Notes:
- Sai Bhaji is a green coloured mash with a thick dal-like consistency to be eaten with steamed rice or jeera pulao.
- This recipe can also be made without onion garlic.
Hey, don’t forget to eat your greens, my Mom always warned me! I was the fussiest eater ever as a child & wouldn’t eat any vegetable other than potato & okra/bhindi, but this was one sure way my mom ensured I ate all veggies by calling it a spinach or palak dal. After all, it was green mixed with yellow dal, you see, so I would never know! As we lived in a predominantly Sindhi neighbourhood, we saw this at friends & neighbours’ & cooked this at home atleast once a month.
Here’s a quick, fun & easy way to get all your nutritious rainbow veggies in & what’s more- masked by adding it all into one pot & cooking them together, then mashing it. Will sure fool your kids & they won’t know what they’re eating!
A super delicious & nutritious green one pot – Sindhi Sai Bhaji coming your way this mundane Wednesday when the worst part of the week is over & you are already waiting for Friday! You can always promise something more delicious & exciting over the weekend that I have lined up for you! What’s more, all the ingredients including Bengal gram dal are highly enriched with protein, iron, vitamins, high fibre & low carb, low cholesterol.
Traditionally eaten with plain steamed rice, it’s a hearty wholesome green one pot meal that delights all ages alike with a generous dollop of melted ghee! Mmm..drive away those mid-week blues with beautiful bright greens this time. It’s what the doctor ordered!
Recipe for Sindhi Sai Bhaji – One Pot Greens Curry
Ingredients (Serves 4 persons)
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1/4 teaspoon asafoetida powder / hing
- 2 small onions, chopped (optional)
- 1½ piece of ginger, finely chopped
- 7-8 cloves garlic, finely chopped (optional)
- 2 medium tomatoes, chopped
- ½ teaspoon turmeric powder
- 2 teaspoons coriander powder/dhania powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin powder/jeera powder
- Salt to taste
- 2 green chillies or to taste, chopped
- 2 cups mixed vegetables chopped small – 1 small brinjal, 1 small potato, 1 small carrot, ¼ bottle gourd or red pumpkin, 5-6 cluster beans (gowar)
- ¼ cup bengal gram /chana dal, soaked for 30 minutes & drained
Leafy Greens used
- 3 cups spinach / palak, chopped
- 1/2 cup dill leaves/suwa/shepu/sabsige soppu
- 1/4 cup fenugreek leaves /methi leaves or 1 teaspoon dry kasuri methi
- 1 cup ambat chukka or sorrel leaves / gongura / ambadi / khatta palak / pulichakeerai
- 1.5 cups water
Procedure
- Heat the oil in the cooker. Add cumin seeds & pinch of hing.
- Fry the onions lightly, if using.
- Add the garlic, ginger, green chillies and fry till light brown.
- Add the tomatoes, turmeric, coriander & cumin powder and salt. Fry till fat starts to separate.
- Add the chana dal & stir it in.
- Add all of the mixed vegetables & mix well.
- Add all of the greens, dill, fenugreek, spinach & stir well. Check once for salt.
- Add 1 cup of water & mix to combine well.
- Close the cooker. Allow it to reach maximum pressure (1 whistle), then reduce the heat and cook for 10 minutes. Turn off the heat.
- Let the pressure reduce by itself. Open the pressure cooker and mash the vegetables and spinach smooth.
- You should end up with a green puree with some brown – the dal.
- Add water if it looks too thick (should be a soupy consistency).
- Check seasoning before serving.
- Serve with plain steamed rice or pulao.
- This recipe can also be made without onion garlic.
Video for Sindhi Sai Bhaji – One Pot Greens Curry
The Culinary Konnoisseur 