Aloo Palak (Spinach with Potatoes)

After the popularity (and blog success) of Shakuntala’s Aloo ki Ras Bhaaji, I had been trying to get her to teach me something new. She hails from Western UP in North India and I incorporate a lot of North Indian influence in my everyday food. This essentially makes my everyday food only a variation of hers. Last week I decided to try her version of Aloo Palak (spinach with potatoes) that is a variation on my Punjab-type.

Aloo palak is a popular no-fuss Punjabi dish. A long long time ago we lived briefly in West Delhi where the population is mainly Punjabi. On the way back from grocery shopping my Mom would sometimes pick a kulhar (a disposable terracotta take-away container) of aloo palak from Sardarji’s dhaba to serve at dinner.

Those were days when there were open, unbuilt-upon areas available where a woman could set up a make-shift tandoor, dug into the ground, and provide roti-making service to other harried housewives at lunchtime in the peak of summer. I remember my mom occasionally sending me and my younger sister with some dough, flour, and ghee to get them made into hot tandoori rotis. There was some nominal charge per roti for the baking and the lady also got to keep the dry flour and any ghee that did not get used up.

It used to be fascinating to watch the woman pinch off the dough and pat it into a thick roti, place it on a hand-held cloth padding for the final slap onto the hot surface of the glowing tandoor. One by one they would go in. She would then pick her hooked metal spike and dislodge one from the clay surface and flip it onto the hot coals to briefly cook the other side before pulling it out.

A big city like Delhi no longer has such communal informal activities. There are no neighbourhoods that need these services nor any service providers. Another quaint quirk to be relegated to memory. Things pass.

But you can still get tandoori roti. And aloo palak. There is no home-substitute for tandoori roti. No, the home-oven is not the same as the tandoor. But you can make a swell aloo palak at home.

The UP-style aloo palak is similar to the Punjabi kind. It relies on just a few ingredients and no dry spices for a very satisfying greens dish. Where I use ginger and onions in my Punjabi version, the UP version relies on garlic and heeng. While I mash the spinach for the former, the latter uses chopped spinach. Both have the flavour of green chillies and no turmeric, to hang on to the green of the greens.

Aloo Palak I (Uttar Pradesh style)
(Spinach with Potatoes)

1 kg fresh spinach, rinsed and chopped fine
3-4 medium potatoes, rinsed and diced (1/2 inch cubes)
6-8 cloves of garlic, crushed
6-10 green chillies, chopped
2-3 T mustard oil
a good pinch of strong heeng, such as Bandhini brand
salt

Heat oil to smoking. Add heeng, and the garlic and let it sizzle till the edges are a bit browned. Add the green chillies to the hot oil and let these fry a bit; half a minute. Now add the spinach, the potatoes, and the salt. Mix well. Cover and cook till the potatoes have softened, stirring occasionally. Serve with rotis, any raita, and some achar.

Aloo Palak II (Punjabi)
Punjabi-style Spinach with Potatoes

1 kg fresh spinach, rinsed
3-4 medium potatoes, rinsed and diced (1/2 inch cubes)
1 T grated fresh ginger
1 large onion, chopped fine
1 tomato, chopped fine (optional)
6-10 green chillies, slit into two
1-2 T mustard oil
a good pinch of strong heeng, such as Bandhini
salt

Cook the spinach in boiling water. Mash with hands or use an immersion blender. Heat oil in a karahi. Add heeng, followed by ginger. Stir for a minute and then add the onions. Sauté onions till they turn transparent. Add the green chillies and the tomatoes, if using. Sauté till the tomatoes are pulped. Add the potatoes and the salt. Cover and cook 10 min or till the potatoes are almost done. Now add the mashed spinach and let simmer till the potatoes are cooked through. Serve as above.

This is my entry to JFI-Greens: Jihva for Ingredients, this month back at its birthplace – Indira’s Mahanandi and being co-hosted by Nandita (Saffron Trail).