Aloo Palak Recipe

Ingredients

• 5 cups (10-12ounce) organic spinach fresh or frozen (see notes), washed and chopped (see instructions)
• 1 large (~350g) russet potato or 3 medium gold/yellow potatoes, peeled and cubed(around ½ inch)
• 4 tablespoon mustard oil or any cooking oil you use in the kitchen
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds or 1.5 teaspoon cumin powder
• 2-3 dried kashmiri chillies or ½ teaspoon red chilli flakes, adjust to taste
• ¼ teaspoon methi dana fenugreek seeds (skip if not available)
• 2 pinch hing asafetida, skip if not available
• 5-6 garlic cloves finely chopped or 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• ⅓ cup onion finely chopped
• ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
• ½ teaspoon (extra hot) red chilli powder or cayenne, adjust to taste
• ¾ teaspoon coriander powder
• ¾ teaspoon salt can to up to 1 teaspoon, taste and adjust
• ½ teaspoon amchoor dry mango powder or lemon juice(adjust quantity depending on how sour you like)
• ¼ teaspoon garam masala
• ½ teaspoon kasuri methi crushed between palms, optional

Steps

1. Open up the spinach bunch, spread on your kitchen counter and pick out any yellow or wilted leaves. Take a large vessel of cold clean water and soak the spinach. Let soak for 5-7 minutes. Drain and discard the water, you will see dirt at the bottom of pot. Rinse the pot and fill with water again and soak the spinach. Repeat this process a few times (3-4) until you stop seeing dirt at the bottom of water. Drain the leaves fully.
2. Air dry the washed spinach leaves by spreading them in a single layer (if possible) on a kitchen towel. It will take about an hour to air dry. Alternatively, use a salad spinner to dry the leaves. I use the latter method. Pro Tip: Make sure that the spinach is dry before you start chopping else the sabji will get watery.
3. Start chopping the leaves. If the stems are hard and fibrous, you can discard them completely. Else trim off about 1 inch of the stems and chop the rest of the (juicy) stems. I recommend roughly chopping the leaves. Dont use food processor, the sabzi has no texture and gets watery. In this recipe, its better if you roughly chop the spinach leaves and finely chop the stems. If you wish to use tomatoes, finely chop them too.
4. In a wide heavy bottom, pan or kadai (indian wok) heat up the oi on low medium. I like using my cast iron wok for this recipe. Select a pan large enough to hold the spinach. Pro Tip: If possible, use a cast iron or any iron utensil to cook your leafy greens. Since iron cookware has great heat conduction, the taste and the texture of greens comes out amazing.
5. Once the oil is a warm (or little smoky if you are using mustard oil), reduce the heat to low or take off the pan from the stove. Temper with whole spices (fenugreek, cumin, dried chilies and hing). Return to stove and sauté the spices for 30 seconds taking care not to burn.
6. Add the chopped onion, ginger and garlic next and stir for 3-4 minutes until translucent. Note:- Add tomatoes now and cook for 2-4 minutes until a bit soft. Then add the potatoes and sprinkle the coriander, turmeric, red chili powder along with ¼ teaspoon salt. Mix so that the potatoes are coated in spices and then cover. Due to salt, the potatoes will release moisture and you won't need to add any water, however do check and make sure that they are not sticking at the bottom (add 1-2 tablespoons of water if needed).
7. Once the potatoes are fork tender, add the chopped spinach and stems. Dont mix right now. Push down with a lid and let cook covered till the spinach has wilted (about 2-3 minutes). Avoid cooking longer with lid on else the spinach will lose its color.
8. Once the spinach has wilted, bump heat to medium and mix everything. Gently stir taking care that the potatoes do not break.
9. Cook for 5-8 minutes till the water at the bottom has dried out and spinach appears shiny and dark green.
10. Finish with garam masala, kasuri methi and amchur (or a little lemon juice). Serve!