You can make this rich, buttery saag in no time at all. Instant Pot saag is my favorite way to eat my greens. This recipe for saag quick and easy to make. It’s so delicious that you might even forget this dish is good for you. š
What’s better thanĀ some creamy, dreamy Saag? Saag made in an INSTANT. Like, in an Instant Pot.
What is Saag?
I like to describe saag as the Indian version of creamed spinach; only the creaminess comes from the ghee. Saag translates to āpureed greens,ā so you can essentially use any green vegetable to make saag. It’s a good clean out the fridge dish – you can use kale, spinach, brussels sprouts. If you’d like, go through the comments on this post to see what blog readers have used in their saag.
To make authentic Punjabi saag, you will want to use a combination of mustard greens (“sarson”) and spinach (“palak”). I prefer to useĀ equal parts of spinach and mustard greens to make my saag. This is the version of saag that I grew up eating, and itās the one that I prefer, but if you canāt find mustard greens, donāt worry, spinach will work just fine too. An all spinach saag will have a thinner consistency, though. Ā
I know this is probably more than you cared to know about saag, but it’s a subject I’m pretty passionate about. If I’m being honest, I’m basically passionate about all things food-related. If I’m being REALLY honest, I’m more passionate about eating food than I am cooking. That’s probably the reason I’m in love with my Instant Pot – because I get to spend more time eating and less time cooking.
You can always add cooked meat or paneer to saag if you want – stir it in! And make sure to always top your bowl with extra ghee!
Instant Pot Saag
Instant Pot Saag
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons ghee
- 2 onions diced
- 4 teaspoons minced garlic
- 2 teaspoons minced ginger
Spices
- 2 teaspoons salt to taste
- 1 teaspoon coriander
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon garam masala
- Ā½ teaspoon black pepper
- Ā½ teaspoon cayenne adjust to taste
- Ā½ teaspoon turmeric
- 1 pound spinach rinsed
- 1 pound mustard leaves rinsed
- Pinch of kasoori methi dried fenugreek leaves
- Ghee or butter for serving
Instructions
- Press the “saute” button on the Instant PotĀ and add the ghee. Once it melts, add the onion, garlic, ginger and spices to the pot and stir-fry for 2-3 minutes.
- Add the spinach, stirring until it wilts and there’s enough room to add the mustard greens.
- Secure the lid, close the pressure valve and cook for 15 minutes at high pressure.
- Naturally release pressure.
- Remove the lid and use an immersion blender to puree the contents of the pot (or pour the contents into a blender and then add the blended mixture back into the pot).
- Stir in the dried fenugreek leaves.
- Serve with ghee.
Notes
- Make sure to rinse the spinach even if it is pre-washed. The little bit of water clinging to the leaves is enough to get the instant pot to start. Do not add more water to this! The spinach leaves will also release water as the pot comes to pressure. If you add water, the dish will be way too watery, trust me.
- If you are making this using 2 pounds of spinach then know that the saag will be a bit thinner than if you were to have used saag along with mustard greens. You can thicken the saag by pressing sautĆ© at the end to reduce liquid if you’d like (or stir some corn flour into the saag to help thicken it up).
NM says
I’ve made this twice, once using half spinach, half silverbeet (chard), which was lovely, and once using half spinach, half mustard greens, which was just divine. Absolutely perfect recipe. So comforting to eat and a great way to increase our intake of greens.
I love that no nutrients get lost because it’s pressure cooked rather than boiled and drained.
This is going into my weekly rotation. Thanks Ashley!
Ashley - My Heart Beets says
That’s so great to hear! Thanks for letting me know how much you like this recipe – glad it’s going into your weekly rotation! If you get a chance, try it with broccoli and spinach – I think that might be my favorite new combo (in fact, I may need to share a broccoli saag soon heh).
Wilmington Office says
This was a very convenient way to make the saag. The only reason I can’t give it five stars is that it is way too salty. I recommend starting with much less (1/2 teaspoon) and then seasoning it to taste after the dish is finished. (I realize it says “salt to taste” in the ingredients, but since that isn’t really feasible when salt is among the first ingredients to be added, this is just a warning to everyone to start very conservatively!)
Stephanie says
If I wanted to make lamb saag do you have any recommendations? Should I just brown some ground lamb separately and add it to this recipe? Or would it work to make this recipe then cook some lamb stew meat in the prepared saag?
Ashley - My Heart Beets says
Hi Stephanie, yes, I’d suggest cooking the lamb separately and then adding it to this. You could try making it the way I make my chicken saag but I haven’t tested that myself yet. If you try, please let us know how it goes!
Stephanie says
I made this for dinner tonight and it was a huge success. I ended up pulling from a couple of your recipes to cook the stew meat (I started out like I was going to make your onion masala, then I tossed the meat with the spice mix from your ground lamb curry. I purƩed the onion masala and added the meat and cooked it under pressure for 40 min and set it aside while I made the saag. ) I made the Saag following the recipe and combined the two. It came out delicious.
Ashley - My Heart Beets says
That’s awesome! Glad it worked out so well š
Jessica Siegel says
I think I went over board with the fenugreek leaves. It had a metallic taste. What do you think? Any chance you have an exact measurement for the fenugreek leaves? I donāt trust myself to know what a pinch is. Thank so much!
Ashley - My Heart Beets says
Hi Jessica, you can do a teaspoon and it’ll be fine. I wonder if the metallic taste is from something else… I have other recipes that call for a ton of kasoori methi (like my aloo methi recipe) and that doesn’t have a metallic taste. If you’re able to figure out the culprit please let me know.
Emily says
The mix of spinach and mustard greens gives this curry they full body texture and complex flavors that are missing in so many other recipes I have tried. I often make it with chicken but it is delicious all by itself.
Ashley - My Heart Beets says
Thanks, Emily! Happy to hear that you like my saag recipe š