Kashmiri haak is a typically Kashmiri Pandit dish of greens (saag in Hindi) cooked with mustard oil, asafoetida (hing), and dried red chillies. But this daily dish is universally popular across the state and is cooked in almost all Kashmiri homes.
Follow our quick and simple Kashmiri haak recipe and learn how to cook Kashmiri haak in half an hour and enjoy this flavourful, hearty dish of gorgeous greens over rice.
Haak is the Kashmiri equivalent of saag or greens. Kashmiri style haak is a traditional dish made with a variety of greens like haak, monji haak (kohlrabi greens), mujj haak (radish greens), and vopal haak (dandelion greens). Other greens that can be used include collard greens, kale, beet greens, spinach, and cabbage (the outer, darker leaves).
Indeed, Kashmiri haak is such an important element of Kashmiri cuisine that it has its own vocabulary. Varieties of Kashmiri haak are distinguished by season (spring, autumn) and the area of their origin and cultivation (Noor Bagh, Dal, Khanyar).
This seasonal vegetable is available only at certain times of the year. In such cases, other greens are often substituted for haak.
The best Kashmiri haak is simple and light, healthy and nutritious, tasty and flavourful.
This dish of soupy braised greens is considered a poor man’s food because it uses leaves from vegetables that would otherwise be discarded. Nevertheless, delicious Kashmiri haak is an integral part of the menu for all major events and festivals in Kashmir.
Kashmiri haak ka saag is traditionally eaten with boiled rice. The soupy greens are ladled into the middle of a well in the centre of a plateful of rice. Sometimes additional mustard oil is poured over the haak to enhance both flavour and taste.
Kashmiri haak is a versatile dish and variations include sliced onion, green onion (scallion), ginger, garlic, tomato, clove, yellow mustard seeds, and garam masala. But we prefer a simple recipe, with basic seasonings and only a few ingredients, to highlight the taste of delicious and gorgeous haak. In fact, there is a school of through who even prefer Kashmiri Haak recipes without any asafoetida – we have therefore mentioned it as optional.
Check the leaves for pests, trim the end of the stems only if they are too long or tough, and wash each leaf well in running water. Kashmiri Haak is traditionally cooked with stems intact.
The leaves are always cooked whole, and not chopped. Only very large or thick stalks, the tough central stalk, and the coarse lower stems may be trimmed or removed (we don’t suggest this), but traditionally the stalks are left on the leaves.
The leaves of Kashmiri haak are braised in lots of water. Make sure to use enough water to braise the haak, to prevent the leaves from drying out. It is very important to ensure that the haak stays submerged underwater during the initial cooking process, so use a wooden spatula or large spoon to continuously push the haak down. This should be done until it has cooked through and remains underwater on its own.
Our Kashmiri haak recipe has no onion and no garlic. It calls for only a handful of ingredients and is very easy and quick to make.
Mustard oil, which is used extensively in Kashmiri cuisine, imparts an extra flavour to the dish.
Asafoetida, another typical ingredient in Kashmiri Pandit cuisine, imparts not only a characteristic taste but also adds a delicious aroma to this simple dish of wilted greens. Asafoetida is not commonly used in Kashmiri Muslim cooking and is treated as optional in our Kashmiri haak recipe.
Meetha (sweet) soda / baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) is used to preserve the bright vibrant green of the haak leaves.
Some Kashmiri haak recipes use fresh green chillies, but we use dried red chillies, preferably Kashmiri red chillies, which are not as hot as they look but which add sufficient heat to the greens to enhance their flavour.
Serve delicious Kashmiri haak immediately with plain boiled / steamed rice along with some of the haak-rus (haak broth). You can also have it with plain roti.
For a proper Kashmiri meal, serve Kashmiri haak with accompaniments like Kashmiri lal paneer, ganth gobi, Kashmiri rogan josh, Kashmiri rajma, Kashmiri-style dum aloo, and round it off with zarda (sweet rice) followed by Kashmiri Kahwa.
Or see all our Vegetarian Recipes right here!
Serves: 4 to 6 as part of a larger meal
Prep Time: 3 minutes
Cook Time: 26 minutes