Is Sarson ka Saag better with mutton? Rahul Arora investigates

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.

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✍🏽 Written recipe:
www.bongeats.com/recipe/sarson-ka-saag
www.bongeats.com/recipe/saag-gosht

🕺🏽 Follow Rahul on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rahul.arora.1982/

🎵 Music: “Barir pashe arshi nagar” originally composed by Lalon Fakir in the 1800s.
– Re-arranged and recorded for Bong Eats by
– Diptanshu Roy (mandolin)
– Tarishi Mukherjee (vocals)
– Abhijit Kundu (guitar)
– Nilesh Banerjee (drums)