Aloo Palak Tadka is a traditional stir-fry dish which is savored in the northern parts of India, mostly during winters. With fresh spinach at hand, this is a quick and yummy dish to whip up and enjoy piping hot with home made Indian flat breads. DSB takes its readers to the North Indian homes today to enjoy a flavourful winter special dish. Presenting Aloo Palak Tadka
Indian meals are usually elaborate and consist of many components. A portion each of Lentils , vegetables, Yogurt, pickles, sweets and Rice & Flat breads come together to form a classic Indian Thali (Indian Platter). Seen with vast diversities across the country, each region has it’s own traditional Thali and the contents reflect the flavor, tradition and culture of that region. A typical Indian home would have a Thali meal atleast once a day. Now, this may seem like mundane to some but it is not. With hundreds of lentils and vegetables to choose from, the preparations for each component keeps changing for every meal and hence each day, the thali brings out a new flavor for people to savor 🙂
In India, we have the concept of farmer’s market where farmer’s would bring their fresh produce of vegetables, meats and dairy for people to buy. Frozen meals are not encouraged and hence it is always preferred to cook with fresh ingredients. Often that means that all the vegetables are not available throughout the year and some vegetables are seasonal. This is actually very interesting as this ensures that the vegetables stay in rotation so that there is a balance of nutrition, you do not get bored of eating the same of kind of vegetables throughout the year and that they are not traveling a long distance to reach you but are grown locally, hence they are usually very fresh and taste great. This also becomes a great way to embrace the change in weather.
I love seasonal vegetables. They keep my meal preparations in rotation and i never get bored eating the same vegetables again and again. With spinach being the seasonal vegetable for winters in the northern India, many dishes with spinach as the main ingredient are prepared around this time. One of the most popular dish with Spinach is called “Saag” which is basically spinach puree cooked in a tempering of onions,tomatoes, garlic, ginger and a generous offering of cream. This is a north Indian delicacy and is enjoyed with hot maize flatbreads and jaggery. Sometimes people also add cottage cheese or Potatoes in it.
Aloo Palak Tadka is a semi-dry, stir fried version of Aloo Saag (Spinach puree in potatoes). The semi-dry gravy makes it easy to take out and takes much lesser time to prepare. So let us prepare this dish and enjoy !
Aloo Palak Tadka – Indian style potato spinach stir fry
Aloo Palak Tadka
Recipe
- 2 cups of chopped spinach (washed in hot water)
- 2 medium potatoes, boiled and cut into big chunks
- 2 tsp oil (vegetable/olive oil/ canola)
- 1/4 tsp asafoetida powder (optional)
- 1 tsp mustard seeds/ cumin seeds
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped
- 1 medium tomato, finely chopped
- 1-2 green chillies, finely chopped
- 1 inch ginger, grated
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- salt to taste
- 1/2 tsp red chili powder
- 1/2 tsp garam masala
- 1 tsp dry mango powder (u can use 1 tsp lemon juice instead as well)
- 2 tablespoon cream (optional)
Method
- Bring a saute pan to heat. Add in the oil and heat it up. Next add in the asafoetida and mustard seeds and let the seeds splutter.
- Now, to this, add in the green chillies, ginger and garlic and saute for a minute. Next, add in he chopped onion and saute till the onion turns translucent.
- Next, add in the chopped tomatoes,chopped spinach, salt and red chilli powder. Mix well, saute on high for a couple of minutes. Now, cover the pan with a lid and simmer for 5 minutes. The spices will get cooked and combine well with spinach.
- Now, add in the chopped potatoes, garam masala, dry mango powder and combine well. Add in the cream at this stage as well.Let it cook on medium high for a couple of minutes till the potatoes start to turn crispy and brownish on the edge. The Aloo Palak Tadka is ready.
This dish is as vibrant in taste as it is in looks. Nutritious to core and yummy in every bite, this dish makes for an effortless meal. This is a quick to make recipe which works great with chapatis, parathas and naans served with a dollop of ghee/clarified butter on top and jaggery . You can also make this into a great lunch platter with Basmati rice and daal. The taste is made tangy with the tomatoes and the dry mango powder in the dish which compliments the earthy taste of spinach. Try this dish today and bring some Indian flavors home 🙂
Click below some other interesting spinach preparations for you try :
FYI, this is an amazing and easy recipe. It’s one of my staples. I usually omit the chilies and eat the sabzi with lime pickle and roti (or, you know, whole wheat tortillas from the Hispanic market). Sometimes when I have extra turnip leaves, chard, etc, I make it with those. So versatile and so so delicious!
Hi Emily! Happy to hear that you liked the recipe and it has become a staple in your kitchen !! The next time you make it, maybe click a picture and share it with me here or on facebook.. would love to see ! Thanks a lot <3