SAAG ALOO OR SPINACH WITH POTATOES

Good Morning to you,

Do you ever cook too many potatoes?  I know I do, and it is strange because our daughters left home a long time ago, but I still make far too much food.  In many households that might be a problem, but not in this one, as George loves leftovers, and we also have a name for leftovers.... a much nicer name than leftovers.... "scrumptions". 

Scrumptions, are tasty foods, which you can take out of the fridge and pop into your mouth.  For instance, if I have cooked too many baby sweetcorn or mange tout,  I will pop them in the fridge and George will eat them on their own or dipped into hummus, but the main culprit for me is potatoes.  I love potatoes, but I always make too many.  I know it is very simple, to decide how many potatoes we need, that is, two halves for me and four halves for George, so that is three potatoes, but I don't seem to stop at three, I can easily peel six...... not sure why, maybe it is linked to George's love of scrumptions. So do you know what  I do, with the spare potatoes which are stored in the fridge,

I make a dish called Saag Aloo or also known as Spinach with Potatoes.

Today, I have not used pre-cooked potatoes, as there were none left in the fridge, so I boiled some, ready to make Saag Aloo. It is a dish which we eat as it is, but you can serve Saag Aloo as a side dish and serve with chicken or a firm fish.  It has a lovely heat to it and the dish  leaves you with a nice after taste.

So we had better get started, as I love Saag Aloo.  My apron is already on and I have chosen my music to listen to,

the fabulous Kate Rusby and I am so excited as I am going to see Kate perform at The Sage in December..... what a wonderful Christmas treat. The first time I saw Kate perform, was in London and she was wonderful.  I don't want to wish my life away, but I am really looking forward to going to her Christmas concert. So while Kate is singing "The Good Man", I will list the ingredients you will need to make the Saag Aloo.

INGREDIENTS

1 kg potatoes

(I used salad potatoes as they keep their shape)

100g  spinach

1 onion

1 400g  tin of tomatoes

2 cloves of garlic

1/2 teaspoon of dried chilli flakes

1 teaspoon of cumin powder

1 teaspoon of coriander powder

1 teaspoon of turmeric

2 tablespoons of olive oil

salt

HOW TO MAKE
SAAG ALOO

Boil the potatoes until cooked through.

If you prefer, remove the potato skins

when they have cooled,

but as I am using salad potatoes, 
 I leave the skins on.

Peel and slice the onion

and add

2 tablespoons of olive oil to a pan

(I always use olive oil, but you can use

any flavourless oil)

and cook until golden in colour

add the crushed garlic

and 

cook for a minute,

add the chilli flakes and cook for another minute,

add the cumin,

coriander and turmeric
(remember turmeric stains)

and stir. 

 Cook for another minute

Chop the tomatoes and add to the pan

with 

300ml of water

Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat

and simmer gently for 10 minutes.

If you feel the sauce is too thick,

add a little more water as you want enough sauce

to coat the potatoes.

Cut the boiled potatoes into edible pieces

and add to the sauce

Stir to coat all the potatoes  with the sauce.

My potatoes were hot, so I only cooked them

for a further three or four minutes,

but it will take longer if your potatoes are cold.

Add the spinach leaves to the pan

and place a lid on the pan to allow the spinach

to wilt.

This only takes a few minutes.

Check for seasoning,

I found I did not need to add any salt,

as salt was added to the potatoes when I boiled

them

and salt was also added to the garlic when I crushed

the garlic.

When the spinach leaves have wilted,

turn off the heat and leave the Saag Aloo

to stand for half an hour.

Place the Saag Aloo on a white plate 

and

Enjoy.

There are just a couple of things I would like to mention.  Firstly, the reason I leave the Saag Aloo to stand for a while, is that this is a dish which is lovely eaten warm and not piping hot.  The heat from the chilli flakes give a lovely warm heat when eaten, and I feel that if you eat this dish too hot, you will not be able to enjoy all the lovely flavours.

Secondly, it is very easy to reduce the amount of ingredients, if you want to make a smaller Saag Aloo, using a few left over potatoes, but trust me, once you have eaten it once, you will certainly be making larger portions.

Oh yes, there was one other thing..... I mentioned that you should serve the Saag Aloo on a white plate...... that was just me, being me, as the food is so colourful, and it  looks so beautiful on a white plate. 

So whether you make a large Saag Aloo, or a small Saag Aloo.... enjoy.

Take care and I will see you later in the week.

This week I will be joining,

Yvonne from StoneGable