Aloo-palak (potato-spinach curry)

 

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Welcome to easy cooking blog no:

Introduction!

Today’s recipe is ALOO PALAK (SPINACH AND POTATO CURRY), made using potato and spinach, including other veggies with some dry spices and herbs. This delicious and healthy curry can be served with roti, bread, naan, and jeera rice.

The recipe is straightforward, easy to make, amazingly healthy, and full of essential vitamins and nutrients. Yes! Simple and delicious food can also be super healthy.

We are often being advised by health professionals that we should include more greens to our diet. Greens are vital for healthy body and mind. So, to get their maximum health benefits these gorgeous greens must be consumed in the raw form.

But, if you are one of those who, even after knowing all the health benefits, still are reluctant to consume them in their raw form, or you have growing kids who throw tantrums every time they see greens. Don’t you worry anymore. These herbs and vegetables can be cooked in the form of delicious curries, the key to make a delectable and nutritious curry is to cook it slowly on a low heat.

I am not a big fan of salads or greens, though I do try to include them in my diet as much as possible. I have developed ways to includes these healthy herbs and greens in my diet. Being an Indian I can essentially cook anything into a curry, so whatever I cannot have in the raw form, I throw them into a pan with very little oil and some beautiful basic spices and herbs on a low heat to retain maximum nutrients and prepare a healthy yet delcious curry out of it.

Please check other exciting recipes, links given below

Nutri kisabzi (soyabean curry)

Baigunbharta (eggplant curry)

Kaddu kisabzi (Pumpkin curry)

Alooparatha (potato flatbread)

Let me show you the ingredients needed for this curry.

Ingredients                     Qty

Palak (spinach)    2 fresh bunches

Aloo (potato)      3-4 medium-sized

Green chilies      as per taste

Onions red        1 large sized

Garlic                as per taste

Tomato             1 large sized

Coriander seeds  1 tsp

Cumin seeds     1 tsp

Asafoetida        a pinch of it

Turmeric           1 tsp

Red chili powder as per taste

Salt                 as per taste

Garam masala  as per taste

Oil/ghee        1-2 tbsp (or as per your choice)

Cooking time: can be prepared in under 30 minutes, including chopping of vegetables.

Procedure

Step 1: Cutting and chopping of veggies

Take all the required vegetables, including spinach. Wash everything well under running water and  roughly chop all the vegetables and finely chop the spinach and keep them aside.

If you wish to blanch the spinach, you can do so as well.

Step 2: cooking

Take a heavy bottom wide pan, turn on the oil, and pour some oil of your choice. Do not use oils with a low smoke point as those are not ideal for cooking and baking.

Once the oil is hot enough, turn the heat to low and add the cumin and coriander seeds; let them sputter and add roughly chopped onions sauté them for few seconds first now add the chopped garlic and green chilies cook everything well for good 5 minutes on medium to high heat. Now add the chopped tomato and cook it until soft and mushy.

Now add chopped potato, sauté it well with the other veggies, and cook it with the lid until they are soft and tender.

Once the potatoes are soft, add in all the dry spices and mix everything and eventually add your finely chopped or blanched spinach to the pan and cook it on low to medium heat until the spinach is soft and cooked to perfection. Once the curry is ready, add some freshly chopped coriander leaves over it and some garam masala. Your delicious and healthy curry is all set to be served.

Garnishing

Garnish this delicious green aloo-Palak curry with some fresh coriander leaves.

And it tastes divine with the addition of some homemade clarified butter/ghee or butter in it before serving, or you can add some fresh cream if your health allows you to do that. It tastes magical.

As this curry is a bit dry, the addition of any fat makes it smooth and creamy and enhances the flavours.

You can chop some finely chopped red onions over the curry and enjoy this with roti, rice, or bread.

Serving suggestions

This Palak aloo curry can be an excellent side dish along with egg curry or any other gravy-based curry for that matter.

This curry goes best with roti, naan, paratha, aloo paratha, Gobi paratha, or jeera rice.

I often make its sandwich using my homemade whole wheat bread, add some sliced red onion, tomato, cucumber, and a slice of cheese and lightly toast it on a griddle or in a toaster. Try this, and you will be a fan of this sandwich.

Or can you make a Frankie with this delicious curry, spread some ketchup on the tortilla or homemade roti spread this gorgeous curry, a slice of cheese, some sliced vegetables of your choice, and mayo, wrap it and lightly grease the skillet and roast this before serving this.

It goes very well with jeera rice or biryani, with some spicy curd on the side.

Tips and Tricks

Always use fresh spinach for best results; make sure the leaves do not have insect bites or any kind of marks on them. Use fresh, clean green spinach.

Always finely chop the spinach and all the other veggies you intend to use.

I prefer cooking other veggies; once they are half done, only add the spinach to gain maximum nutritional value. Always remember to cook the curry on low heat after adding spinach to it. High heat will burn all the good nutrients present in the spinach.

Any oil can be used to make this curry; however, avoid using oils with a low smoke point. These oils are not recommended for cooking.

I have used different seeds or dry spices to make this curry; if you do not have them accessible, do not worry; add the essential ones like turmeric salt and some black pepper or red chili powder.

This curry is extremely simple and easy to make hardly takes any time to be prepared. So, I suggest making this curry on low heat to retain all the vitamins and micronutrients present in the spinach.

No need to add water in this curry even if you find the onion tomato gravy bit dry. Spinach has a lot of water in itself.

Once the curry being cooked, sprinkle some garam masala of your choice and some fresh coriander leaves and serve it hot.

That is it for today.

I hope you like this recipe

Do let me know in the comments below

Take care

Neha