Saag Aloo

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Saag aloo makes a great side or main dish for any curry night.

This delicious saag aloo recipe is so easy to prepare. The recipe was sent to me by my chef friend Vipin Vu who at the time was the head chef of Lake Canopy Hotel in Alleppey, Kerala. All of his dishes were amazing and this saag aloo was one of our vegetarian favourites.

Getting saag aloo just right…

At the restaurant, Vipin used a local spinach or saag which was different to what we get in the west. Here, most chefs use baby spinach leaves which work perfectly well in a saag aloo.

All is explained in the recipe card below but you really want to ensure that you don’t overcook the spinach in this one. Some saag aloo recipes call for blended spinach but with this version, you want to be able to see the individual wilted spinach leaves.

Also, always be sure to taste it before serving. You can always adjust the spicing to taste at any time during cooking.

Getting the spicing right…

In my version of this authentic saag aloo recipe, I use quite a lot of fresh chillies. This is done to my taste so if you are not sure, use less. The heat can always be adjusted before taking your saag aloo masterpiece to the table.

Cooking the potatoes…

You will first want to par-cook the potatoes just as you would if you’re making roast potatoes. This gives them a good head start. Shake the par-cooked when you strain them which will give them a fluffier exterior and make them crispier when fried.

Are there any convenient cheats for this saag aloo recipe?

Yes. Talking about roast potatoes, if you have some left over from Sunday dinner, use those. Leftover roast potatoes work perfectly well in this recipe. This applies to the frozen roast potatoes you can purchase in the freezer section of your local supermarket.

Just roast them up and use them.

You could also use frozen spinach cubes. Some say frozen spinach is better for you than the fresh stuff because it is frozen immediately when harvested.

That said, the dish will not look the same if you use frozen spinach in your saag aloo. The curry will still be delicious though.

How does this saag aloo differ to what you find at curry houses?

At curry houses, the curries are prepared with a base sauce. I have a lot of curry house style recipes on this blog but this isn’t one of them.

With the base sauce, you can quickly whip up a curry, any curry, in about 10 minutes. This recipe uses more authentic cooking techniques but the flavour is just as good if not better.

IMPORTANT: Infusing the mustard seeds and cumin seeds…

Many home chefs don’t realise how important it is to infuse their spices in the RIGHT ORDER.

Spices cook to perfection at differently. The black mustard seeds, for example can take a lot of heat. You want them to start crackling in the oil before adding any other whole spices.

This is why the cumin seeds are added to the oil only after those mustard seeds start bursting their flavour into the oil. If you were to add the cumin at the same time, it would burn and become bitter.

Is this recipe easy?

Sure is! You start by infusing mustard seeds and cumin into a little oil or ghee. Then you immediately add the chopped onions as they cool down the pan and prevent the spices from burning.

Then you just sauté those onions for about 7 minutes or until golden brown. Add in the garlic and ginger paste, fresh chillies and ground spices and your saag aloo is almost complete!

Stir in the par-cooked potatoes and brown them until beginning to get crispy on the exterior. Then just add the stock and fold in the spinach. You are going to be able to get this dish to the table in under 30 minutes even if you are starting with raw potatoes.

If you like this saag aloo recipe, you might like to try some of these curries too…

15 curry house curries from scratch!

I hope you enjoy this saag aloo recipe. If you do try it, please leave a comment. I’d love to hear from you.