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Mutton Saag
Mutton Saag is a traditional Indian recipe for a classic curry of goat meat in a spiced spinach leaf base. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Indian version of: Mutton Saag.
prep time
20 minutes
cook time
120 minutes
Total Time:
140 minutes
Serves:
6
Rating: 
Tags : CurrySpice RecipesIndian Recipes
This is an Anglo-Indian dish for a classic curry of goat meat (mutton also works) with spinach leaves. As a wild forager I often substitute the spinach with wild-sourced mustard leaves that give a deeper flavour, but spinach works well enough.
Ingredients:
5 tbsp sunflower oil
4 large onions, peeled and sliced
10
cardamom pods
1 tbsp cumin seeds
2 tsp mustard seeds
¼ cinnamon stick
6 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced
2 long red chillies (cayenne), sliced
1 tbsp ground coriander
2 tsp ground turmeric
500g spinach leaves (preferably not baby spinach), stalks removed, washed and drained (I usually use foraged wild mustard leaves)
1kg boneless goat leg, meat cut into 4cm/1½in pieces (You may need to start off with a 1.7kg piece of mutton on the bone.)
1 tsp flaked sea salt, plus extra to taste
1
Indian bay leaf
2 tbsp tomato purée
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Method:
Place a large, heavy-based frying pan over medium heat. Once hot add the sunflower oil, followed by the onions, then reduce the heat and cook gently for 20 minutes, or until softened and golden-brown.
In the meantime place the cardamom pods in a mortar and pound lightly to split the pods. Tip onto a board and open each pod, scraping the seeds back into the mortar. Add the cumin, mustard seeds and cinnamon stick and grind into a fine, dry powder.
Remove half of the onions from the pan and transfer to a plate. Return the pan to the heat and stir in chillies and garlic, cooking them for three minutes. Add the ground spices, ground coriander and turmeric and fry, stirring constantly, for two minutes.
At this point, pre-heat your oven to 170°C/Gas Mark 3.
Now stir in 300g of the spinach into the pan and cook for 2-3 minutes. Remove from the heat, scrape into a heatproof bowl and set aside to cool.
Return the pan to the heat and add one tablespoon of oil. Season the goat meat all over with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Add the seasoned meat to the pan and fry the over a medium-high heat in 2-3 batches until nicely browned on all sides, adding a little more oil to the pan if necessary. As soon as one batch is browned, transfer to a medium flame-proof casserole while the rest is fried.
Transfer the spiced onions and spinach to a food processor and blend to a thick green paste. Stir this into an oven-proof casserole dish with the goat and add the bay leaf, tomato purée and 800ml/1⅓ pints cold water. Season with a teaspoon of sea salt flakes, stir well and bring to a simmer.
Remove from the heat and cover the surface of the curry with a piece of crumpled baking parchment. Place a lid on top of the casserole then transfer to your pre-heated oven and cook for 2½-3 hours or until the mutton is very tender and the sauce is thick.
Stir in the reserved onions and the remaining spinach. Cover with the lid and return to the oven for a further 15-20 minutes or until the onions are hot and the spinach has wilted. Serve with rice or warm naan bread.
