Aloo Palak  (Spinach With Potatoes)

I can remember a long time ago Emeril Lagasse made aloo palak (spinach with potatoes) in a food processor when he finished making it.  I have to say:  Dear Mr. Lagasse, this is not the way to make aloo palak.  We ate this in my family for years and it does not  go in the food processor.  I hope he stumbles on this  blog post one day and I think it would be a laugh when he does. 😀

Now I know I am being a cheeky devil and I really enjoy it at times. Don’t worry my sarchasam is all in good fun and it is not meant to hurt anyone. Now I am going to show you on how I  make this dish.

It starts with the mortar and pestle  to make the masala that I will add to this dish. These spices are  added after they are ground up. I  added to my mortar and pestle 2 kabab chini (cubeb), 1 whole round  red chili, 1 pinch each of cumin, black cumin, dill seeds, corriander seeds, fenugreek seeds  and ground in a mortar and pestle until they turn in to a coarse powder.

Add 1/4 cup of olive oil and 1 tsp of mustard oil to a pot, 1 pinch of hing, 1 onion or shallot fried until brown, and 1 pinch of pink salt on high heat.  Lower the heat  add  the masala I have ground in the mortar and pestle with 1 pinch each of turmeric, red chili powder and Garam Masala.

In mortar and pestle I added  1 small piece of ginger that I washed and peeled and 2 cloves of garlic then I had crushed them and added it to the masala in the pot. I added 1 green chili and 1 tomato chopped and cooked it until it was mushy.

I added 1 bunch of spinach that I washed and cut or torn in to tiny pieces or as  you seen in the picture is 1 bag of frozen spinach and stirred  in to the masala mixture.  If you are using fresh spinach, clean it  by using a drop of dish soap and wash it in a colander until all traces of soap and the grit that is sweapt up in it goes down the drain.  You do this before you add this to the pot but if you are using frozen like I did then just cut the bag open and add to the pot directly.

Now I had added 2 potatoes after I had washed nicely and quartered them. I left the skins on and they are harmless but if you want to peel the potatoes that is quite up to you too.add  1 cup of water and remember to turn it on to low heat let it cook for 20  to 30 minutes until the potatoes are soft.

Enjoy with naan or chapati.