My Take on Sagg Aloo

Saag Aloo is a British Indian curry made with spinach and potatoes.  I'm completely addicted to Indian food, and this is a really simple recipe to make with ingredients that are nearly always on hand at our house.

While I originally found this recipe at one of my favorite cooking blogs, Quick Indian Cooking, I have messed around with some spices and ingredients to suit our tastes.  So, my version of Saag Aloo is probably not terribly authentic, but still tasty nonetheless.  I have added cayenne pepper to up the spiciness of the dish because the two of us can never have enough spice.  Since frozen spinach looks sort of well, blah, I added some turmeric to brighten up the color.  The addition of yogurt provides a nice texture and helps the spices blend and mellow together.

•2 tablespoons coconut oil
•1 onion, chopped
•3 cloves garlic, chopped
•1 10 oz package frozen spinach, thawed (can also substitute fresh spinach if it is available)
•2 tablespoons lemon juice
•2 long green chilies, chopped- I used a couple Anaheim chilies from the garden.  Serranos or jalapenos would work as well.
•4 small potatoes, diced into medium chunks
•1 teaspoon cumin
•1 teaspoon coriander
•1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
•1/2 teaspoon turmeric
•1/2 teaspoon garam masala
•Salt, to taste.
•1/2 cup plain yogurt, or greek yogurt

Thaw the spinach in the microwave.  Mix together the spinach, chilies, and lemon juice set aside.  Heat the coconut oil in a large skillet over medium high heat.  Add the onions and garlic and cook until golden, about five minutes.  Add the potatoes and all of the spices except the garam masala.  Cook for a few minutes more being careful to not let the spices burn.  Add the spinach mixture and about two cups of water to the pan, just to barely cover the potatoes.  Turn heat down to medium.  Cover and simmer until the potatoes are tender, stirring occasionally.  This took about 20 minutes. Stir in yogurt and garam masala. Salt to taste.

Saag Aloo is great served with steamed rice and nann bread, maybe with a cucumber yogurt salad on the side.