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Type of mustard greens for Sarson Ka Saag


gorkreg

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A while ago I cooked Sarson Ka Saag and it was delicious. I used only the leaves of the Indian mustard greens but not the stems. I am trying to cook it again but in the area where I leave I can only find the Chinese variety of mustard green. It almost looks like a big Pak Choi with huge leaves and very thick white stems, very different to the Indian variety. My question is: Can I use these one for the Sarson Ka Saag? Is the flavour very different to the Indian mustard greens? Thank you in advance.

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  • 2 months later...

Dear Gorkreg

I am so sorry I never saw your question. I wish my response could have been more timely. So what did you do that day? I hope you used the greens you had found. Perhaps you did. And? What did the saag taste like? 
 

I too find that you don’t always get all the greens or even spices for that matter, that were used traditionally. So I try to ‘mix-match’ as you will. 
 

Recently, I did make sarson ka sag, so I can post some of my pictures too.  This is a picture of the mustard greens I grew in a pot. Will you be surprised if I told you how? I just planted some of the Indian black mustard seeds from my spicebox around end of Nov, and they grew! In January I had a crop of mustard greens. I plucked the smaller leaves for salad and then in a sunny week, suddenly the flowers came on. So I attempted to use the flowers and the leaves for saag! It worked! 
 

My recipe for saag includes mustard leaves, small mustard flowers, hardly any stems. Plus spinach leaves. Plus finely chopped onions, garlic, ginger, green chillies. Plus salt, dry mango powder, black salt, and ghee. 
Stirfry all the leaves in a tiny bit of ghee till wilted. Then separately fry onions and other ingredients. Add the wilted greens and puree. Cook on a very low flame for about an hour. Then add the black salt and dry mango powder. Serve with chapati roti or naan and plenty of ghee. 
Not a diet recipe in any way. I’m sure your recipe turned out superb as well. 
Bhukkhad

1F1167E1-0EC9-44E7-9F45-D6AD2A28A5F0.jpeg

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23 hours ago, Bhukhhad said:

Dear Gorkreg

I am so sorry I never saw your question. I wish my response could have been more timely. So what did you do that day? I hope you used the greens you had found. Perhaps you did. And? What did the saag taste like? 
 

I too find that you don’t always get all the greens or even spices for that matter, that were used traditionally. So I try to ‘mix-match’ as you will. 
 

Recently, I did make sarson ka sag, so I can post some of my pictures too.  This is a picture of the mustard greens I grew in a pot. Will you be surprised if I told you how? I just planted some of the Indian black mustard seeds from my spicebox around end of Nov, and they grew! In January I had a crop of mustard greens. I plucked the smaller leaves for salad and then in a sunny week, suddenly the flowers came on. So I attempted to use the flowers and the leaves for saag! It worked! 
 

My recipe for saag includes mustard leaves, small mustard flowers, hardly any stems. Plus spinach leaves. Plus finely chopped onions, garlic, ginger, green chillies. Plus salt, dry mango powder, black salt, and ghee. 
Stirfry all the leaves in a tiny bit of ghee till wilted. Then separately fry onions and other ingredients. Add the wilted greens and puree. Cook on a very low flame for about an hour. Then add the black salt and dry mango powder. Serve with chapati roti or naan and plenty of ghee. 
Not a diet recipe in any way. I’m sure your recipe turned out superb as well. 
Bhukkhad

1F1167E1-0EC9-44E7-9F45-D6AD2A28A5F0.jpeg

 

Thanks for this post! When I've thought about cooking mustard greens I've never thought about including the flowers. I'll have to try that.

Nancy Smith, aka "Smithy"
HosteG Forumsnsmith@egstaff.org

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Thank you, Bhukhhad. I thought this forum was inactive as there were no new posts for weeks.

I did use the Chinese mustard greens and it turned out ok but not as good as I remembered. Also, there is a big waste as a lot of it are stems. If I find the Indian variety with flowers I will definitely give it a go.

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Well this  is my life. Too spicy for horses. The goat imports for brush control will. http://thecarrotrevolution.com/wild-foraging-cooking-with-wild-mustard/  https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/03/30/goats-sheep-and-cattle-solve-californias-wildfire-grazing-newsom/3308263002/  These we just up the road from me  a foggy day in LA

goats in mist.JPG

Edited by heidih (log)
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Its funny how the same plants are chosen to be grown in places, and the same ones grow as invasive crops in others. One would think that if the soil conditions were great for growing that plant, it would be native to that area. 
In India we grow a gherkin variety that we call Tindora or Tondli. Its english name is Ivy Gourd. In Hawaii it is considered an invasive plant. If I could get it to grow in a pot, or in the yard, I would eat it every day. But it does not grow from seed, and you cannot bring a vine into the state. So we are left wishing.....

Thank goodness for the produce market that can bring us supplies

Just musing

🙏🏻

Bhukkhad

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Oh mustard grows in horrid soil. A fond memory is walking my avatar dog up a big hill resplendent with mustard and almost tripping over artists with easels set to paint the profusion. 

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