Aloo Palak / Palak Aloo / Spinach Potato Gravy

Aloo Palak / Palak Aloo / Spinach Potato Gravy

Aloo Palak is one of the quickest side dish for rotis and pulao and its easier to make it. I prepare aloo palak in two different ways. In the simpler version, to the cooked spinach and potato cubes the tadka would be added along with some spice powders. In this version, the preparation is little elaborate and tried in restaurant style. This version is best suited for special occasions whereas the first simpler version is for regular day cooking.

Ingredients 
Spinach Leaves - 10 to 12 Cups packed.
Potato - 2 Medium ( cut into medium cubes )
Green Chilli - 1 Medium ( shredded )
Oil - 1 tbsp
Melted Ghee - 2 tsp
Jeera / Cumin Seeds - 1 tsp
Cinnamon Sticks - 1
Ginger Garlic Paste - 1/4 tsp
Red Onion shredded - 1/2 cup
Ripe tomato - 1 big
Turmeric Powder - 1 tsp
Dhana Jeera Powder / Coriander Cumin Powder - 1 tsp
Red Chili Powder - 1 tsp
Garam Masala Powder - 1 tsp
Salt - To Taste
Sugar - 1 pinch
Water - As desired.

Method

• Wash the spinach and chop them nicely and keep ready. Cut the onion, tomato, potato, green chilli into desired size and keep them ready. Microwave the potato cubes and keep the cooked potato cubes ready.
• In the cooking pan / kadai, add oil and melted ghee. When its heated, add the cumin seeds, cinnamon sticks followed by ginger garlic paste. Fry them till the raw smell goes off.
• Then add the onion, shredded green chilli, tomato and fry them till they get cooked and look mashy.
• Add the finely chopped spinach leaves into the pan and cook them till the quantity gets reduced considerably and cooked to your satisfaction. No need to water to the pan at this stage. Close the lid in the middle and allow the spinach to get cooked with the steam itself.
• Add all the powders into the pan now and mix them well.  Add the cooked potato cubes into the pan and mix them all.
• Add required amount of salt and a pinch of sugar into the pan and fry them for 2-3 minutes. If they get very thick, add little water and make the gravy consistency perfect.
• Switch off the flame and add a tsp of ghee or little butter on its top just before serving. Its totally optional and I generally do this topping if its made for a special occasion.

Variations / Tips

Potato cubes can be substituted with fried Tofu cubes to make it more healthier.

Mamidikaya Pappu \ Mango Dal \ Maangai Paruppu

Mango, an Indian Native fruit is widely used in Indian cuisine. Ripe Mangoes can be eaten as it is and also be used in the preparation of  Desserts, Shakes, etc. whereas Raw Mangoes are widely used in regular cooking. Dishes made out of these raw mangoes always have an unbeatable flavour and they are mouth watering. In Andhra cuisine, a Dal based dish called "Mamidikaya Pappu" is very famous which is made with the combination of Lentils and raw mangoes.  Whenever we get fresh mangoes in our  market, I try to make this tangy, spicy pappu at home definitely. With these raw mangoes, I do make "Mangai Sambar", "Mangai Mor Kuzhambu" sometime..I will share these recipes too in the following week.  I am sure you will love all the Raw Mango recipes.

Ingredients

Raw Mango - 1 Medium ( Sour )

Toor Dal \ Kandhi pappu  - Half a cup

Turmeric Powder - 1 tsp

Salt - To Taste

Green chillies -- 2 Medium

Red chilli powder -- 1 tsp

For Tempering

Oil - 1 tbsp

Hing \ Asafoetida -- 1 Dash

Mustard Seeds -- 2 tsp

Cumin Seeds \ Jeera -- 1 tsp

Urad Dal \ Ulutham Paruppu \ Minna Pappu - 1 tsp

Channa Dal \ Kadalai Paruppu \ Senaga Pappu - 1 tsp

Curry Leaves -- 5 or 6

Dry Red Chillies -- 2

Garlic Cloves --- 1 or 2 crushed.

Method

• Wash and peel the skin off the raw mango. Cut the mango into different medium pieces and keep them ready.
• In a pressure cooker, cook the raw mango along with the toor dal, turmeric powder, green chillies and some water in a vessel inside. Cook them for 4 whistles and switch the flame off.
• When the cooker gets cooled completely, take out the vessel and mash the dal and the cooked mango but leave some pieces of the mango as it is.
• Add required amount of salt and red chilli powder to the Pappu and allow them to cook for 2-3 minutes.
• Finish the tempering process separately and pour them over the cooked mango dal\ pappu.
• Mix them well and its ready to eat with hot white rice with a side of papads.

Tips

If the raw mango is not sour or has ripen a little bit, don't try to make this dish with that mango as the pappu's taste will not be as expected.

Don't add more toor dal while making this Mamidikaya pappu as the dal might inject more blandness to the dish.

Variations

If you don't like to use garlic in the tempering, you can omit Garlic and do the tempering process with the rest of the ingredients.