Quick butter saag with broccoli and corn

Quick butter saag with broccoli and corn
Prepare
less than 30 mins
Cook
10 to 30 mins
Serve
Serves 4

My go-to speedy curry for when I need a big dose of green vegetables, but must rely on the contents of my store cupboard and freezer.

For this recipe you will need a hand-held blender.

Each serving provides 382 kcal, 9.1g protein, 9.7g carbohydrate (of which 5.6g sugars), 32.2g fat (of which 19.2g saturates), 8.1g fibre and 1.08g salt.

By Sanjana Modha

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Ingredients

  • 2 tbsp salted butter
  • 5 garlic cloves, finely sliced
  • 2 tsp very finely chopped fresh root ginger
  • 2 green chillies, roughly chopped
  • 1 head broccoli (about 335g/11¾oz), broken into large florets and stalk grated or finely chopped
  • 450g/1lb frozen chopped spinach, defrosted
  • ½ tsp ground turmeric
  • ½ tsp salt, plus extra for cooking the broccoli
  • 1½ tsp dried fenugreek leaves, rubbed between your palms
  • 2 tsp garam masala
  • 150ml/¼ pint double cream
  • 200g tin sweetcorn, drained
  • 1 red chilli, finely sliced, to garnish
Recipe tips
How-to videos

Method

  1. Melt the butter in a saucepan over a medium heat. Add the garlic, ginger and green chilli and sizzle for 30–40 seconds.

  2. Add the grated broccoli stem, frozen spinach (including any liquid), turmeric, salt, fenugreek leaves and 1 teaspoon garam masala. Stir well and cover with a tight-fitting lid. Cook over a medium heat for 5 minutes, stirring frequently.

  3. Reserve a tablespoon of cream for the garnish then stir the remaining cream. Add the remaining teaspoon of garam masala. Use a hand-held blender to blend the sauce to a slightly coarse and creamy texture. Pulse until a thick purée-like consistency is achieved or, if you prefer a smoother texture, blend for longer.

  4. Meanwhile, bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil and add the broccoli florets. Boil over a medium–high heat, uncovered, for 8–10 minutes, or until softened and tender, with just a little bite. Drain in a colander and refresh under cold running water for 30 seconds. Set aside.

  5. Bring the blended sauce in the pan to a gentle simmer over a medium–low heat. Stir in most of the sweetcorn, reserving 2–3 tablespoons for the garnish. Stir in most of the broccoli, reserving a handful of florets for the garnish.

  6. Once the curry begins to bubble, cook for 2 minutes then transfer to a serving dish. Leave a bit of sauce in the pan and stir in the reserved broccoli.

  7. Arrange the lightly-sauced reserved broccoli on top of the curry, along with the reserved sweetcorn. Swirl over the reserved cream, sprinkle with the red chilli and serve.

Recipe tips

You can use frozen sweetcorn instead of a tin if that's easier. You'll need 160g/5½oz (less than in the recipe because of the liquid in the tin).