Dinner Tonight: Palak Aalu, Palak Paneer's Cousin
The original goal was to make saag paneer (sometimes called palak paneer), an incredible Indian dish of spinach and freshly made cheese. It's time-consuming and not exactly a Dinner Tonight, but it would have been undeniably tasty. I was politely reminded of the massive bag of potatoes sitting on my counter and decided to incorporate them somehow. At the bottom of this Wikipedia entry on "saag," there was a mention of Palak Aalu, or "fried potatoes dipped in spinach curry." Done.
Searching for a recipe led me to a site called Indian Foods Co. I'll be honest—the only reason I picked this one is because it ended with a sprinkling of nutmeg. I'm not sure if that's authentic or not, but when mixed with the other spices of mustard seed, cumin, turmeric, and coriander, I couldn't imagine anything being wrong.
And I was right. The potatoes suck up the fragrant spicing, the spinach adds a surprising amount of creaminess, and the jalapeño brings some welcome spice. All you need is some rice to make this a satisfying vegetarian dish.
Palak Aalu
- serves 2 -
Adapted from Indian Foods Co
Ingredients
1 pound new potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2 cubes
1 bunch spinach
2 tablespoons Canola oil
1 teaspoon black mustard seeds
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
2 jalapenos, stemmed, seeded, and chopped
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup water
1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg
Procedure
1. Rinse the spinach in a colander and then toss it into a large pot set over medium heat. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes. The spinach should wilt and reduce in size. Roughly chop the spinach.
2. Pour the oil into a large skillet set over medium heat. Add the cumin and mustard seeds, and cook, stirring often, until fragrant. This should take a couple minutes. Then add the turmeric, coriander, cumin, and jalapenos. Cook for another minute.
3. Add the cubed potatoes and sauté for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Pour in the water and a pinch of salt, cover the pan and cook for 10 minutes.
4. Toss in the chopped spinach, stir well, cover, and cook for 5 more minutes. Grate the nutmeg on top and serve with rice.
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8 Comments:
The curry sounds delicious, but nothing can beat paneer. While potatoes absorb and carry the heat, cheese coats your tongue with heat-protecting enzymes, making it an oasis in the spices, like yogurt. Plus it provides a nice textural experience.
Downside is that it is more involved to make paneer.
blizcheetah at 5:30PM on 08/17/09
looks great! my mother once used tofu as a paneer substitute in a palak paneer-esque dish (this is not native to my family's part of india.) it worked out surprisingly well, though i'm not as big of a paneer snob.
ace1025 at 6:30PM on 08/17/09
That looks delicious.
It looks like what I know as a Saag Aloo (aalu) but I never did quite understand the difference between Palak and Saag...I think it's a language thing but I'm not sure. Can anyone in the know enlighten me?
Thanks
FP
foolishpoolish at 6:39PM on 08/17/09
(Usually) Palak is Spinach, while Saag is made with greens like Mustard greens.
For me, a good Saag is cooked long enough that it turns black and has a deep flavor. I'm not a fan of these quick/stir-fry versions.
If the first thing you taste is the Spinach or greens, it's not a good version. A good version will keep for weeks in the fridge, and only get better. That's why some of the best I've had was from a buffet.
I agree on the paneer, and it needs to be browned first to bring out the dairy cheese flavor and firm up the texture, not just tossed in cold.
If I were changing this recipe, I'd replace the jalapenos with serranos or other less "green pepper" tasting chili, and I'd add garlic, and ginger after the seeds have popped.
peekpoke at 7:12PM on 08/17/09
looks pretty good. I like peekpoke's suggestions.
but "all you need is rice"?
to serve with your potatoes?
seems like all you need is some protein.
intheyearofthepig at 11:37PM on 08/17/09
@peekpoke
Many thanks for explaining Palak and Saag. Much appreciated.
FP
foolishpoolish at 2:47AM on 08/18/09
Palak Paneer is my favorite but Palak Aloo is pretty good too.
I have a cooking school in Chelsea and I teach how to make home made paneer from scratch. It is so easy and so good - people love it.
http://www.Indianculinarycenter.com
hameshahungry at 12:46PM on 08/18/09
I sometimes substitute chickpeas for paneer making palak channa (spinach and chickpeas). Pan fried tofu works well too.
This looks interesting but I think you probably need more spinach...the spinach should be the main focus of the dish not the aloo. Try pureeing the greens next time too...gives the dish a nice creamy flavor.
nithya at hungrydesi at 2:36PM on 08/18/09