7 May 2008

Saibhaji

There are days when I open the fridge and it seems I'm cooking for a marriage party at home! This feeling surfaces right after I've stuffed my fridge with the week's quota of vegetables, fresh from the wholesale market. The veggies are mostly wiped out by the end of the week with barely twos and threes of something or the other left. A nice way to use up veggies from a stuffed fridge is to prepare saibhaji, a Sindhi dish made of leafy greens, pulses and a variety of vegetables. Not only is it packed with nutrition, it is really delicious and you can even get the fussy ones eating their greens and veggies.


You will need:

2 cups spinach - washed, cleaned and finely chopped
1/4 cup fenugreek leaves/methi - washed, cleaned and finely chopped
1/4 cup green moong dal
1/4 cup yellow moong dal
1/2 cup onions chopped
1 tsp garlic chopped
1 tsp gingerchopped
1 tsp green chillies chopped
2 tomatoes chopped
1/2 cup doodhi chopped
1/2 cup chopped carrot
1/4 cup chopped cluster beans
1/4 cup brinjal/eggplant chopped
a pinch of turmeric powder
a pinch of garam masala
salt and red chilli powder to taste

Note 1: You can substitute the moong dals with 1/2 cup channa dal.
Note 2: You can also add 1/2 cup chopped dill leaves(suva) and 1/2 cup chopped coriander leaves for an enhanced flavour.
Note 3: You can also add vegetables like potato, capsicum, okra.



Method:
Heat oil in a pan and fry te onions till golden-brown. Add the minced ginger, garlic and green chillies and fry for a minute. Then add all the chopped vegetables and stir-fry for about 3 minutes. Now add the spinach, fenugreek leaves, dals, salt, chilli powder, turmeric powder, garam masala powder and little water and pressure cook for 4 -5 whistles. Turn off from heat. After the cooker has cooled, open the lid and mash the saibhaji lightly (it should not become a paste). Just before serving, temper with ghee and red chilli powder (optional). Saibhaji is served with rice but taste great with rotis too.

26 comments:

FH said...

Hi J, how are you? Love the design of your blog. Saibhaji is my fave too, kids love greens, I will try it this week!:)

KF said...

Saibhaji looks delicious!! I will try soon..

sra said...

It's a revelation to me that dal goes into sai bhaji, always thought it was a watery affair with greens floating in it!

bee said...

this is one dish i adore. thanks for the recipe.

Kalai said...

Have never tried this, but it looks wonderful!! :)

Unknown said...

nice template..love this dish with lot of pulses n veggies..

Susan from Food Blogga said...

You're so right. This would be a great dish even for finicky eaters, b/c they wouldn't know about all of those healthy veggies inside. I'd love to dunk a warm tortilla or pita in that bowl right now!

Bhawana said...

This is a must try recipe. I will try this surely.

Sig said...

I can really use this recipe... I always end up with bits and pieces of this and that in the fridge :)

J said...


Asha - I'm doing fine :) Your kids love greens? I used to hate it as a kid!
KF - Try it and let me know how it turned out.
Sra - Depends how watery you want it to be! :)
Bee - I used to hate this but love it now.
Kalai - Hope you try it!
Divya - Thankyou :)
Susan - Oh yeah, a roti or pita would be great with it.
Bhawana - Welcome to Currybazaar and let me know your feedback.
Sig - Shh...don't tell your guests what went into it!

Prema Sundar said...

Hi Jo,This recipe is new to me but i love the fact that it has lot of veggies and dals. A simple and healthy recipe.

Rajitha said...

seriously..i posted this dish today :)..urs is quite diff and so yummy!! will make urs the next time...

Bong Mom said...

I have read of saibhaji but haven't tasted it. Good meal with veggies and all protein from the dal

Comment not going in :(

J said...


Prema - Hi! Good to see you here.
Rajitha - Saw your version and left my comments there :)
Sandeepa - Oops! But got your comment anyway :) You can try this for lil S.

indosungod said...

Jyothsna, that seems like a perfect way to use up the 1/4, 1/3 and 6/8 of veggie lying around. Can serve as a side dish for pretty much anything.

J said...


Indo - Yeah, it is...:)

Anks said...

This is a real keeper...! am gonna try it out asap... thanks for the recipe

Swati said...

Hello Jyothsna
Thanks so much for your lovely comments...
I really like the design of your blog and your contents too are very impressive..This bhaji is so delicious and healthy!!

Nanditha Prabhu said...

book marked it already:)...will surely try!

Cynthia said...

This is new, thanks for the introduction.

Thistlemoon said...

I often have this problem too! Looks like you made a delicious dish from your leftovers! Yum!

Welcome to The Foodie Blogroll!

ranji said...

lovely dish...will try it out soon..

J said...


Anks - Thanks for the visit! :)
Swati - Thanks for your kind words :)Good to see you around.
Nandu - Let me know how it turned out for you.
Cynthia - You're welcome!
Jenn - Thanks for your visit!
Ranji - Good to see you here!

Shah cooks said...

u are right ,end of the week there is a trail of leftover veggies.. normally i make pav bhaji with that..but sai bhaji sounds like a nice alternative!

Shah cooks said...

did u get my previous note? if so delete one. will surely try this when i clean out my fridge on fridays!!

J said...


Malugirl - Let me know how it turned out.