Aloo Palak

These days we often have roti/chapathi for dinner and now one thing I always keep wondering and thinking is what to make as side dish.The other day I bought very fresh bunch of spinach and wanted to try some new dish.Aloo palak is a scrumptious north Indian gravy,where boiled potato cubes are simmered in tomato-spinach gravy with few Indian spices. Though same ingredients like onion,tomato,spinach are used,procedure for aloo palak is very different from palak paneer.This dish is perfect with any Indian flat bread like roti,naan etc also the left over can be mixed with some cooked rice for instant variety rice.I referred few recipes from my recipe books and they called for deep frying the potato cubes or directly adding the boiled potatoes to the gravy.I was not interested in deep frying the potatoes but wanted some crispy edges in potatoes rather than adding the plain boiled potatoes to the gravy.So I sauteed the potatoes well before adding the gravy and it turned out to be perfect.The gravy was very creamy and rich despite the addition of very little oil and ,potato cubes were crispy yet succulent with full of flavor.Pair it with fresh rotis and you will love it.

Aloo palak recipeStar ingredients:Spinach and potatoes
Time:30 minutes
Serves:4
Ingredients:
1 large bunch of spinach
3 potatoes boiled,peeled and cubed
2 large tomatoes chopped fine
1 large onion chopped fine
3 green chillies
A small piece of ginger
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon garam masala
1 teaspoon chilli powder
Oil to temper
Salt
Method:
1.Wash the spinach leaves thoroughly.Blanch them in boiling water with little sugar(to retain color) and drain.Wash under running water and drain well again.
2.Now puree the spinah with ginger and green chillies.
3.In a kadai add 2-3 teaspoons oil and temper with cumin seeds.Add the sliced onions and saute till transparent.
4.Next add the chopped tomatoes and cook till mushy.Now add the boiled potato cubes and saute well continuously till the potato cubes turn a bit crispy.
5.Now add the pureed spinach and add 1 1/2 cups of water.Let it cook for 5 minutes.
6.Add salt,garam masla ,chilli powder and cook till all the water is absorbed and the gravy turns creamy.
7.Serve hot with any flat bread
Notes:
1.I have added the potatoes directly along with onion-tomatoes to save time.You can alternately saute the potatoes first in some oil,remove it and add after step 5.
2.I have used minimum spices.You can also add spices like cloves,garlic etc.