Saag Aloo

A surprisingly quick and simple recipe that I think you’ll enjoy.

4 potatoes, chopped
2-3 handfuls of spinach, washed
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 tsp fresh ginger, grated/chopped
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp red chillies, chopped
2 cardamom pods, crushed
1/4 tsp salt
olive oil

Par-boil the potatoes in some salty water for 8-10 minutes or so. While you’re doing that fry the onions, garlic and ginger in a large saucepan on a medium heat until soft (approx 5 minutes).

Add all the remaining spices to the onion mixture and stir in. Drain the potatoes and add them too. Mix thoroughly, add a couple of tablespoons of water to prevent it from sticking, then cover and allow to simmer for 10-12 minutes (still stirring to keep it from burning to bottom of pan).

Once potatoes have gone edibly soft add the spinach and cook for another couple of minutes. Spinach will wilt and reduce in size a great deal.

Serve hot over a bed of rice.

A few notes on the recipe vs the pictures. I made mine with raw potatoes soaked in water rather than par-boiled ones, but this just meant I had to add more water to the pan and it took longer to cook, and I don’t think it added anything to the flavour, so I’d recommend doing it this way instead. Also, chop your spuds smaller than I did mine, again, to save time. As always I left the skin on, coz that’s where all the nutrients are, but cut the eyes out.

Also, I added more spinach than is pictured. After I threw in my 2 handfuls and it cooked down to size I saw the ratio was way off and more was needed. Really this is up to you. The recipe could probably handle more spinach even, if that’s what you’re into, I just didn’t have a whole lot more left so I stopped at 3 handfuls.

Potato and Tomato Dahl

Hi all. Here’s a little something I’ve come up with. But first, a small qualification:

Contrary to the recipe below I made the dahl pictured with a tin of chopped tomatoes and a teaspoon of ground coriander, coz I’ve got no money so had to make something up with what was in the cupboard, but I reckon it’ll be much nicer with the fresh ingredients listed.

Potato and Tomato Dahl
(makes enough for 4 people)

1 onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 tsp cumin seeds
a splash of olive oil
2 medium potatoes, chopped (I used 5-6 small)
3-4 tomatoes, chopped
1 cup of red lentils, rinsed
2 cups of boiling water
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp garam masala
1 tbsp chopped coriander

In a large pan on a medium heat fry the onions and garlic in the olive oil for a few minutes. Add cumin seeds and fry for a further minute or two until onions are soft.

Add potatoes, tomatoes, lentils, water, turmeric and salt, bring to boil, then simmer on a medium low heat for a minimum of 15-20 minutes until potatoes are cooked through. Add coriander and garam masala, and cook for 3-4 minutes more, then serve.

Like with a lot of recipes like this, this one tastes better the second time around, after it’s had a chances to rest and for all the flavours to mature. With this in mind you might want to leave it on a very low heat for a while before serving. This will improve the taste first time around, though it’s still quite nice as is. Oh, and if you use ground coriander instead of fresh you can add it when you add the turmeric, you don’t have to wait until the end.

Also, the water doesn’t have to be boiling when you add it, but it does speed the process up a little bit if it is. Maybe cut the potatoes a little smaller too, lol.

Enjoy! 🙂