Indian Saag aloo — crispy chunks of spiced potato over a bed of absolutely flavorful spinach curry — is just a fabulous combination! This restaurant style version is deeply seasoned with incredible flavors and textures.
The other day, I was wondering why some vegetable-based Indian dishes use fewer spices than meat-based ones. There are several reasons for this. Veggie dishes, like saag aloo, are more homestyle recipes meant to celebrate the flavors of the veggies. Others like Chana masala also are often homestyle recipes. But why shouldn’t veggies be packed with flavor?
This is a restaurant style saag aloo that uses all of the incredible spices from chicken saag style recipes, but without the meat. To make this into a meal, you can add cooked chickpeas into the saag or serve it along with my Punjabi chole chickpea curry, dal, or tofu curry on the side. You can also substitute half of the potatoes with some crispy tofu to make it into a tofu and potato spinach curry.
To make a restaurant-style version, we add a lot more spices and some more fat added to the saag for a more flavorful, creamier experience. For a better texture of the spinach, I like to pulse the frozen spinach in a food processor for a fine chop like texture instead of too leafy or all pureed. I prefer that texture in saag aloo. If using fresh spinach, then finely chop and use. You can also use a combination of greens for this saag like mustard greens, chard, amaranth greens and other seasonal greens.
I also bake the potatoes ti so they are crispy and golden and serve them just lightly mixed in. Homestyle palak aloo has the potatoes cooked with the spinach for a softer potato dish. For a homestyle less spiced version try this palak aloo.
Why You’ll Love Saag Aloo
- crispy, spiced potatoes over a creamy, super flavorful spinach curry
- easy to make into a meal by adding chickpeas or tofu!
- so versatile! Make with leafy greens of choice, like mustard greens, baby kale, amaranth greens, etc.
- restaurant-style meal at home in only 40 minutes
- gluten-free, soy-free, and nut-free
