ALOO PALAK (diced potatoes and spinach)
700g (1.5lb) scrubbed potatoes (aloo)
450g (1lb) fresh spinach (weighed without stalks) or defrosted frozen
leaf spinach (palak ka saag)
1 peeled and finely chopped med. onion (pyaz)
4-5 tbsp cooking oil (tail)
1/2 tbsp finely chopped or grated fresh ginger (adrak)
2 crushed cloves of garlic (lehsun)
1/4 tsp turmeric (haldi)
1 tsp white cummin seeds (sabut safeid zeera)
1/2 tsp red chilli powder (lal mirch)
1 finely chopped med tomato (timitar)
Boil the potatoes in their jackets so that they are almost, but not
quite, done and set them aside to cool. In the meantime wash the
spinach. Without drying the leaves, place them in a covered saucepan
and cook gently for 10 min.s until tender. Chop the spinach when it
is cool enough to handle, and reserve. Fry the onion in the oil until
golden brown and then add the ginger and garlic and stir for a min.
before adding the chopped tomato. Fry the tomato and spice mixture
for another 3-5 min.s over a low - med flame. When the potatoes are
completely cool, peel them and dice them into small cubes. Add the
potatoes to the spices and stir well to mix well together. Add the
spinach, and after you have stirred it in with the potatoes, cover the
pan and simmer gently until ready. During this time you may need to
open the pan once or twice to stir the vegetables around to prevent
them from sticking to the bottom of the pan.