If you are tired of monotonous dishes like potatoes with cauliflower or peas, dry chawli sabzi made from red or green chawli is an excellent choice to add flavor and nutrition to your diet. Chawli, also known as spinach, is a treasure trove of iron, calcium, vitamins A and C, and is considered an effective remedy for combating anemia and accelerating the increase in hemoglobin levels in the body.
A common problem is that when cooking chawli, too much liquid is released, making the dish watery and tasteless. To avoid this, it is necessary to thoroughly wash the chawli leaves and let them dry well. Then, by frying them over medium or medium-high heat along with plenty of garlic, onions, and whole red peppers, you get a crispy, aromatic, and very appetizing snack.
For preparation, you will need 500 grams of fresh chawli (red or green—only soft leaves and thin stems, finely chopped), one large onion (cut lengthwise and thinly), 10-12 cloves of garlic (finely chopped—garlic flavor is key for saag), one teaspoon of grated ginger, two whole dried red peppers (for tarka), two green peppers (finely chopped), two tablespoons of mustard oil (or ghee), half a teaspoon of cumin seeds, a quarter teaspoon of asafoetida, half a teaspoon of turmeric powder, half a teaspoon of coriander powder, half a teaspoon of amchur powder (for a tangy taste), salt to taste.
First, the chawli leaves must be torn and thoroughly washed in clean water three to four times to remove all dirt. After washing, leave them on a rack for 15-20 minutes to drain all excess moisture. Only then should the leaves be finely chopped. It is important to wash first and then cut, as pre-chopping leads to excessive water accumulation in the saag.
Heat the mustard oil in a pot. When the oil begins to smoke, reduce the heat and add the cumin seeds, asafoetida, and dried red peppers. Next, add the finely chopped garlic and ginger and fry for about a minute until golden and fragrant.
After this, add the thinly sliced onion and green pepper. Sauté the onion over medium heat until lightly pink and soft. Reducing the heat, add the turmeric powder and coriander powder and cook for 20 seconds.
Now, add the chopped chawli to the pot. Salt should not be added at the initial stage, nor should the pot lid be covered. The chawli needs to be fried over medium-high heat, stirring constantly with a spatula. After 2-3 minutes, the saag will reduce in volume by about half.
When most of the moisture from the chawli has evaporated, add salt to taste and amchur powder. (Adding salt at the beginning of the process causes a large amount of liquid to be released). Then, the sabzi should be cooked in an open pot for another 3-4 minutes over medium-high heat, stirring continuously, until all the moisture evaporates and oil begins to appear on the sides of the pot.
The finished garlic-rich chawli sabzi is ready. It is recommended to serve it hot with paratha, makki roti, or dal-chawal.