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. My family either enjoy it as a main dish served with rice or as an accompaniment to a curry.
Here is a quick and simple recipe for how to make saag aloo.
| Preparation time: 5 minutes | |
| Cooking time: 20 minutes | |
| Servings: 2 main meals or 6 side portions | |
| Vegetarian/ Vegan: Vegetarian- YES Vegan- YES, if you use oil instead of ghee | |
| Dairy-free: Yes, if you use oil rather than ghee | |
| Gluten-free: YES |
Ingredients for Saag Aloo
- 3tbsps ghee or vegetable oil
- 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
How to Make Saag Aloo
- 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.
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, chilies, ginger, turmeric, and cumin.
- Wine pairings: Read our article on pairing wine with Indian food to find the perfect wine to accompany your meal.
You Might Also Like…
Try our sweet potato saag aloo, a variation of this saag aloo. Other dishes to try are our cauliflower and spinach curry and saag bhaji. For more recipes, check out our reviews of the best vegan cookbooks.