Aloo Palak Tamatar - Sauteed Potatoes Spinach and Tomatoes

Can you believe , its snowing outside ,on the very second day of spring !!!! Hope its just the remains of the season gone by and not a tiny start to a stormy Spring ....

Its after coming here , in one of the North Indian restaurants , that I had this recipe of the day for the first time. It was a tomato-less " Aloo palak" , and to tell u the truth , I did not like it. The Spinach was all soggy , the potatoes were not cooked well. In a pinch ,  it was a mess. I did like the combination of potatoes and spinach then , a root and a leaf. I figured i could afford it to be a lil tangy too

Since i decided to keep rice a bit away from my diet , chapati now occupies a major space . But a side with chapati is always a challenge and though we love meat ularthiyathu and mushroom with it , who doesn't like a change? That's when i came across this Trio of Sauteed spinach , Potatoes and Tomato in Ruth Law's Book .

I already made it many times , the potatoes cooked well to perfection , tender to fork , Spinach wilted not soggy , and the medley of spices, all comes together to a winning side with Chapati .

Recipe for Aloo palak Tamatar :-( Adapted from Indian Light cooking By Ruth Law)

Ingredients :-
Potatoes - 2 medium 
Spinach - 12 oz bag ( clean and trimmed)
Tomato - 1
Onion finely chopped - 1 big
Garlic crushed - 2 cloves
Ginger chopped - a small piece
Green chili chopped - 1 or 2
Red chilli powder - 1/2 tea spoon
Ground Coriander - 1 tea spoon
Turmeric powder - a large pinch
Garam masala  - 1/2 tea spoon
Cumin seeds - 1/4 tea spoon
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tea spoon
Salt to taste
Oil
cilantro

Directions :-

Boil the potatoes with the skin on until cooked and tender to fork. Let it cool , discard the skin and cut into 1/2 inch cubes.

Clean the  spinach well( i use baby spinach) ,Give a rough chop to the  spinach and set aside.( i normally squeeze out water if any using a kitchen towel.)

Heat oil in a pan and mustard seeds.When they pop up add cumin seeds and fry for 30 seconds.

Add onions, garlic and ginger and saute for 4-5 minutes.Add tomato ( i removed the inner flesh and used only the outer part) and fry for 2 minutes and add turmeric , red chilli ,coriander powders and salt to taste. Cook for a minute and add potatoes and fry for a couple of minutes, or till its slowly gets to brown.

Add Spinach , saute till the water evaporates, wilted but not soggy and sprinkle garam masala and cilantro and serve warm.

Cheers!!!

Sarah