I'm continuing with my mission to declutter my food cupboard, using up all the seasoning mixes and jars of sauce that have been pushed to the back. Yesterday, I must admit it was with some trepidation that I pulled out the Saag Aloo recipe mix that I'd decided to use - I really wasn't sure it was something we'd like. I'd seen it on Indian restaurant menus before and knew it was a vegetarian dish and contained potatoes and spinach, but apart from that I knew very little so I didn't even know how it was supposed to turn out.
The Schwartz website actually has a from-scratch recipe, which reveals that it contains a mixture of seven spices - cumin, coriander, mustard seed, black onion seed, turmeric, minced garlic and crushed chillis. The sachet of seasoning mix makes it much easier and saves having to buy lots of separate spices, especially if they are things (like black onion seed, that I'd never even heard of !) that you probably wouldn't use very often.
The instructions tell you to use a pound (450g) of potatoes. To give you a rough idea, that's two big potatoes. (These two weighed 589g but by the time I'd peeled them, I'm sure it wouldn't be far out.)
You need to peel and dice the potato and fry it in some olive oil along with some chopped onion.
After about ten minutes, when the potato has gone soft (and probably started sticking to the bottom of the pan - make sure you keep stirring !), you can add the contents of the seasoning sachet and mix it all up. I love the heady aroma of spices that wafts up at this point - it reminded me of walking around the spice markets in Turkey and Tunisia - and the fact that you can see whole spices and seeds.
Now you can add the chopped tomatoes and spinach. I used frozen spinach which worked just fine, but you could also use fresh.
It needed a few minutes for my spinach to defrost then it was ready to serve.
It's a dry curry that is great as an accompaniment to meat or fish or it could be served as the main dish with rice, especially if catering for vegetarians. It's delicately spiced but not hot at all. I was really pleasantly surprised by the taste and texture - definitely something I'd make and eat again.
star rating : 4.5/5
RRP : This appears to have been discontinued, which just goes to show how long it's been lurking in my food cupboard ! You could make it from scratch though, using the info above as a guide.
for more information : http://www.schwartz.co.uk
Disclosure : I received the product in order to write an honest review.
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looks yummy, i love saag aloo when dining out, well definatly be trying this
ReplyDeleteLove the recipe, shame the packet is no longer available but I can make it from scratch.
ReplyDelete