Aloo Ka Saag

bluemoon downunder's Note:

Described on the website where I found it as a Rajasthani main course potato dish, Aloo Ka Saag is probably what most of us would classify as a side dish. I’ve not made this recipe as I’ve only just found it and I’m posting it for the 2005 Zaar World Tour. I’ve posted the ingredients exactly as listed in the recipe on http://www.sanjeevkapoor.com/FreeSection/result.asp?passid=4522. Adjust the spiciness to suit your taste preferences. In what I’ve set out as step three, the recipe said “cook for some time”, so it would be helpful if you could mention in reviews just how long you cooked it for at this point. Since the potatoes are already cooked, my guess is that “some time” would not in fact be longer than 10 minutes. For this reason, my cooking time below is a guesstimate. The Zaar Kitchen Dictionary suggests that garlic powder or onion powder can be used as a substitute for asafetida powder.

• Total Time: 40 mins
• Prep Time: 20 mins
• Cook Time: 20 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 4

• 1/4 teaspoon asafetida powder
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin seed
• 1/2 inch piece ginger
• 1 teaspoon cardamom powder
• 2 green chilies
• 1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
• 2 tablespoons oil
• 1/2 lb potato
• 1 teaspoon red chili powder
• salt, to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
• 1 cup yoghurt (sour)

Directions:

1. Boil the potatoes, cool, peel and cut them into small cubes and set aside; peel and wash the ginger and set aside; remove the stems, wash and roughly chop the green chillies and grind them to a fine paste and set aside; and whip the yoghurt until it is smooth.
2. Heat the oil in a pan, and add the asafoetida, cumin seeds, mustard seeds, ginger and the green chilli paste. Sauté for two minutes; then add the potato pieces, and mix well.
3. Add the red chilli powder, turmeric powder, green cardamom powder, salt and cook for some time.
4. Add the yoghurt and cook stirring continuously. Then add half a cup of water and mix well. Cook until it starts boiling.
5. Remove the Aloo Ka Saag pan from the heat and serve hot.

Reviews

[Chef RZ Fan]

These were fantastic ! I doubled this as 1/2 lb is only about two med. potatoes and definitely not enough to "serve 4" around here. I otherwise followed your recipe exactly. I found the Asafetida Powder at Whole Foods Market and then for an even better price at the Indian Store. I served this with Indian Spicy Peas (Sukhi Matar)Indian Spicy Peas (Sukhi Matar) and steamed brown rice. If I could give this more than 5 stars I would - Thanks for posting it.