Saag Aloo
When eating at an Indian restaurant, sometimes the vegetable side dishes can become the star of the show. Hardly surprising since India has by far the largest percentage of vegetarians in the world. Read to day's review of Bell Bottom Indian Eatery and you'll see the highest praise reserved for the Aloo Gobi Masala (potatoes and cauliflower).
Today's hero, essentially spinach and potatoes, has long been a favourite of mine. I had no idea how to make it until I got a copy of Great Curries by the Hairy Bikers. I commend it to you. Wide ranging and authentic. Our recipe is pretty much the same as theirs, but I use less chilli. As you'll see, there is plenty of flavour input from the spices; however, you have a great mass of potato and spinach to season. Both of these can take quite a bit of salt and pepper. The same is true here. The first time I made it, I discovered I had underdone both.
While this panful will give you 4 - 6 servings, I wouldn't be tempted to make less. Like most "curries" it improves with age. Sag aloo for breakfast is a thing of delight. Home made garam masala is, I'm told, infinitely preferable to the bought stuff, but I've never got round to it.
You will need a large pan, big enough to allow the dish to be stirred gently without everything falling out
Ingredients
650g potatoes, ideally Maris Piper, peeled and cut into cubes of about 3 cm; 4tbsp veg oil (or ghee, if you use it); 1 tsp black mustard seeds; 2 tsp cumin seeds; 2 medium onions halved and cut into half moon slices; 4 garlic cloves, crushed; thumb size piece of ginger (5 - 6 cm), peeled and either finely chopped or grated; 1 green chilli, very finely sliced - (up to you whether to deseed or not); 1 tbsp garam masala; 250g spinach leaves; salt (preferably sea salt) and freshly ground black pepper.
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Par boil the potato chunks in quite heavily salted water for about 6 - 8 minutes. You want them to be tender but still holding their shape. Drain in a colander or sieve and leave to one side.
Wash the spinach and, if necessary, prep it. Small young leaves will be fine as they are. With older coarser leaves remove any tough central stems and roughly shred.
Heat the oil in the pan with the mustard seeds and cumin seeds. You want to bring it to a medium heat, when the mustard seeds will start to pop. Immediately add the onions and sauté for about 5 minutes , stirring regularly until softened. Then increase the heat and cook for a further 2 - 3 minutes or so until they are nicely golden. You'll need to stir continuously to prevent burning.
Reduce the heat to medium, put in the garlic, ginger and chilli and cook for another couple of minutes. Stir in the garam masala, then add the potatoes with a good quantity of salt and a few gratings of pepper. Stir them round so they are well coated with the onions and spices. Then start adding the spinach in batches. Let each batch wilt down before adding the next lot. When all the spinach is in, make sure everything is well mixed and cook for a further few minutes. Check the seasoning. You may well want more s & p.
Be careful when reheating to avoid the dish sticking to the pan. I sometimes add a dribble of water, making sure it's evaporated before serving. The dish is fairly dry. Nothing worse than soggy saag.