Slow Cooker Saag Curry – The Perfect Set-and-Forget Curry Night Winner.
If you’re after a rich, deeply spiced, and comforting curry that practically cooks itself, then this slow cooker saag is the one to try. Traditionally, saag curry is made with mustard greens, spinach, or a mix of leafy greens, slow-cooked with aromatic spices to create a beautifully textured dish that’s both hearty and packed with flavor.
About this recipe.
Normally, making a great saag requires slowly simmering and frequent stirring, but with this slow cooker method, you get all those authentic, bold flavours with barely any effort. It’s the perfect weeknight or weekend meal—just throw everything into the pot, let the flavours develop over time, and come back to a delicious, restaurant-quality saag curry.
You are going to love the flavour of this slowly cooked curry. It was inspired by the One Pot Saag Currywhich also features in my cookbook The Curry Guy One Pot. It pairs well with Basmati white rice and also Naans and chipattis.
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Ingredients
Always get your ingredients prepared and ready before you start cooking. It’s easier that way.
- spinach leaves, chopped
- mustard leaves, chopped
- fresh fenugreek leaves, chopped
- rapeseed (canola) oil
- cumin seeds
- white onion, roughly chopped
- garlic, roughly chopped
- ginger, roughly chopped
- green finger chillies
- tomatoes, diced
- ground coriander
- ground cumin
- Kashmiri chilli powder (more or less to taste)
- ground turmeric
- fine cornmeal flour
- Salt, to taste
- butter or ghee
- single cream (optional)
See Recipe Card For Quantities
Step by Step Photographs
As you can see from the photographs, this slow cooker saag is quite easy to put together. You could make it even easier on yourself by using frozen spinach. See Substitutes below.
- Step 1: Bring a pot of water to a boil and blanch the greens for about 30 seconds.
- Step 2: Allow to cool and then squeeze out the excess moisture. Retain the liquid.
- Step 3: Roughly chop the greens.
- Step 4: Heat the oil in your slow cooker using the sauté/searing function or in a pan over a medium-high heat. When the oil begins to shimmer, stir in the cumin seeds to infuse for 30 seconds.
- Step 5: Add the chopped onions and a pinch of salt and stir it all into the cumin spiced oil.
- Step 6: Fry for 5 minutes or until the onion is soft and translucent and then add the garlic, ginger and chillies.
- Step 7: Add the ground spices and chopped tomatoes and stir well to combine.
- Step 8: Then add the chopped spinach and 300ml (1 1/4 cups) of the retained water or a mixture of the retained water and fresh water.
- Step 9: Stir well to combine and slow cook for 2 hours on high.
- Step 10: After 2 hours, add the fine cornmeal and stir it in. Slow cook for another hour on high or two hours on low.
- Step 11: To finish, add the cream and butter and stir well to combine.
- Step 12: Serve hot over rice or with flatbreads.
Tips & Tricks
You can do all the frying a day or so ahead of cooking. I often fry more than I need to freeze and use it the next time I make slow cooker saag.
Substitutions
You don’t have to make this slow cooker rogan josh with lamb. Here are a few alternatives.
- Frozen spinach – Frozen spinach is not only a lot cheaper than fresh but in my option it is just as good for a recipe like this. You will need to approx 285g (10 oz) of frozen block spinach, defrosted and roughly chopped. The frozen spinach will give up a lot of water when defrosted with the excess moisture squeezed out into a bowl. You will need about 300ml (1 1/4 cups) of that water in this recipe.
- Use only spinach – I know it can be difficult to find mustard greens and fresh fenugreek leaves. You can leave them out and just use spinach. You will need about 500g (1 1/4 lbs) of fresh spinach if doing so.
- Dairy free – If you are on a vegan diet, you can substitute dairy free ghee and also use a dairy free cream.
Variations
You can easily adjust this recipe to make it to your own flavour preferences.
- Spicing – Feel free to add more or less chilli powder and green chillies to get the right heat.
- Dairy Free – Leave out the yoghurt or use a dairy free substitute.
- Add meat or paneer – This curry slowly cooks for a few hours so you can add either seared or raw lamb, beef or chicken and it will cook to perfection in the saag sauce. If you would like to add paneer, you should do so in the last 30 minutes of cooking to heat it through.
- Smooth sauce – I rarely do this but if you prefer a smoother sauce, you can blend the fried, spiced vegetables, liquid and greens into a smooth sauce before slow cooking.
Storage
Curries taste even better the next day. You can store any leftovers you have in an air-tight container for 3 to 4 days. You can also freeze in an air-tight container or freezer bag for up to 6 months.
If you do decide to freeze, I recommend not adding the cream. You can add the cream when you reheat it. Be sure to label the container and date it before freezing. To reheat, just let it defrost in the fridge and heat in your microwave or in a pan over a medium-high heat.
Top Tip
Try using frozen spinach. It is a lot cheaper and just as good. Frozen spinach is first washed, blanched and then flash frozen so you can skip the blanching step in this recipes and also make it easier on yourself.
FAQ
I left mine as it was but you could blend the sautéed ingredients with the blanched greens and water to make a smoother restaurant-style sauce.
Absolutely! Add extra green chilies, or more Kashmiri chilli powder to taste.
No! Slow cookers trap moisture, so curries may end up thinner than expected. Not with this slow cooker rogan josh recipe as long as you add no more liquid that called for. To thicken, you can remove the lid for the last 30 minutes of cooking using your slow cooker’s sauté function or in a pan on the stove. You could also stir in more blanched and blended greens.
Saag pairs nicely with:
· Chicken thighs – Juicy and flavourful after cooking.
· Lamb shoulder – Becomes meltingly tender.
· Paneer – Holds it’s shape and absorbs the sauce. Only add in the last 30 minutes of cooking.
· Chickpeas – A perfect and filling vegetarian option.
· Tofu – An excellent vegan protein swap.
More Slow Cooker Recipes
Looking for other slow cooker recipe like this? Try these:
Slow cooker saag pairs well with:
Yield: 4
Slow Cooker Saag Curry Recipe
This slow cooker saag curry recipes is so east and tastes even better than a traditionally pot cooked saag. You will be amazed at how authentic and good it is.
Prep Time
15 minutes
Cook Time
3 hours
Total Time
3 hours 15 minutes
Ingredients
240g (9oz) spinach leaves, chopped
2 bunches (approx. 150g/5½oz) mustard leaves, chopped
½ bunch (approx. 80g/3oz) fresh fenugreek leaves, chopped
2 tbsp rapeseed (canola) oil
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 medium white onion, roughly chopped
6 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped
2.5cm (1in) ginger, roughly chopped
2–3 green finger chillies
2 tomatoes, diced
2 tsp ground coriander
1½ tsp ground cumin
½ tsp Kashmiri chilli powder (more or less to taste)
¼ tsp ground turmeric
1 tbsp fine cornmeal flour
Salt, to taste
2 tbsp butter or ghee
70ml (1/4 cup) single cream (optional)
Instructions
- Prepare the greens by washing thoroughly under cold running water to remove any dirt or sand. Set aside.
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil and blanch the greens for 30 seconds. You should do this in small batches. Transfer the blanched greens to a bowl with a slotted spoon to cool and then squeeze out the excess moisture into a bowl. Retain the liquid. Roughly chop all these greens and set aside.
- Heat the oil in your slow cooker using the sauté/searing mode or in a frying pan over a medium-high heat.
- When the oil begins to shimmer, stir in the cumin seeds and let their flavour infuse into the oil for about 30 seconds. Then the add the chopped onion and fry for about 3 minutes to soften. Add the garlic, ginger and chillies and continue frying for another minute or two.
- Stir in the diced tomatoes and the ground spices. This is your base masala.
- Add the blanched greens to your slow cooker with the base masala and 300ml (1 ¼ cups) of the reserved water and cook on high for 2 hours or low for 4 hours. Whisk in the cornmeal flour and continue cooking for another hour on high or 2 hours on low.
- To finish, season with salt to taste and add the butter or ghee to melt into the saag. If you like, you can make it nice and creamy by stirring in the cream and/or swirling it over as a garnish.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
4
Serving Size:
1
Amount Per Serving:
Calories: 370Total Fat: 14gSaturated Fat: 8gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 32mgSodium: 238mgCarbohydrates: 59gFiber: 8gSugar: 16gProtein: 10g
