! Since I know that all the produce is organic, freshly harvested and packed with the very best nutrition that money could buy, I didn’t want to waste anything from my produce box. And I am happy to share that literally almost all greens work well in a saag (celery and parsley flavors might be too strong - so haven’t tried those yet). So don’t throw anything away! Just make Saag with all the stems, fronds, and leaves and enjoy a power packed dish. You’ll leave Popeye in the dust with this dish. 

Ingredients 

• 1 bunch purple kale (including stems)

• 1 small bunch rainbow chard (including stems)

• Carrot tops

• Radish tops 

• Broccolini stems

• Stems from other bunches of chard/kale

• Cilantro stems 

• 3 tsp cumin powder

• 1 ½ tsp coriander powder (no worries if you don’t have this at hand) 

• 1 tsp turmeric powder

• ¼ - ½ tsp pepper 

• Salt to taste 

• ¾ cup water appx. 

Post blending 

• 1 large potato (aloo) OR 1 packet paneer, cubed 

• ½ - 1 onion, chopped small

• 1 tomato, chopped 

• 1 inch piece of ginger, chopped 

• 2-3 garlic cloves, chopped 

• 1-2 green chillies (optional) 

• 1 tsp cumin seeds (optional)

• 1-2 Tbsp ghee or butter

Method 

1. Roughly chop all the greens and, except the cilantro stems, add them to your pot. (I used my Instant pot so my instructions might be slightly different but you can use a regular pot and cook till the greens are soft.) 

2. Add water and all the spices listed with the greens in the ingredients list in the pot (post blending ingredients will come later), close and cook on Manual - High Pressure for 9 minutes. Let the pressure release naturally. 

3. While the greens are cooking you can chop your onions, ginger, garlic, tomatoes and potatoes or paneer. 

4. Open the instant pot, add the cilantro stems and blend the greens with an immersion hand blender. (You can use a regular blender but you would need to wait for the greens to cool down and dirty another thing. I really love the convenience of a hand blender.) 

5. Once blended, add the chopped potato to the greens and cook on slow heat till potatoes are cooked.  (If using paneer, add and cook for just a few minutes to warm it up)

6. In a small pan, add 1-2 Tbsp. of ghee/butter and heat. Add the cumin seeds and cook for a few seconds. Then add the onions and cook till golden brown. 

7. Lastly, add the ginger and garlic and fry for a few seconds then add the tomatoes and cook till they wilt. 

Now add all this (and green chillies) to the greens and potato/paneer dish. Stir gently to incorporate the onions and tomatoes in the saag. Your saag is ready - enjoy with rice or naan/roti :). 

-Neemun 

PS - Since I make this often, here is another version that I tried using a kale bunch, broccoli stems, chard stems, carrot tops, and fennel fronds (from 2 bulbs). As you can see, many possibilities.  And I eat it often without adding any potatoes or paneer too.