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Laal saag or amaranth leaves are the beautiful red colored leafy vegetables you can get in any market in India. It tastes just great stir fried with a few shrimps or even without it. But, even with a lot of searching for the perfect leaves, I could not find the quality in US. So, I resorted to its closest cousin, the Swiss chard. Swiss chard grows well in spring and the best part is they mature in just a couple months. I know this because I grew my own Swiss chard this year in my backyard, and nothing beats the taste of homegrown vegetables.
My mom makes laal saag in two ways – the vegetarian style with fried onions and boris, or the non-vegetarian style with fried shrimps. Me being the lover for seafood, I resorted to the second version to stir fry the Swiss chard. If you are omitting the shrimps, you can simply add 1/4 cup of sliced onions along with the red chilies in the oil, and then add the chard or laal saag. While serving garnish with some fried bori.
- 4 cup swiss chard
- 2 teaspoon mustard oil
- 2-3 dry red chili
- 1/2 small shrimps
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
- Salt to taste
- Heat 1 teaspoon oil in a deep bottom wok, sprinkle the shrimps with turmeric powder and salt, fry till they turn pink, about 3 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel and keep for later
- In the same wok, temper the oil with the dry red chilies; add the Swiss chard and cover with a lid, stir often till they soften and reduce in volume. Season with salt and add the fried shrimps. Stir fry for another minute.
- Serve hot with warm white rice
- Make sure you wash the leaves very well, sometimes dirt stick to the bottom of the leaves and the stem.
- Don't overcook the shrimps, overcooked shrimps become hard and chewy
