My easy aloo palak recipe, an Indian stir fry of potatoes and spinach with a bunch of great spices. A classic Indian recipe!
Cute name this aloo palak recipe has, but what the hell is it?
Well this Indian stir fry consists of potatoes and spinach with a bunch of great spices. Are you also familiar with my Indian aloo gobi recipe?
Potatoes & Spinach
In that blog post I explained that aloo means potato, gobi stands for cauliflower. But what about this aloo palak recipe then?
Aloo, just like I said. Then palak obviously means spinach!
Spinach might be an ingredient that you really would not expect in Indian cuisine.
However this green leafy vegetable is very popular in India. Like I said before, spinach is often referred to as ‘palak’. But it also goes under the name of ‘saag’.
Saag or Palak
A very popular Indian recipe with spinach for instance is saag paneer.
Or spinach with cheese.
Do you know what paneer is? Paneer is a fresh, unsalted white cheese. You can make it at home by curdling milk with an acid, like lemon juice. Paneer (say [pəniːr]) is common in the Indian subcontinent and is used a lot as a vegetarian substitute or protein.
Easy Indian Aloo Palak Recipe
This time however I didn’t add paneer to my spinach, but another delicious ingredient: plain potatoes. You might think that this is a very simple dish. It is but what I like even more about it is that very filling meal!
And again, vegetarian.I like to roast the spice seeds in the hot oil right in the beginning. They release so much extra flavor after that! You can also dry toast them in the pan and add the oil after that.
Are you looking for another inspiring spinach recipe?
Then also check out my Japanese spinach and sesame salad!
Enjoy!
Easy Indian Aloo Palak Recipe
My easy aloo palak recipe, an Indian stir fry of potatoes and spinach with a bunch of great spices. A classic Indian recipe!
- 10,5 oz potatoes (350 g)
- 7 oz fresh spinach (200 g), chopped
- a handful onion chopped
- 1 inch fresh ginger (2,5 cm), grated
- ½ tsp mustard seeds
- ½ tsp cumin seeds
- 2 garlic cloves sliced
- ½ tsp fennel seeds
- ½ tsp ground turmeric
- 2 tbsp unsweetened yogurt
- ½ tsp ground cumin
- ½ tsp coriander powder
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- chili powder
- salt
- Brush and clean the potatoes under cold running tap water and drain them a little. Don’t peel them! Chop the potatoes into bite-size chunks. In a large non-stick pan add the vegetable oil, the cumin seeds, fennel seeds, mustard seeds and the bay leaves.
- Place the pan over medium high heat and gently fry the seeds in the hot oil until they start to pop a little. Then add the chopped yellow onion and the garlic cloves.
Cook the onion and garlic for 3 to 4 minutes until a little glossy. Then add the diced potatoes to the pan. Also add the rest of the spices: the grated fresh ginger, ground turmeric, coriander and cumin. Season with a little pinch of chili powder and salt.
Stir well and bake the potatoes for 3 minutes. Stir regularly so they don’t stick to the pan while baking. Then pour in half a glass of water, stir and place a lid on the pan. Turn the heat to medium and let the potatoes cook for 7 to 10 minutes until tender. Stir regularly. In the end add the fresh spinach.
- Stir and let the spinach shrink for a minute. Then add the yogurt.
- Stir well again. Check the seasoning of the spinash potatoes and add extra chili powder or salt to taste if necessary. Scoop the potatoes in a clean dish (I sprinkled it with some fresh coriander) and serve hot.
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