Saag Aloo - Spinach and Potato Curry

June 24, 2007

One of my favourite Indian dishes is aloo – a potato curry. With winter’s icy breath whistling down the street, the idea of a warming curry dish makes me feel quite comforted. I like hearing the family rush in from the cold and say: “What’s for dinner? Something smells great!”

Potato marries quite happily with other vegetables. Teamed with eggplant, there’s Aloo Baingan Jhol. With cauliflower it’s Aloo Gobi. Prepare with spinach and you’ve got Saag Aloo.

Once you have a basic Indian spice collection, Saag Aloo is an easy and inexpensive dish to prepare. It can be served as a side dish or as a meal in itself. I use silverbeet or chard instead of spinach because it’s a bit more robust. You could also used frozen spinach – defrost it and drain it well before adding it.

I like to accompany my aloo with a simple yoghurt and mint raita, a tasty achar or pickle and a basket of poppadoms.

I always prepare my poppadoms in the microwave oven. Much easier and quicker than deep-frying or roasting over an open flame. I like the smaller snack-sized poppadoms which can also be used with dips, or as a food scoop. To microwave, place about a dozen in a circle on  the microwave turntable and cook on high for a minute or until they all puff up.

Saag Aloo

1 teaspoon coriander seeds
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/4 cup canola oil
1 large onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, finely sliced
2 teaspoons chopped ginger (fresh or ginger paste)
6 large potatoes, peeled and diced
1-2 teaspoons red pepper paste
1 cup water
several stalks of silverbeet (or a bunch of spinach) washed and finely chopped
1 can peeled tomatoes in juice
1 tablespoon garam masala
seasoning
fresh coriander

Roast the seeds in a small non-stick pan until the mustard seeds start popping and the cumin and coriander smell fragrant. Pound in a mortar or grind in a spice grinder.

Heat the oil and add the ground spices and turmeric and fry for a minute then add the onion and garlic and ginger and sauté over a low heat till the onion softens. Stir in the red pepper paste and the potatoes and turn well to coat then add the water and simmer until the potato is almost cooked and most of the water has evaporated. Add the can of tomatoes and the drained silverbeetand stir well, adding a little water if necessary.

Cover and simmer for about 8-10 minutes or until the silverbeet is tender. Season with salt to taste and sprinkle on the garam masala.

Place in a serving dish and garnish with chopped coriander.

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