Indians don’t generally eat spinach as a salad. It is almost always cooked into a sabzi, the most famous being Palak Paneer. It is also used in dal, parathas, or pakoras. Since I love potatoes, it usually gets incorporated into many of my sabzis. Adding potatoes to greens like spinach and fenugreek also helps in stretching the dish to feed unexpected, drop-in guests. Indians always welcome company, any time of the day.
I use fresh spinach when available, and, personally, I find that very little difference in taste when I use frozen spinach. The plus side to frozen spinach is that there is no tedious cleaning or chopping of the vegetable. Just defrost and go!
If you do go the fresh route, before you wash the spinach, keep the bundle intact, heads together and stalks together. Then chop off the extra long stalk and discard. Immerse the spinach in a deep bowl of water, then dip and immerse several times to get all the grit out. I change the water once. Now rinse it in a colander, moving it back and forth, or use your faucet spray if you have one. Drain and chop moderately fine.
If you’re using pre-washed spinach in a salad bag, just rinse it before you chop and cook it. I suggest this as I’ve found dirt in “pre-washed” leaves too many times!
Palak Allu Sabzi (Sautéed Spinach and Potatoes)
Ingredients
- 1 lb frozen chopped spinach (or fresh spinach, washed and chopped)
- 2 medium potatoes (peeled and quartered)
- ½ medium yellow onion (or 1 shallot, peeled and diced)
- 1 whole red chili pepper (optional, more or less to taste)
- ½ tsp tumeric powder
- 1 tsp cumin powder
- salt (to taste)
- 2 tbsp cooking oil
- 4 tbsp water (½ cup of water if you are using fresh spinach)
- 2 tsp desi ghee (clarified butter, optional)
- ¼ tsp garam masala (optional)
Instructions
- On medium heat, heat the oil in wok or skillet. Add the red chili (if you want a spicy taste) and chopped onion. Sauté till ¾ brown. Approximately 5-7 mins.
- Add the turmeric and cumin powder. Stir a few times, and then add the potatoes. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring gently to coat the potatoes with masala.
- Add the spinach and salt, and then add just enough water to cook the potatoes. Turn the heat down, cover the pan, and cook on low for 5 minutes.
- Remove the lid and cook for another 7-8 minutes until the potatoes are cooked and the moisture has almost evaporated. Do not let it dry out.
- Once the potatoes are done, remove the skillet from the heat and sprinkle garam masala over the sabzi. Cover and let rest at least 5 minutes for the dish to absorb all the flavors.
- Serve with tortillas, rotis, or rice and as an accompaniment to any dal or curry.
Notes
Variations: You can also substitute baby red potatoes, scrubbed and halved or quartered, with skin on. A half cup of cooked Garbanzo beans (kabli channa) are very tasty mixed into the spinach, too. Omit the potatoes to fix a plain spinach sabzi. .