Veg Sagu Recipe | How To Make Veg Saagu | Mix Veg Sagu (2024)

Sagu is basically a veggie side dish, made in a kurma style with a freshly ground spice paste and is popular in the cuisine of Karnataka in South India. This here, is a Veg Sagu, which has mixed vegetables cooked with the ground masala paste as well as other basic ingredients like onion, tomato, curry leaves, split husked black gram (urad dal) and more. The Mix Veg Sagu recipe is also vegan and can be teamed with fried breads, chapattis, dosas, parathas or steamed rice.

About Veg Sagu

I first tried the Veg Sagu with Set Dosa in one of the restaurants while staying in Bangalore (now Bengaluru) in the south Indian state of Karnataka. It was complex in flavors and textures, and was so delicious, that we finished off everything at one.

The most important element of this Mix Veg Sagu recipe is the unique spice paste that is freshly ground while preparing this dish. Traditionally, this masala paste consists of cinnamon, cardamoms, cloves, black peppercorns, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, roasted chana dal, garlic, ginger, green chilies, coriander leaves and coconut.

One more very typical ingredient that goes in this spice paste is the Marathi moggu or kapok buds in English. These are a type of caper and is particularly grown and used in Karnataka as a flavoring spice in various dishes like this Veg Sagu, Bisi Bele Bath, etc.

Sometimes, it is also referred to as ‘mogga’ in Telugu and ‘moggu’ in Kannada languages. The fragrance of this spice is quite strong and spicy. However, it may be difficult to source this special spice and you may not even get it in your city. In that case, you can skip adding it.

The color of this Veg Sagu recipe is mostly greenish and this is because of the addition of coriander leaves in generous quantities. I have added about 2 tablespoons of it in my recipe. But you can also make it to 3 to 4 tablespoons for a more prominent green hue in the dish.

More on this recipe

There are quite a few variations in the recipe of this Karnataka style Mix Veg Sagu and preparing it does take a good amount of time. So, make sure you make this mostly for special occasions with some time in hand. Even my Veg Sagu recipe is the one I usually make on occasions, to go with pooris or set dosa.

The method of preparing this Veg Sagu is similarto the method of preparingVeg Korma. Only that some of the ingredients are different in both the dishes. For vegetables, you can use your choice of veggies. I have used carrots, French beans and potatoes. You can even add green peas and cauliflower.

Even chow chow (chayote squash) and green capsicum goes well in this Veg Sagu recipe. If you only want to use potatoes (aloo), then you can make this Potato Sagu instead. This dish is best paired with set dosa, neer dosa, poha dosa or pooris, parathas and chapattis too.

Step-by-Step Guide

How to make Veg Sagu

Making spice paste

1. First, take all the ingredients that will be needed to make the spice paste. If you do not have Marathi moggu (kapok buds), then skip it.

2. Add everything in a grinder jar.

3. Add ¼ cup water and grind to a smooth paste. Keep aside.

Making Veg Sagu

4. Rinse, peel and chop 1 medium to large onion, 1 small tomato and other the veggies that you will be using. You will need 1.5 to 2 cups of mixed veggies. You can use veggies likepotatoes, carrots, French beans, cauliflower, green peas, chayote squash, capsicum. Keep aside.

5. In a thick bottomed pan, heat2 tablespoonsoil. Lower heat, add1 teaspoon mustard seeds and let them crackle.

6. Next, add1 teaspoon urad dal.

7. Fry the urad dal till golden.

8. Then, add8 to 10 curry leaves, apinch of asafoetida (hing) and1 to 2 dried red chilies. Sauté for a few seconds or till the red chilies change color.

9. Then, add the chopped onions.

10. Sauté the onions on low to medium heat.

11. Sauté till the onions turn translucent.

12. Then, add a pinch of turmeric powder. Mix well.

13. Next, add the chopped mixed veggies and tomatoes.

14. Mix the veggies with the rest of the tempering mixture.

15. Now, add 1.25 cups water.

16. Season with salt as per taste.

17. Cover the pan with its lid and cook the veggies on low to medium heat.

18.Check a couple of times while the veggies are cooking.

Cooking Veg Sagu

19. When the veggies are almost cooked, add the prepared spice paste.

20. Rinse the sides of the grinder jar with ½ to ⅔ cup water and add this to the pan. If you have scraped the entire ground paste from the jar, then just add ½ to ⅔ cup water directly in the pan.

21. Mix very well.

22. Cover the pan with its lid and simmer gravy on low heat.

23. Simmertill the gravy thickens a bit and you see oil specks on top. This will take about 7 to 8 minutes on low heat. Stir a couple of times, so that the gravy does not stick to the base of the pan.

24. Serve Veg Sagu hot with pooris, chapattis, paratha or set dosa, poha dosa or neer dosa. While serving, garnish with chopped coriander leaves and some fried cashews. For cashews, take 10 to 12 cashews and sautéin 1 to 2 teaspoons oil till they turn golden.

Expert Tips

1. While making the spice paste, if you don’t have the Marathi moggu, then you can make the paste without it as well.
2. You can use veggies according to your choice – carrots, potatoes, cauliflower, French beans, green peas, capsicum and chayote squash go really well in this curry.
3. If you want to have spicier saagu, increase the number of green chilies in the paste.
4. For a darker green color in the dish, add about 3 to 4 tablespoons of chopped coriander leaves in the paste.
5. The saagu can be cooked in coconut oil or ghee as well.
6. You can garnish the saagu with some coriander leaves and fried cashews before serving. Just take about 10 to 12 cashews and fry them in 1 to 2 teaspoons oil till golden.

Please be sure to rate the recipe in the recipe card or leave a comment below if you have made it. For more vegetarian inspirations, Sign Up for my emails or follow me on Instagram, Youtube, Facebook, Pinterest or Twitter.

This Veg Sagu Recipe from the archives was first published in March 2016. It has been updated and republished in April 2024.