Potatoes & Spinach or Chard

(click to enlarge)	Potatoes & Spinach (or Chard) India - England - Aloo Saag
	Serves: Effort: Sched: DoAhead:	4 side ** 1 hr Part		This recipe may have originated around Mumbai, but the region of India where it is now most popular is England. Cooking methods vary (see Note-4) but the ingredients remain pretty much the same. Chard was used for the photo.

1-1/2
1
6
1
2
2
2/3
2
1
1/2
1-1/2

#
#
oz
in
cl

t
T
t
t
T

Potatoes (1)
Spinach (2)
Onions
Ginger
Garlic
Chili, green (3)
Salt
Oil
Mustard seeds
Cumin seeds
Oil

PREP

Boil POTATOES in their skins until cooked just through. Drain and chill thoroughly so they don't crumble when cut. Peel off papery skins and cut into 3/4 inch cubes with a thin bladed knife.
Cut SPINACH (or Chard) into narrow strips. Drop into plenty of rapidly boiling water and parboil until just limp (2 min for spinach, 4 min for chard). Cool and squeeze out excess water, then fluff it so it's not all in a lump.
Slice GINGER very thin, then chop fine. Crush GARLIC and chop fine. Slice Chili thin and chop fine. Mix all with Salt.

RUN

Optional: heat Oil in a well seasoned iron skillet (don't try this in your sauté pan). Stir in Potatoes and fry over gentle heat, turning about every 5 minutes until lightly browned on all sides. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.
Add 1-1/2 T Oil. Stir in Mustard Seeds and Cumin Seed. fry stirring until mustard seeds start to pop, then stir in Ginger mix for about 1 minute, followed by Onions. Fry stirring until onions show just a trace of color.
Stir in Potatoes and cook stirring over low heat until potatoes are thoroughly warmed, then stir in Spinach and cook another 3 minutes.

NOTES:

Potatoes: Smaller potatoes hold together better than big ones. Yukon Gold, Klondike Goldust, and Red La Soda work well. White Rose is too crumbly after boiling to make cubes that hold up to frying. See my Potato Page for details.
Spinach: In England regular spinach would be used, but I've read that spinach in India is closer to Chard. If using chard select the white version and cut out the thick stems. Weight of greens only should be about 8 oz.
Chili: Two hot Indian chili or 1 Serrano will make this dish moderately spicy. Use your own discretion. See my Chili Page for details.
Method Most recipes for this dish come from England. Some do not fry the potatoes at all, which makes the recipe quicker, easier and lower in calories. Some use frozen spinach and others use fresh spinach but cook it along with the potatoes for 20 minutes or so (England is, after all, the land of overcooked vegetables). For that method raw potato cubes are added to the fried onions along with the spinach.
U.S. measure: t=teaspoon, T=Tablespoon, c=cup, qt=quart, oz=ounce, #=pound, cl=clove in=inch