Potatoes are a great ingredient, and I love a good potato and spinach curry. However, I don’t keep all the ingredients in the house for a proper saag aloo, and getting paneer is a four or five hour round trip… So I get a little creative.
Prep: 5 min Cooking : 10 min
Ingredients
150g potatoes cubed, skins on (Charlottes for preference)
75 g leaves (spinach, mustard, land cress or rocket) washed and shredded if needed
Optional – mozzarella cubed
1 garlic clove crushed or chopped
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp tumeric
2 cardamon pods – seeds only
Method
- Par boil the potatoes, for 2.5cm cubes – 6 min in either stock or salted water.
- Part way through the cooking time wilt the leaves with a tiny bit of veg oil in a wok.
- Add the spices and stir, immediately drain the potatoes and add these (keep a little of the water/stock).
- Cook for a further 2 min adding water/stock if required
- If adding mozzarella, turn off the heat, mix the cheese through and serve immediately.
Saag Aloo normally contains mustard seeds, spinach and stuff like ginger. I don’t keep mustard seeds in the house, but when I use shredded mustard leaves it gets closer to the ‘authentic’ flavour. But this, as a side dish, is more than good enough for my taste buds. The key flavour is the Turmeric, and if this is served with another dish with Turmeric in it they complement incredibly well.
Because I can’t source paneer locally, to mix things up I often add a Mozzarella. The trick is to add it only at the end so it warms but does not melt.
And as for potatoes. Well you can use what you want. I grow Charlottes and sometimes others, but Charlottes are the ideal for me because they are a little waxy and keep their shape well on par boiling. If you use a flourier potato like King Edward, then reduce the par boiling time by 2-3 minutes. And while I like keeping the skins on feel free to peel if you prefer.