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Saag Butter Beans
5 from 30 votes

Saag Butter Beans

Saag Butter Beans are a spiced, creamy dish that combines butter beans with cooked spinach and aromatic Indian spices like cumin, coriander, garam masala, and fenugreek. The dish features a roasted onion base with ginger garlic paste and tomato paste, finished with non-dairy yogurt for a rich, tangy sauce and a garlicky chili oil garnish for heat and depth.

Prep Time
10 mins
Cook Time
25 mins
Total Time
35 mins
Servings: 4
Calories: 154 kcal
Course: Main Course, Dinner
Cuisine: Indian

Ingredients

  • 1 teaspoon neutral cooking oil generic cooking oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
  • 2 bay leaf
  • 1" cinnamon stick
  • 2 teaspoons ground coriander
  • 1/2 teaspoon kashmiri chili powder or use paprika
  • 1/2 to 1 teaspoon garam masala
  • 1/2 teaspoon fenugreek leaves dried
  • 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 cup onion red, chopped
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt divided
  • 1 tablespoon ginger garlic paste or use 4 cloves of garlic and 1/2 inch of ginger, minced
  • 1 tablespoon tomato paste or ketchup or use 3 tablespoons tomato puree.
  • 7 to 8 ounces spinach or finely chopped fresh greens of choice, such as a mix of mustard greens, amaranth greens, chard, and spinach, frozen
  • 1/4 cup Non-Dairy yogurt or use non-dairy cream, such as cashew cream or vegan sour cream
  • 1 cup water or non-dairy milk
  • 15 ounce butter beans or use other white beans, such as cannellini beans, or use chickpeas, can
  • pepper flakes for garnish
  • vegan parmesan for garnish
For the Garlic Chili Oil Tadka
  • 1 teaspoon neutral cooking oil generic cooking oil
  • 1 Whole Red Chili broken in half, use hot chilies such as cayenne or Indian or mild such as California red or Kashmiri chili
  • 1 clove garlic thinly sliced

Instructions

    Cup of Yum
  1. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Once the oil is hot, add the cumin seeds and cook until they're very fragrant and change color to be evenly dark brown. This can take anywhere from 1 to 3 minutes. Then, add in the bay leaves and cinnamon stick and mix in for 10 seconds or so, then mix in the ground spices. If the spices are starting to smoke, reduce the heat to medium low. Mix for just a few seconds, and mix in the onion and 1/4 teaspoon of the salt.
  2. Increase the heat to medium again, and continue to cook, adding splashes of water as needed, until the onion is starting to turn brown and has picked up the spices. This will take anywhere from 6 to 8 minutes. Once the onion is nicely roasted, mix in the ginger garlic paste, tomato paste, and a splash of water. Add the remaining salt, and mix in and cook for a minute, then stir in the non-dry yogurt, spinach and water and mix. then add in the beans. Mix well, then cover and cook for 6 to 8 minutes.
  3. Taste and adjust the salt, flavor, and texture. If the saag is too thick, you can add some more non-dairy milk at this point. Or, if you want it thicker, then continue to cook, uncovered, for a minute or two. Garnish with some pepper flakes and vegan parmesan, and make the tempering/tadka .
Make the garlic chili oil tadka.
  1. Heat the oil in a small skillet over medium heat. Once the oil is hot, break the red chili in half and add to the oil and let it cook until it starts to change color. Add the garlic, mix in, and switch off the heat. There will be enough residual heat in the oil to cook the garlic slices, if the garlic slices were pretty thin. If they’re thicker and not cooking down, continue to cook over medium-low heat for a minute or two before switching off the heat.
  2. Once the garlic is starting to turn golden on some of the edges, stir really well and drop this onto the saag beans. Served these beans with naan, flatbread, or roti or served over rice. You can also serve spooned onto sourdough for an elevated beans on toast. 

Notes

  • Add splashes of water while cooking onions to avoid burning and ensure even cooking.
  • Use nut-free and soy-free non-dairy yogurt, vegan parmesan, and non-dairy milk to keep the dish gluten-free, nut-free, and soy-free.
  • Mustard greens or a mixture of chopped fresh greens can replace spinach if prepared properly.

Nutrition Information

Calories 154kcal (8%) Carbohydrates 25g (8%) Protein 8g (16%) Fat 3g (5%) Saturated Fat 0.3g (2%) Polyunsaturated Fat 1g (6%) Monounsaturated Fat 1g (5%) Trans Fat 0.01g (1%) Sodium 729mg (30%) Potassium 525mg (11%) Fiber 8g (32%) Sugar 3g (6%) Vitamin A 5966IU (119%) Vitamin C 9mg (10%) Calcium 133mg (13%) Iron 3mg (17%)

Nutrition Facts

Serving: 4 Serving

Amount Per Serving

Calories 154

% Daily Value*

Calories 154kcal 8%
Carbohydrates 25g 8%
Protein 8g 16%
Fat 3g 5%
Saturated Fat 0.3g 2%
Polyunsaturated Fat 1g 6%
Monounsaturated Fat 1g 5%
Trans Fat 0.01g 1%
Sodium 729mg 30%
Potassium 525mg 11%
Fiber 8g 32%
Sugar 3g 6%
Vitamin A 5966IU 119%
Vitamin C 9mg 10%
Calcium 133mg 13%
Iron 3mg 17%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.