Easy Slow Cooker Saag
A healthy and easy saag (Indian spinach and greens) that you make in the slow cooker! Flavorful but not spicy.
Servings: 6
Calories: 93kcal
Ingredients
- 24 ounces spinach (fresh or frozen, which I usually use)
- 8 ounces bitter greens (such as kale; mustard greens; carrot tops; chard; tops from beets, turnips, or radishes) (fresh or frozen)
- 1 onion (chopped)
- 2 tablespoons ginger (grated or minced; about a 2 inch piece)
- 2 tablespoons garlic (minced)
- 1 teaspoon coriander (ground)
- 1 teaspoon cumin (ground)
- 1 teaspoon table salt
- ½ teaspoon turmeric (ground)
- ½ teaspoon black pepper (ground)
- ½ teaspoon cayenne (optional, but recommended if you like spicy)
After Blending
- 1 teaspoon garam masala
To Finish
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- cooked rice (for serving)
Instructions
- In a 3.5 or 4 quart slow cooker, combine the spinach, greens, and remaining ingredients (except for garam masala, heavy cream, and rice). If using fresh greens, be sure to rinse them and put them in the slow cooker while wet. If using frozen greens, add them frozen, ice and all.
- Cover and cook on high for 2 hours. If using stems or frozen greens, add 30 minutes (or more if your greens are in a chunk of ice). A little extra cooking time won't hurt.
- Use an immersion blender to puree the cooked greens until relatively smooth and not chunky. Blend especially well if you've used stems from kale or other greens.
- Stir in the garam masala. Cover the slow cooker and cook for another 2 hours on high.
- Turn off the slow cooker. Stir in the heavy cream, and add more salt to taste if necessary. Serve over rice and enjoy!
Notes
Adjust the amount of greens to your taste. Use at least half spinach. Use as much as 16 ounces or as little as 6 ounces of greens, substituting spinach for the rest.
Minced or frozen ginger works fine.
We skip the cayenne, but use it if you prefer some spiciness.
Garam masala is not the same as curry powder, which is not very good in this recipe. Be sure your spices are fresh. See blog post for details.
Add 2 tablespoons ghee in place of the cream, if desired. Or, try canned whole fat coconut milk to make it vegan (although I haven't tried it).
I strongly recommend using an immersion blender, as the saag will be too thick for a normal blender.
Calorie count is an estimate only, and will vary depending on the greens you use. Calorie count does not include rice.
Adapted from recipes by My Heart Beets
Nutrition
Calories: 93kcal
