Saag aloo
€4.39 │ €1.10 per portion │ Serves 4 │ Under 30mins │ India
Quick and flavourful, this potato and spinach curry is an Indian classic. Because it's so easy to make and can accompany many other curries, saag aloo is great for a meal plan!
What to serve it with?
Lentil dal, chickpea chana masala, and many other Indian dishes pair fantastically with this dry curry. Though your basic accompaniment - perfect if you're only making Saag Aloo - is an Indian roti flatbread/naan/paratha.
Check out your local Indian store to see what they have. Try to steer clear of any inauthentic products like Sharwood's naan - worse quality, more expensive! Sometimes the big supermarkets offer more authentic South Asian breads - this is the one we get, listed at the time of writing at Albert Heijn for €2.99 for 5. You may have seen this one around, it's actually a Singaporean brand and we find it in our local Turkish supermarket.
A mint yoghurt raita also goes well on the side!
How to use in a meal plan
Good home economics is using ingredients smartly - and that saves money and cuts food waste. A meal plan is a great way to do this.
If you are making your own meal plan, Saag Aloo is a great mid-week meal for how easy and fast it is. It also uses up potatoes and cooks them quickly, when usually potato can take a very long time.
Leftovers
Spoonfeed meal plans save you money by using the economy of scale. Making the extras from dinner into a leftover lunch avoids spending out and extra time cooking!
Saag Aloo is great for leftovers and warms up well the next day, either in the microwave or in a sauté pot. Flatbreads can be cooked ahead of time and warmed too.
Utensils
- Sauté pot
- Saucepan and lid
- Spatula
Ingredients
- 3 large potatoes
- 300g spinach
- 1 onion
- 4 paratha/roti/chapati/naan
- 3 garlic cloves
- 1/2 tbsp fresh ginger
- 2 tsp turmeric
- 2 tsp garam masala
- 1 tsp mustard seeds
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 tsp chilli powder (optional, to taste, Kashmiri is best)
- Fresh herbs (like coriander) to serve
- Vegetable oil
Method
- Peel and cut potato into medium-large cubes, adding to a saucepan. Cover with cold water and bring to a boil.
- Meanwhile, dice thinly the onion, garlic, and ginger.
- Once the potatoes are boiling, put on simmer for 3-6 minutes, depending on the thickness you have cut it. They should be firm, though not completely uncooked. Drain and lay flat on a pan or plate to let the steam evaporate, which takes a few minutes.
- This is a good time to wash fresh spinach if necessary or ensure that your frozen spinach is defrosted, which you can do in a bowl in the microwave or in the covered sauce pan on low heat.
- Now, add good oil to a sauté pot, add your mustard and cumin seeds, then put the heat to medium-high. Once the seeds start to pop, sizzle, and get fragrant, add onion. Sprinkle salt and black pepper.
- Keep the ingredients moving for 2 minutes, until the onion starts to get translucent. Add garlic and ginger and cook for 1 minute.
- Once aromatic, add your potatoes, topping with the turmeric, chili, and garam masala. Stir the ingredients for 3-5 minutes, then add your spinach (dry - to avoid adding liquid to the pan). Cook for another 3-5 minutes.
- In this time, prepare your chosen Indian bread. Usually, you can simply heat them very quickly on a non-stick pan without oil. See the instructions on your packaging.
- Finish by serving with herbs and plate the bread beside it.
- Enjoy!