Mixed Sag

[aroy]

Every year during this season I make a mixed sag and freeze it for consumption during the year. I buy the sag from Okhla Mandi, so there is a lot of cleaning up involved. There are generally four sags involved
. Sarso
. Bathua
. Palak
. Muli

To ensure that the sag is super smooth I use only the leaves for the sag. To get the maximum flavorful though (or bank for the buck), I boil the stems separately and use the liquid in the sag.

The sag is then ground in a food processor and then cooked at slow heat for an hour. I will present it in two parts
1. Cleaning and pressure cooking the sag
2. Grinding and cooking it with spices
The final outcome is good enough on its own, though you may want to spice it up with some spices, chilies and tomatoes.

Muli leaves

Palak

Sarso

Bathua.

The reason for using a mixture and not pure Sarso is the taste. On its own Sarso does not taste great

Sarso - stems separated from leaves

Be careful while using Bathua. I got so many grass bits

Bathua stems

Bathua leaves

Mooli stems

Mooli leaves

Palak waste. Unlike other sags, palak has a lot of dirt and roots, which I discard

Palak

Palak stems

All the stems washed at least three times

All the leaves

Stems in the pressure cooker. Cook for at least 15 minutes total.

Drained stems after cooking

Broth left. Use this for cooking the leaves

Washed leaves. I wash them at least five times as there is a lot of dirt and mud attached to stuff I get from the mandi. Stuff at the supermarkets is cleaner, but even then rinse the leaves at least three times.

Leaves stuffed into a 5 liter pressure cooker. I had to use a lot of force.

Add 1 TBS salt

The leaves have shriveled up after cooking for 15 minutes.

 

[aroy]

Part-II : Grinding and cooking the pressure cooked sag.
Even though the sag has been pressure cooked, it is yet not fully cooked.

Sag ground in the food processor. On the left is the drained water which I will add while it is cooking

Garlic, Ginger and onion

Finely chopped

Sarso ka sag requires Sarso Ka Tel

Fry the spices on low heat till the onion turns golden brown

Add the sag. Be careful, the oil and spices are hot so add slowly, else it will sputter and spread around the cooking are and the walls

Add the liquid drained after pressure cooking

Cook for at least one hour at low heat. As the water evaporates and the sag thickens it will start sputtering at high heat, so slowly keep reducing the heat till it stops sputtering. The sag is cooked after around an hour or so or when the liquid has evaporated to leave a thick consistency.

Boxing the sag after it has cooled down. It will stay at least one year in the freezer. To use it defrost the sag gently, preferable take it out of the freezer and keep it in fridge for a day.

My wife just added Paneer to make Sag Paneer - a five minute job if the sag is defrosted.

 

[classicrajat]

lovely...thanks for sharing.

 

[aroy]

The old frozen sag finished two weeks ago. As Sarso is yet to come, did a Palak - Muli this time.

Palak Leaves

Muli Leaves

Stems of both Palak and Muli. Pressure cook for 15 minutes with a cup of water. Strain and use the liquid.

Leaves stuffed into the cooker. Use the liquid from boiled stems.

Herbs

Chopped

Leaves cooked. Note how much the volume has reduced. Make a paste of the cooked leaves in a mixer.

Fry the herbs in two/three TBS of oil. I use cold pressed mustard oil which lends its own pungency to the Sag.

After frying the herbs let them cool and then pour the Sag. If you pour it into hot herbs the sag will spatter all over the kitchen.

Cook the sag on very low heat for one hour. The the volume should reduces to half.

Once the Sag has cooled down, pack most of it into containers for freezing.

We use a small portion for the current meal. This is Sag with Mushrooms for dinner.

 

[anupmathur]

Saag with mushrooms and paneer, and boiled eggs as an option, also turns out good.
Dare I say your aluminium kadhai needs to be replaced; it's pitting and leeching a lot of Al into your food.

 

[aroy]

Saag with mushrooms and paneer, and boiled eggs as an option, also turns out good.
Dare I say your aluminium kadhai needs to be replaced; it's pitting and leeching a lot of Al into your food.

It has a lot of life left, As such Aluminum normally leaches when highly acidic food is cooked. As long as an Aluminum vessel has had a few hours of rest a hard oxide layer forms, which prevents Aluminum leaching into food.

We use Aluminum vessels for all sorts of cooking - boiling milk, mutton/fish/chicken curry, biryanis, rice etc. Stainless steel sounds good, but due to its low thermal conductivity creates hot spots and discolouration, so they are relegated to storage of cooked food. Here are some links that may interest you

http://www.livestrong.com/article/143570-poisons-from-aluminum-cookware/
http://www.takepart.com/article/2013/05/15/aluminum-pans-wont-give-you-alzheimers
http://www.nytimes.com/health/guides/nutrition/cooking-utensils-and-nutrition/overview.html
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1397396