Aloo Saag – Spiced Spinach and Potatoes
Aloo saag is a North Indian everyday dish of potatoes and spinach, cooked together with onion, ginger, turmeric, and green chilli. The name comes from Hindi – aloo means potato, and saag covers leafy greens.
The dish is vegetarian and eaten across North India as a side to dal and chapati, or as part of a larger spread. It is quick, inexpensive, and filling – the kind of thing people make on a busy weeknight.
The spices do the work. Turmeric gives colour and a faint bitter base, ginger and green chilli add heat, and garlic rounds it out. The spinach provides moisture, so the dish stays succulent without any added liquid.
Ingredients
Serves 4
- 6 tbsp oil
- 1 onion, chopped
- 2½ cm fresh ginger, chopped
- 2 green chillies, finely chopped
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 500 g potatoes, cut into small pieces
- 500 g frozen spinach, thawed
- salt, to taste
Directions
Heat the oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Add the onion and fry until soft without colouring, 5–7 minutes.
Add the ginger, chilli, turmeric, and garlic. Fry for another 5 minutes until the spices release their fragrance and the turmeric loses its raw edge.
Stir in the potatoes and season with salt. Cover and cook for 10 minutes, until they begin to soften. Stir occasionally to prevent the base from catching.
Squeeze the excess water from the thawed spinach and chop it roughly. Add it to the pan and cook uncovered for 5 minutes, until the potatoes are completely tender and the spinach is heated through.
Season with salt and serve immediately.
Notes
Serve as a side dish with dal, raita, and chapati or rice. It also works on its own as a light main course.
Use fresh spinach instead of frozen if you have it – 800 g fresh spinach is roughly equivalent to 500 g frozen. Wilt it in the pan at the end.
Adjust the amount of chilli to taste. Two small green chillies give mild heat; reduce the amount or remove the seeds if you prefer it milder.
Leftovers keep for 2–3 days in the fridge and often taste even better the next day.
See Also
Green Chutney
Coconut Chutney
