Sag Aloo

When my husband said we will relocate to the city we are in, I was very sure there will barely be any touch of Indians here. Where we are is a beautiful city in North of Scotland with lovely views and plenty of things to do outdoor, weather permitting. There are barely any industries here and hence I would think tourism is a big source of revenue and employment. Inline with my expectations, there were very few Indian families around, no temples and no asian grocery shop. But what did surprise me was the number of Indian restaurants! It then gave me an idea of how much curries are loved by the locals. Unfortunately, most of these restaurants do not really serve authentic Indian food and there is only one that is close to it and we go there when we fancy escaping from the kitchen. As they lack authenticity, there are very few dishes I like on the menu and choice is further restricted for a vegetarian. The two main dishes I quite enjoy is Naan and Sag Aloo. I decided I should attempt to replicate that dish in my kitchen and I almost did. My husband enjoys Sag Aloo so that was another reason I wanted to replicate this dish. Having said that, you can be sure to see another post for Sag Aloo as I have two different ways of doing it. Here is one way…


3-4 potatoes, boiled and cut into long pieces

1 big onion chopped

½ cup tomato puree

2 cups spinach, chopped

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

¼ teaspoon turmeric powder

1 teaspoon each – dhania (coriander) powder, jeera (cumin) powder, garam masala

Salt to taste

Cooking oil

Take teaspoon oil in a skillet and once it is hot, add the cumin seeds. When they begin to brown, add the onions and fry. Add turmeric powder

Add the spinach and allow it to wilt

Add tomato puree and allow it to boil

Add the spice powders and cook

Add potatoes when most of the liquid has evaporated. Season with salt and cook for further ten minutes.

Serve hot with rice, roti, chapatti or naan bread.

I prefer this dish to be a little dry and not have gravy as such. If you prefer gravy, then you could increase the tomato puree or add water. You could also mash some potatoes so the gravy gets a nice consistency and is not very runny.

This dish contains atleast 3 of your 5 a day vegetables (onion, tomato and spinach) and a portion of the everyday starchy veggie, potato. Happy Cooking and Dining!