Saag Gosht
Lahori-style classic sarson ka saag with mutton
- Cooking time3 hours
Calories670kcal
Sarson ka saag is a much loved Punjabi dish of mustard greens, popular in winter when mustard is in season. It is a delicacy that Punjabis look forward to all year. It is served traditionally with "makke ki roti" made out of maize-flour. To make sarson ka saag, the mustard greens are cleaned, chopped and then slow-cooked along with other seasonal leafy greens such as bathua, radish and spinach.
In this episode of Pasher Bair Ranna, Kolkata-based chef Rahul Arora cooks his mother's version of the classic sarson ka saag, which is velvety but not uniformly smooth. Rahul also puts his own twist to the traditional sarson ka saag, turning it into saag gosht (also sold in the West as "lamb saag") by adding mutton to it.
Mustard greens, especially matured mustard greens from a flowering plant, have far more complexity and texture than the slippery mush that the usual spinach-based saag gosht tends to be. Instead of large chunks of mutton which can take a couple of hours to cook you could also use minced mutton for faster cooking.
Rahul grew up in Hazra in Calcutta and likes to buy his mustard greens from Jadubabur Bajar in Bhowanipur which the Punjabis in Kolkata refer to as "Jaggu Bazar". This is also where he buys the soft sugarcane jaggery, as well as the freshly-milled maize flour that he uses in this dish.
The quantity of jaggery may seem like a lot but the sweetness is reduced when the sugars are caramelised by frying in the oil. Rahul also notes that the jaggery is optional. Indeed, many Punjabi families don't add any sugar or jaggery to their sarson ka saag. This is his family's version.
Books in this recipe
Ingredients
For the saag base
- 1 kg sarson ka saag (mustard greens)
- 250 g palak (young spinach)
- 100 g bathua (betho shaak)
- 50 g mooli ke patte (radish leaves)
- 50 g ginger (finely chopped)
- 30 g green chillies (finely chopped)
- 100 g ganne ka gur (sugercane jaggery)
- 22 g salt
- 300 ml water
- 50 g makai ka atta (corn flour)
For the marination
- 750 g mutton (bone-in, cut in large 100g pieces)
- 36 g ginger (finely chopped)
- 36 g garlic (finely chopped)
- 18 g green chillies (finely chopped)
- 12 g kashmiri red chilli powder
- 9 g coriander powder
- 4 g pepper powder
- 12 g salt
- 150 g yoghurt
- 25 g mustard oil
For the tadka
- 200 g white ghee
- 60 g gur
- 20 g kashmiri red chilli powder
- 525 g onions
- white butter for garnish
Method
For the saag base
- Carefully pick through the mustard greens and separate them into leaves, younger stems and thicker core. Peel the thicker stems of their plastic-y coating to reveal the inner pith. Also carefully pick through the bunch of spinach, bathua and radish leaves, discarding the roots and other damaged or moth-eaten leaves.
- Wash all the greens thoroughly, changing water multiple times until you've got rid of all the dirt and debris.
- Finely shred the leaves and stems, and transfer to a pressure cooker.
- To it, add finely chopped ginger, green chillies and gur, along with salt and water.
- Turn up the heat and allow the greens to come to a boil and wilt.
- Give everything a good stir, secure the lid of the pressure cooker, and cook for 15 mins after the steam accumulates.
- Open the pressure cooker and pound the saag using a specialised tool called madhani, or with a whisk or a heavy spoon. The idea is to attain an even, cohesive texture.
- Close the lid once again, and pressure-cook for 15 mins.
- Open the lid and add makai ka atta. With the saag still on the heat, stir continuously to allow the makai atta to mix in evenly.
- We now have the saag base ready. This can be cooked with immediately, or the following day, or portioned into bags and frozen.
For the mutton
- Finely chop onions, ginger, garlic and green chillies.
- Marinate the mutton pieces with the ginger, garlic, green chillies, kashmiri red chilli, coriander powder, salt, pepper, yoghurt and mustard oil.
- Heat ghee in a pan. Temper with chopped gur.
- Add kashmiri red chilli powder directly into the oil on low heat, making sure it does not burn.
- Add the onions and sauté them until they have softened.
- Add the marinated mutton and continue braising on low heat until the mutton is fully cooked. Keep the pan covered, preferably with something heavy on top to allow the dum to build properly. Keep stirring frequently to ensure that the base does not catch.
- Once the mutton is fully cooked, add in the saag base and bring it to a boil.
- Serve topped with white butter, alongside makki ki roti.
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