Chard saag aloo
Saag aloo has long been a favourite side dish for an Indian meal. Traditionally spinach is used but it works equally well with chard. Separating the leaf from the stalk is a good tip for cooking chard, as they have different cooking times and each have their own flavour and texture. This also works well stuffed inside parathas (search for 'Chard Saal Aloo Stuffed Parathas.')
Cook's notes
This recipe uses butter, but it works equally well with vegetable oil to make it vegan. if using seeds for the spice mix, rather than ground spices, then gently fry them for a few seconds to release the aromas, before grinding.
Ingredients
For the saag aloo
- 500g new potatoes
- 1 red onion
- 4 garlic cloves
- 1 red chilli
- 1 thumb sized piece of ginger
- 1 carrot
- 1 stick of celery
- 25g of butter
- 300g chard or rainbow chard
- 2 tomatoes
- pumpkin seeds, to garnish
For the spice mix:
- 1 tsp of black mustard seeds
- 1 tsp of ground cumin
- 1 tsp of ground coriander
- 1 tsp of garam masala
- ½ tsp of turmeric
Method
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Step 1
Wash the potatoes and halve them. Bring a pan of salted water to the boil and cook the potatoes until they are just cooked but still firm.
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Step 2
Finely peel and dice the onion. Peel & finely chop or grate the garlic. Finely dice the chilli, ginger, carrot and celery. In a heavy bottomed frying pan, melt the butter and add the vegetables. Gently fry on a low heat until soft. Add a splash of vegetable oil if it appears too dry.
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Step 3
Chop the tomatoes. Prepare the chard. Remove the leaves from the stalks, then roughly chop both. When the onion mixture is soft, add the stalks, tomatoes and the spice mix. Stir until its thoroughly mixed.
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Step 4
Add the potatoes to the pan and stir, then add the chard leaves and a splash of water. Cook on a low heat until the leaves have wilted. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Serve as a side.