3.4/5 rating (263 votes)

Saag Aloo

Spinach with Potatoes and Indian Spices

  • Heat Hot
  • Serves 4
  • Dietary Info VEGETARIAN VEGAN LACTOSE-FREE DAIRY-FREE HEALTHY WHEAT-FREE GLUTEN-FREE
  • Prep 10 mins
  • Cook 25 mins

Potatoes cooked simply with vibrant green spinach leaves and flavoured with aromatic cumin.

Hari says

Saag Aloo is another one of those UK favourites which isn't really a dish you would find traditional Indian cuisine. That said, it's easy, healthy, and a great way to get some more spinach into your diet. By themselves, these two ingredients are a bit boring, but once you get the masala and spices in that's when you start to see how lovely and flavourful Saag Aloo really is. 

I have different versions of this Saag Aloo recipe – one where I purée the spinach and another where I add paneer. Give it a go, it tastes great and probably much fresher than the dishes you're used to eating. With a quick cooking time, it’s convenient to rustle up in your own kitchen for a quick mid-week Indian food-fix.

  • Ingredients
  • Method
  • 1 tbsp mustard oil
  • 1 tsp mustard seeds
  • 1 tsp cumin seeds
  • Pinch asafoetida
  • 2 garlic cloves, sliced
  • 1 tbsp ginger, thinly sliced
  • 2 tomatoes, chopped
  • 600g baby spinach, finely sliced
  • 4 potatoes, peeled & chopped into 3cm cubes (go for floury potatoes such as maris pipers, waxy ones will take longer to cook) 
  • 1 tsp salt or to taste
  • 1 or 2 chillies, finely sliced
  • 1 tsp garam masala

Method

  1. Heat the oil in a karahi or wok. Add the mustard seeds, and just as they begin to pop, add the cumin seeds and asafoetida.
  2. Add the garlic and ginger and fry for a few minutes on a gentle heat. Then stir in the tomatoes, chilli and salt to taste.
  3. Cook the tomatoes on the same heat until they have turned to a soft pulp. Then add the cubed potatoes and stir them gently to coat them in the sauce. Don't be too heavy-handed as you don't want to mash the cooked potatoes.
  4. Reduce the heat and place a lid on the pan. Cook for about 10 minutes, remembering to stir occasionally. You may need to add a splash of water halfway through to stop the potatoes sticking to the pan and leave to cook.
  5. Once the potatoes have just turned soft (time depends on the potatoes your have used) , add the spinach to the pan and stir gently.
  6. Cook for a further few minutes until the spinach has wilted down. If there is any liquid in the pan at this point, just increase the heat to dry the dish out.
  7. Sprinkle the garam masala over the top before serving.

Served with

An amazing side dish, works really well with a lamb main dish, but also lovely as a dish in its own right. If you fancy doing a lamb madras along with you Saag Aloo I have a convenient madras spice kit you could try.

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Nutritional information

Typical values* per Serving
Calories48
Fat (g)1.9
of which saturates (g)0.2
Carbohydrates (g)6.2
of which sugars (g)1.5
Fibre (g)1.6
Protein (g)2.3
Salt (mg)0.76
*Based upon calculated values, supplied by myfitnesspal.com. The values here may not be 100% accurate because the recipes have not been professionally evaluated.

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Comments

Comments (19)

  • Amreet Notta

    Amreet Notta

    17 May 2017 at 17:25 |
    Made this last night using charlotte potatoes and kale....really quick easy and nutritious. Thanks!

    reply

    • Hari Ghotra

      Hari Ghotra

      19 May 2017 at 14:18 |
      Hi Amreet thanks so much for using the website - thanks for trying the dishes and leaving a comment too. Thanks

      reply

  • Ben

    Ben

    30 August 2016 at 01:47 |
    It is not saag . It is just spinal and aaloo vegetable

    reply

    • Hari Ghotra

      Hari Ghotra

      30 August 2016 at 09:05 |
      Thanks Ben not this is saag http://www.harighotra.co.uk/saag-recipe and there are many ways you can make saag aloo, I prefer this method but I like using pureed spinach with paneer. This is the beauty of cooking and with the website I am hoping to give you options, new ideas and inspiration to get you cooking great Indian food. Thanks for your comments Hari

      reply

  • Hari Ghotra

    Hari Ghotra

    23 July 2015 at 12:08 |
    Hi Jim You can get it on line (spices of India) and if you live anywhere close to an Indian grocery shop they will definitely have it. If you cant find it then just use veg oil. Mustard oil just gives an extra bite to this dish. Its made by pressing mustard seeds so not something I would recommend making yourself. Really good to hear you are enjoying the recipes. Let me know how yo get on. Thanks Hari

    reply

  • Jim

    Jim

    23 July 2015 at 12:00 |
    Hi Hari
    love these recipes, the chicken tikka masala is fantastic, any idea where I can pick up some mustard oil or can I make it myself.
    Jim

    reply

  • Hari Ghotra

    Hari Ghotra

    22 July 2015 at 20:23 |
    Hi Ella sorry for the late reply the cauliflower will make a great substitution and it should work fine with the recipe - do let me know how it turned out. Thanks for getting in touch. Hari

    reply

  • Ella

    Ella

    20 July 2015 at 18:25 |
    I absolutely love your recipes. Very simple and delicious with lots of flavor. I look forward to trying this one tonight, but planning on substituting the potatoes with cauliflower. Would the process still be the same or are there any changes I need to make to accomodate the substitution?
    Thank you! :-)

    reply

  • Cecilia

    Cecilia

    30 June 2015 at 22:13 |
    This was delicious!

    reply

  • Hari Ghotra

    Hari Ghotra

    04 April 2015 at 08:17 |
    Hi Waleed I was about to mention the potato in the previous comment. More waxy potatoes do take longer - Thanks for the info I will amend the recipe with some more information. Thanks very much. Hari

    reply

  • Waleed Mahmoud

    Waleed Mahmoud

    02 April 2015 at 16:32 |
    Good recipe, I like it. Only issue is that the "Cook for about 10 minutes stirring occasionally" seems to be underestimated. I had used red potatoes, cut into thinner slices - it took closer to 22m. Might be fair to add a potato (and even tomato) type & weight to clear that up. Flavor was spot on though.

    reply

  • Hari

    Hari

    02 April 2015 at 08:46 |
    Hi Waleed
    Fantastic to hear you will be cooking my dishes! Thanks for the feedback - this has now been amended!
    Would love to know how you get on so do keep in touch. Thanks Hari

    reply

  • Waleed Mahmoud

    Waleed Mahmoud

    02 April 2015 at 00:25 |
    Starting a run of cooking all of your recipes. Seriously appreciate a cooking blog.

    Garam masala isn't mentioned in the instructions on this one - I assume it's added at the last moment.

    reply

  • Hari

    Hari

    20 March 2015 at 10:39 |
    Hi Harry Great top hear that you have been trying the dishes. Which potatoes did you use? A Maris Piper will usually cook fairly quickly but if you have more waxy ones then yes you may be better off par boiling them. Thanks so much for your comments. Cheers Hari

    reply

  • Harry

    Harry

    19 March 2015 at 23:11 |
    Cooked this tonight, liked the looks of the mustard seeds and the fact that the spinach was still bright green with a bit of crunch - not bad at all - potatoes seemed to age ages though, might precook them next still...thanks - nice variation! H

    reply

  • Hari

    Hari

    01 February 2015 at 11:51 |
    Hi Douglas Thanks for the compliments, I am so pleased you will be coming back to the site. I think this is lovely with tomatoes and works really well with the spinach. I would love to hear what you choose next so please let me know. Thanks Hari

    reply

  • Douglas

    Douglas

    01 February 2015 at 00:20 |
    Thank you for the recipe.
    Never would have guessed to put tomatoes in it .... But loved the texture this gives
    All delicious.
    Great instructions. .... Easy to follow.

    Will be coming back again to find other recipes.
    Thank you
    D

    reply

  • Hari

    Hari

    09 June 2014 at 15:48 |
    I'm really please you found this easy and tasty. With all of my recipes use them as a guide and spice them up or down depending on how you like it. Really glad to hear you will be cooking it again though.

    reply

  • Jack Catford

    Jack Catford

    09 June 2014 at 15:39 |
    I made this last week, it was a lot hotter than what I am used to but still better than a takeaway, I was surprised at how easy it was, I will definitely be making this again, maybe minus the chillies!

    reply

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