About Chane Ka Saag

‘Saag’ in Punjabi or Hindi language is a general term for ‘greens’ or any ‘green leafy vegetable.’ Then, ‘chana’ is ‘chickpeas.’ So ‘chana saag’ or ‘chane ka saag’ are the tender greens of chickpea plant with small feathery leaves. You might also come across a preparation or dish referred to as saag, which might be confusing for you. But take it this way that any dish also, which is called as saag, like this Chane Ka Saag, is ought to have a green leafy vegetable in it. The confusion will be less like this. Like I mentioned in the beginning, fresh chickpea greens make an appearance in the Indian markets during winters. So, it is only during winters, you can make various recipes using these lovely tender greens. Thus, Chane Ka Saag too is a winter delicacy and usually made in the northern parts of India. The recipe of Chane Ka Saag shared here tastes very different than Sarson Ka Saag. Making any leafy green-based recipe takes time. Plucking, rinsing, chopping and finally cooking the greens is quite a time-consuming task. However, if you want to make saag, then you do have to spend some time in prepping them. But it’s worth the effort as the final dish is not only delicious but very nutritious also.

About This Recipe

To thicken this Chane Ka Saag, I have added moong dal (or split, husked green gram). You can also add makai ka atta (maize flour), besan (gram flour) or bajra atta (pearl millet flour) as a thickener. This recipe yields a delicious and slightly sour tasting (khatta) saag, which pairs beautifully with Makki Ki Roti or Bajre Ki Roti. You can also serve it with your regular chapatis or roti. Making Chane Ka Saag is easy and it is just the preparation that takes time. I clean the greens one day before, keep them in an air-tight cotton bag or container and refrigerate it. So, half of the work is over. Then, the next day, it is much easy to just cook the saag. Chane Ka Saag can be topped with homemade safed makhan (white butter) or Ghee and served with your choice of flatbread. It tastes the best with Makki Roti and Bajra Roti, and when paired with these, makes for a sumptuous, comforting and wholesome meal.  

How to make Chane Ka Saag

Cleaning and Prepping Saag

  1. Firstly, pluck the tender stems with the leaves from the saag. Do not use the hard or dense stems. Collect the tender small stems with the small leaves in pan or large bowl. You will need 150 grams cleaned chana saag or 5 to 5.5 cups chane ka saag.
  2. Now, add water in the pan or bowl and let the chane ka saag be immersed for 2 to 3 minutes. Doing this helps to get rid of the mud or dust on the saag as these settle down in the water.
  3. Drain all the water.
  4. Again pour water in the bowl or pan.
  5. Gently swirl the saag with your hands and then drain the water. Repeat this method 2 to 3 times, so that the saag is cleaned properly.
  6. Lastly, drain all the water well from the saag.
  7. Roughly chop the saag.

Pressure Cooking Chana Saag

  1. In a 3-liter stovetop pressure cooker, add the chopped saag.
  2. Add 2 tablespoons rinsed moong dal. Instead of moong dal, you can add maize flour, gram flour or pearl millet flour.
  3. Add 1 medium quartered tomato, 1 teaspoon chopped ginger, 1 teaspoon chopped garlic and 1 green chili (about 1 teaspoon, chopped).
  4. Add 1 pinch asafoetida (hing) and salt as required.
  5. Add ½ cup water.
  6. Pressure cook on medium heat for 8 to 9 minutes or 4 to 5 whistles. Since I have used moong dal, I have pressure cooked for more time. If using any of the flours instead of moong dal, then you can pressure cook for about 5 to 6 minutes.
  7. When the pressure settles down naturally, open the lid. Keep it open so that the saag mixture becomes warm or cools down.
  8. When the saag mixture has become warm or cooled, take it in a mixer-grinder jar or blender. You can also blend directly in the cooker with a hand held electric blender.
  9. Blend to a smooth consistency. Set aside.

Tempering Chane Ka Saag

  1. Heat 2 tablespoons mustard oil in a pan or kadai. You can also use ghee instead of mustard oil.
  2. Add ½ teaspoon cumin seeds. Keep the heat to a low.
  3. Let the cumin seeds crackle.
  4. Then, add 1 dried red chili (broken and seeds removed) and 1 pinch asafoetida (hing). Stir till the red chilies change color.
  5. Then, add ⅓ cup finely chopped onions.
  6. Begin to sauté onions on low to medium heat. 23. Sauté onions till light brown or golden.
  7. Add the saag puree.
  8. Mix very well and simmer for 3 to 4 minutes or till it becomes hot.
  9. While simmering, stir often as the saag splutters. Later, switch off the heat.
  10. Serve Chane Ka Saag with makki ki roti, bajre ki roti, chapatis or phulka.

Expert Tips

Please be sure to rate the recipe in the recipe card or leave a comment below if you have made it. For more vegetarian inspirations, Sign Up for my emails or follow me on Instagram, Youtube, Facebook, Pinterest or Twitter. Palak Corn – Spinach Corn Curry Aloo Palak | Spinach Curry with Potatoes Methi Chaman Palak Saag | Spinach Saag This Chane ka Saag post from the archives first published on January 2018 has been republished and updated on November 2022.

Chane Ka Saag - 27Chane Ka Saag - 50Chane Ka Saag - 43Chane Ka Saag - 27Chane Ka Saag - 89Chane Ka Saag - 85Chane Ka Saag - 23Chane Ka Saag - 54Chane Ka Saag - 3Chane Ka Saag - 72Chane Ka Saag - 73Chane Ka Saag - 76Chane Ka Saag - 72Chane Ka Saag - 12Chane Ka Saag - 16Chane Ka Saag - 69Chane Ka Saag - 85Chane Ka Saag - 14Chane Ka Saag - 67Chane Ka Saag - 10Chane Ka Saag - 83Chane Ka Saag - 21Chane Ka Saag - 64Chane Ka Saag - 42Chane Ka Saag - 95Chane Ka Saag - 96Chane Ka Saag - 72Chane Ka Saag - 79Chane Ka Saag - 28Chane Ka Saag - 75Chane Ka Saag - 53Chane Ka Saag - 68Chane Ka Saag - 82Chane Ka Saag - 88

title: “Chane Ka Saag " ShowToc: true date: “2024-09-20” author: “Paul Roussos”

About Chane Ka Saag

‘Saag’ in Punjabi or Hindi language is a general term for ‘greens’ or any ‘green leafy vegetable.’ Then, ‘chana’ is ‘chickpeas.’ So ‘chana saag’ or ‘chane ka saag’ are the tender greens of chickpea plant with small feathery leaves. You might also come across a preparation or dish referred to as saag, which might be confusing for you. But take it this way that any dish also, which is called as saag, like this Chane Ka Saag, is ought to have a green leafy vegetable in it. The confusion will be less like this. Like I mentioned in the beginning, fresh chickpea greens make an appearance in the Indian markets during winters. So, it is only during winters, you can make various recipes using these lovely tender greens. Thus, Chane Ka Saag too is a winter delicacy and usually made in the northern parts of India. The recipe of Chane Ka Saag shared here tastes very different than Sarson Ka Saag. Making any leafy green-based recipe takes time. Plucking, rinsing, chopping and finally cooking the greens is quite a time-consuming task. However, if you want to make saag, then you do have to spend some time in prepping them. But it’s worth the effort as the final dish is not only delicious but very nutritious also.

About This Recipe

To thicken this Chane Ka Saag, I have added moong dal (or split, husked green gram). You can also add makai ka atta (maize flour), besan (gram flour) or bajra atta (pearl millet flour) as a thickener. This recipe yields a delicious and slightly sour tasting (khatta) saag, which pairs beautifully with Makki Ki Roti or Bajre Ki Roti. You can also serve it with your regular chapatis or roti. Making Chane Ka Saag is easy and it is just the preparation that takes time. I clean the greens one day before, keep them in an air-tight cotton bag or container and refrigerate it. So, half of the work is over. Then, the next day, it is much easy to just cook the saag. Chane Ka Saag can be topped with homemade safed makhan (white butter) or Ghee and served with your choice of flatbread. It tastes the best with Makki Roti and Bajra Roti, and when paired with these, makes for a sumptuous, comforting and wholesome meal.  

How to make Chane Ka Saag

Cleaning and Prepping Saag

  1. Firstly, pluck the tender stems with the leaves from the saag. Do not use the hard or dense stems. Collect the tender small stems with the small leaves in pan or large bowl. You will need 150 grams cleaned chana saag or 5 to 5.5 cups chane ka saag.
  2. Now, add water in the pan or bowl and let the chane ka saag be immersed for 2 to 3 minutes. Doing this helps to get rid of the mud or dust on the saag as these settle down in the water.
  3. Drain all the water.
  4. Again pour water in the bowl or pan.
  5. Gently swirl the saag with your hands and then drain the water. Repeat this method 2 to 3 times, so that the saag is cleaned properly.
  6. Lastly, drain all the water well from the saag.
  7. Roughly chop the saag.

Pressure Cooking Chana Saag

  1. In a 3-liter stovetop pressure cooker, add the chopped saag.
  2. Add 2 tablespoons rinsed moong dal. Instead of moong dal, you can add maize flour, gram flour or pearl millet flour.
  3. Add 1 medium quartered tomato, 1 teaspoon chopped ginger, 1 teaspoon chopped garlic and 1 green chili (about 1 teaspoon, chopped).
  4. Add 1 pinch asafoetida (hing) and salt as required.
  5. Add ½ cup water.
  6. Pressure cook on medium heat for 8 to 9 minutes or 4 to 5 whistles. Since I have used moong dal, I have pressure cooked for more time. If using any of the flours instead of moong dal, then you can pressure cook for about 5 to 6 minutes.
  7. When the pressure settles down naturally, open the lid. Keep it open so that the saag mixture becomes warm or cools down.
  8. When the saag mixture has become warm or cooled, take it in a mixer-grinder jar or blender. You can also blend directly in the cooker with a hand held electric blender.
  9. Blend to a smooth consistency. Set aside.

Tempering Chane Ka Saag

  1. Heat 2 tablespoons mustard oil in a pan or kadai. You can also use ghee instead of mustard oil.
  2. Add ½ teaspoon cumin seeds. Keep the heat to a low.
  3. Let the cumin seeds crackle.
  4. Then, add 1 dried red chili (broken and seeds removed) and 1 pinch asafoetida (hing). Stir till the red chilies change color.
  5. Then, add ⅓ cup finely chopped onions.
  6. Begin to sauté onions on low to medium heat. 23. Sauté onions till light brown or golden.
  7. Add the saag puree.
  8. Mix very well and simmer for 3 to 4 minutes or till it becomes hot.
  9. While simmering, stir often as the saag splutters. Later, switch off the heat.
  10. Serve Chane Ka Saag with makki ki roti, bajre ki roti, chapatis or phulka.

Expert Tips

Please be sure to rate the recipe in the recipe card or leave a comment below if you have made it. For more vegetarian inspirations, Sign Up for my emails or follow me on Instagram, Youtube, Facebook, Pinterest or Twitter. Palak Corn – Spinach Corn Curry Aloo Palak | Spinach Curry with Potatoes Methi Chaman Palak Saag | Spinach Saag This Chane ka Saag post from the archives first published on January 2018 has been republished and updated on November 2022.

Chane Ka Saag - 66Chane Ka Saag - 30Chane Ka Saag - 37Chane Ka Saag - 56Chane Ka Saag - 69Chane Ka Saag - 7Chane Ka Saag - 73Chane Ka Saag - 54Chane Ka Saag - 14Chane Ka Saag - 34Chane Ka Saag - 51Chane Ka Saag - 23Chane Ka Saag - 96Chane Ka Saag - 17Chane Ka Saag - 34Chane Ka Saag - 32Chane Ka Saag - 23Chane Ka Saag - 3Chane Ka Saag - 75Chane Ka Saag - 82Chane Ka Saag - 28Chane Ka Saag - 32Chane Ka Saag - 78Chane Ka Saag - 23Chane Ka Saag - 96Chane Ka Saag - 10Chane Ka Saag - 99Chane Ka Saag - 98Chane Ka Saag - 2Chane Ka Saag - 87Chane Ka Saag - 19Chane Ka Saag - 88Chane Ka Saag - 83Chane Ka Saag - 44