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Sabzi (vegetables)Sindhi recipes

Sindhi Sai Bhaji Recipe

سندھی سائی بھاجی بنانے کا طریقہ

Sindhi sai bhaji: spinach, dill and fenugreek cooked down with chana daal and mixed vegetables, lightly mashed and finished with a garlic tarka.
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Illustration of Sindhi Sai Bhaji

Prep

25 min

Cook

50 min

Marinate / soak

1 hr

Serves

5

Difficulty

Easy

Spice

Mild

Sai bhaji, literally green vegetables, is a Sindhi one-pot dish of leafy greens and chana daal cooked with whatever vegetables are in season. Everything goes into the pot together and cooks in its own moisture until soft, then it is mashed coarsely so the daal binds the greens. Dill gives it the distinctive Sindhi fragrance, and it is traditionally eaten with plain rice.

Ingredients

5 servings

For 5 servings

Measures

For the tarka (baghaar)

Method

  1. Wash the chana daal and soak it in plenty of water for an hour. Meanwhile wash all the greens well and chop the vegetables.

    ⏱ 60 min

  2. Drain the daal. In a large heavy pot, layer the daal, onion, tomatoes, potato, aubergine, carrot and gourd, then pile the spinach, dill and methi on top.

  3. Add the ginger-garlic paste, green chillies, salt, turmeric, red chilli, coriander powder, 2 tablespoons of oil and 1 cup of water. Cover and cook on medium heat until the greens wilt down.

    ⏱ 10 min

  4. Stir everything together, cover again and cook on low heat, stirring now and then, until the chana daal is soft and the vegetables are falling apart. Add a splash of water only if it starts to catch.

    ⏱ 35 min

  5. Take off the lid and mash coarsely with a ghotni or potato masher. It should be thick with some texture, not a smooth purée. Cook uncovered for a few minutes to dry off any extra water.

    ⏱ 5 min

  6. For the tarka, heat the oil in a small pan, add the cumin, then the garlic and dried red chillies, and fry until the garlic is golden. Pour over the sai bhaji and serve.

    ⏱ 2 min

Tips for the best result

  • The vegetables are flexible: okra, a few florets of cauliflower or a handful of peas are all common. Keep the greens as the main part.
  • Do not skip the dill. It is what makes this taste Sindhi rather than like ordinary daal palak.
  • Methi stems are bitter, so pick off just the leaves.

Common mistakes

  • Adding too much water. The greens release a lot of liquid; too much water makes it soupy and washes out the flavour.
  • Blending it smooth. Sai bhaji should be coarsely mashed so you can still see bits of daal and vegetable.

How to serve

Serve hot with plain boiled rice, sliced onion, a wedge of lemon and fried potato slices or papad on the side.

Storing and reheating

Keeps 2 days in the fridge and freezes for up to a month. Reheat with a splash of water and add a fresh tarka if you like.

Nutrition and cost

Worked out from the ingredients, not measured in a lab. Treat both as a rough guide.

Per serving Estimate

Calories
300kcal
Protein
10g
Fat
16g
Carbs
34g
Fibre
8.4g
Sodium
800mg

Estimated from USDA FoodData Central, SR Legacy (April 2018), public domain values for the raw ingredients (98% of the recipe by weight had data). Deep-frying oil is counted at 20%; bones and water lost in cooking are not subtracted, so bone-in and fried dishes can read high. Not medical advice. Method

Cost per servingEstimate

≈ Rs 30

Whole dish ≈ Rs 150 · 44% of ingredients by weight priced

From the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics weekly SPI, week ended 29 Oct 2026. Spices, herbs and some vegetables are not in the SPI and are left out unless you add your price, so the real cost is a little higher. How this works

Sindhi Sai Bhaji: questions people ask

What does sai bhaji mean?

In Sindhi, sai means green and bhaji means vegetable dish, so it simply means green vegetables, named after the spinach and herbs at its heart.

Can I make sai bhaji in a pressure cooker?

Yes. Put everything in with only half a cup of water and cook for 2 whistles on medium heat, then mash, dry off the water and add the tarka.

Serve it with, and similar recipes

All sabzi recipes

Read this recipe in Urdu: سندھی سائی بھاجی بنانے کا طریقہ

https://handi.danixsoft.com/recipes/sindhi-sai-bhaji · Handi, DanixSoft