I got this idea from an Indian food blog snnehh.com. However they made a mistake saag means greens in Urdu and they are green leafy vegetables otherwise known as greens. Instead they got it confused and mixed it up with the turnip root. Now I know my greens better then most people. They come as mustard, spinach the top part of the turnips is the green part that is very much eaten as the bottom part which is the root and also very yummy. There is also kale, collards, etc. In Hinko language tipper means turnip. In Urdu it is called either shaljam or shalgham also meaning turnip.
Now I am going to tell you how to make this dish and it would go a lot quicker using a pressure cooker which is faster and easier then using a slow cooker and we are going to cover both avenues.
Pressure cooker method as follows is: add 3 tbs of olive oil, add 1 pinch of cumin seeds 1 pinch of fenugreek seeds, 1 pinch of hing and cut one onion any color will do. If you want you can add 4 green onions or 1 shallot or if you prefer that you don’t want to add any onion at all and it will give a lovely color to this dish. Stir until brown then add 2 cloves of garlic and 1 small piece of ginger peeled washed and ground in the mortar and pestle to make a paste or you can use a blender to make ginger garlic paste if you like. Add either a tsp of sugar in the raw or turbinado sugar, 1 pinch of pink salt, 1/2 tsp of tumeric, 1/2 tsp of Garam Masala, crumble 1 whole red chili. You can either use the dried long ones or the round ones, it really doesn’t matter as long as you have some kind of heat. Add 1 tomato finally diced and cook it down to like a mush on low heat. If it starts getting a little dry add 1/4 cup of water a little at a time to keep the spicy tomato mixture from scorching. Peel cut and wash 4 to 5 turnips and cut in half moon pieces and put it in the pressure cooker. Combine it with the masala mixture and add a pinch of cilantro. Add 4 cups of water stir and cover the pressure cooker and wait til the safety button pops up. Set your timer either egg timer or on microwave for 15 minutes. When the time is up turn off the burner and let it sit while the pressure is being released. When all of the pressure is gone check the safety valve and see if it has fallen. If it has it means the cooking time has completed. From here it is safe to open the pressure cooker. Now the turnips are very soft where they look like you can mash them. This is the way you want to eat your turnip without causing stomach upset like gas.
Serve with chapati or naan with yogurt on the side.
Slow cooker or crock pot method: make the masala base on stovetop on medium low heat. just follow the recipe for the masala or curry base then add it to your slow cooker or crock pot. Peel cut and wash your turnips. 4 or 5 turnips is enough to feed 1 person to 2 people. Place these in your crock pot or slow cooker and cook on high for 3 to 4 hours. Just be sure to cut the turnips in small pieces so they can be tender in no time. However if you are in a hurry and pressed for time the pressure cooker method is ideal and highly recommended.
