Name: Saag Aloo
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 45 min
Yield: 4
Ingredients: 1 Large Sweet Potato Cubed; 200g Baby Spinach; 1 Large Onion chopped; 4 Cloves Garlic finely chopped; 1 Inch Ginger finely chopped; 1 Deseeded Green Chilli chopped; 1 Tbsp Oil; 3 Cups Water; 1 Veg Stock Cube; 1/2 Lemon Squeezed; 1/2 Tsp Sugar; 1 Tbsp Turmeric; 1 Tbsp Ground cumin; 1/2 Tsp Salt (always do taste test); 1/2 Tsp Coriander; 1/2 Tsp Fennel seeds; 1/2 Tsp Cumin seeds; 4 Cardamom pods (remove seeds from pods); 1/2 Tsp Mustard seeds

My deliciously spicy Saag Aloo is a mouthwatering feast for your palette. Vibrant sweet potatoes cooked with my favourite flavoursome and fragrant Indian spices.

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Saag Aloo

Course Main Course

Cuisine Indian

Keyword Saag Aloo, vegan recipes

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 35 minutes

Total Time 45 minutes

Servings 4

Author Deborah

Ingredients

1 Large Sweet Potato Cubed
200g Baby Spinach
1 Large Onion chopped
4 Cloves Garlic finely chopped
1 Inch Ginger finely chopped
1 Deseeded Green Chilli chopped
1 Tbsp Oil
3 Cups Water
1 Veg Stock Cube
1/2 Lemon Squeezed
1/2 Tsp Sugar

Ground Spices

1 Tbsp Turmeric
1 Tbsp Ground cumin
1/2 Tsp Salt (always do taste test)

Whole Spice Blend to be grounded with Pestel and Mortar

1/2 Tsp Coriander
1/2 Tsp Fennel seeds
1/2 Tsp Cumin seeds
4 Cardamom pods (remove seeds from pods)
1/2 Tsp Mustard seeds

Instructions

Grind Whole Seeds

Remove the little seeds from the cardamom pods.
Add the coriander, fennel, cumin and mustard seeds.
Grind them down and leave to one side.

Veg Prep

Peel and cube the Sweet Potato and parboil.
Prep the rest of your aromatic vegetables; finely chop garlic, onions, ginger and chilli.
Wash your spinach and put to one side for later use.
Dissolve your veg stock cube using the three cups water, which is roughly 1.5 pints and have that to hand while you begin making your sauce.

The Sauce.

Heat your oil in a pan. I usually start on a medium to high heat then reduce to a medium heat. It’s important to gently cook spices and aromats.
Once your oil is on, add in your onions, ginger, garlic and chilli. cook for about three to four minutes. Add in a pinch of salt and the crushed whole seeds. Cook for a further three minutes to allow all the aromatic spices and veg to blend together.
Next start adding the dry spices.
Add in your Turmeric. Usually when this is done turmeric absorbs any excess oil from the pan. It is important here to add a few tablespoons of water from your stock jug to help form a paste.
Add the rest of your spices continually adding water from the jugs (not all the water at once) until you start to have a nice curry paste coming on.
We want to ensure all the spices are blending and cooking nicely.
Pour in most of the water and continue to cook for another five minutes or so to push the flavour of the sauce so you extract the most from your herbs and spices.
After the sauce has been cooking nicely for about ten minutes, add in your parboiled sweet potatoes and the remainder of the water.
NOTE: If you feel you need a little extra water for your sauce then add it in.
Reduce your heat to a low heat. Potatoes should be on a nice simmer. Allow the potatoes to cook for a further 15 to 20 minutes. This ensures the sweet potatoes absorb as much flavour from your sauce as possible. At this point your curry is done. You can leave it simmer for a while longer.
Adding the Spinach.
I always add my spinach about 3 to 4 minutes before I serve up the curry. You don’t want the spinach over cooked as it will lose all nutritional value and taste. Leaving it to the last few minutes is best.
Serve with some vegan naan bread or pour your curry onto a pillow of soft fragrant basmati rice.

Veg Preparation is always key when aiming for a delicious curry. The more prepared you are, the more time you have to add a lotta soul and love into your spice blending and sauce making!