I am a big fan of spice, and Indian dishes are my favourite type of cuisine. Occasionally, I also enjoy eating vegetarian food. Therefore, it makes sense that saag aloo is one of my top Indian vegetarian dishes to make.
This spinach and potato dish is meat-free, budget-friendly, packed full of flavour, and easy to make. These features of the spinach dish mean it is a fantastic option for a family midweek meal, as you can make it quickly after a long day at work.
My family enjoys the dish as a main course served with rice or as an accompaniment to a curry. The recipe makes enough for two large or four medium portions as a main dish and six to eight accompaniments. You can easily double, triple, or quadruple the quantities in the recipe to make more.
Here is a quick and simple saag aloo recipe with a full ingredient list and step-by-step instructions on how to make the vegetarian Indian dish.
Image credit: Fatimahope, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
RECIPE: Saag Aloo- Spiced Spinach and Potatoes
Course: Accompaniments, dips, and sauces, International Recipes, Recipes, Vegetarian and Vegan RecipesCuisine: IndianDifficulty: Easy4
servings5
minutes20
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An easy recipe for saag aloo, a vegetarian Indian dish of spiced spinach and potatoes.
Ingredients for the Saag Aloo Recipe
3tbsp vegetable oil (or ghee if you prefer a non-vegan version)
1 onion finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed.
500g potatoes cut into chunks
250g bag of washed spinach leaves
2 chillies, one red and one green, deseeded and finely chopped
1tbsp freshly grated ginger
1 level teaspoon of cumin powder
1 level teaspoon of turmeric
Salt
black pepper
Directions: How to Make the Saag Aloo Recipe
- Put the chopped potatoes into a pan of salted water and bring to a boil.
- Meanwhile, chop the onions, chillies, ginger, and garlic.
- Drain the potatoes as soon as the water begins to boil.
- Heat the oil in a pan over medium-high heat.
- Add the onions, chillies, garlic, and ginger to the frying pan.
- When the onions have turned golden and softened, add turmeric and cumin.
- Next, add the par-boiled potatoes.
- Roughly chop the spinach leaves and add to the pan.
- As the spinach begins to wilt, stir in the mixture.
- Cook for a further five minutes on medium heat to allow the flavour of the spices to infuse the potatoes and the spinach.
- Serve with rice or naan bread.
Additional Tips
- Meat lovers: you can easily adapt this to a meat dish by adding chicken, beef, or lamb.
- Different textures: you can leave the spinach leaves whole, roughly chop them or finely chop them.
- Spice levels: you can experiment with different levels of spice to suit your taste by adding more or fewer quantities of ingredients such as garlic, chillies, ginger, turmeric, and cumin.
- Wine pairings: Read our article on pairing wine with Indian food to find the perfect wine to accompany your meal.
Nutritional Benefits of Our Saag Aloo Recipe
Another reason to try our saag aloo recipe is the dish’s nutritional benefits. Spinach is a superfood and one of the best foods for obtaining a wide range of vitamins and minerals. It is a particularly good source of vitamin B6, vitamin C, iron, magnesium, and potassium. The leafy green vegetable is also low in calories, fat, and sugar.
Other Recipes
Try our sweet potato saag aloo, a variation of this recipe. Other dishes to try are our cauliflower and spinach curry or our saag bhaji. recipes. Check out our reviews of the best vegan cookbooks for more vegetarian recipe inspiration.
Have you tried our recipe for saag aloo? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.