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.
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