Today I am posting one of my favourite dish, Aloo Palak.  This is yet another traditional Punjabi delicacy filled with flavors and packed with nutrition. There are different ways to prepare it. I usually follow the same recipe of Palak Paneer, where I substitute paneer cubes with boiled potato cubes. But when I came across the recipe of aloo palak here, I liked that extra unique adraki flavor given to the dish. With generous amounts of ginger infusing its flavor into this dish, it was a perfect accompaniment to rotis especially at the time when the weather was chilly outside.

Ingredients

2 bunches palak
4 medium sized boiled potatoes - peeled and cubed 
2 onions - 1 sliced and another one finely chopped
1 tomato, chopped
1 - 2 green chillies, chopped
1 tbsp chopped ginger 
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp fennel seeds
Pinch of turmeric powder
1/4 tsp hing
2 tbsp besan - make a paste with water
salt, sugar according to taste
1/2 tsp garam masala 
1 " ginger  - cut into fine julienne for garnish
Oil
Salt and sugar as per taste

Method:

Wash, rinse spinach in running water. Remove the thick portion of the stem. [You can follow any method to clean it but make sure to clean it well from all dirt]. Roughly chop the leaves. Blanch it in hot water with sugar. Now drain and put the leaves in a bowl containing ice cold water [adding sugar and ice cold water helps to retain the green color].

Heat oil in a deep pan. Add sliced onions, chopped ginger pieces and fry it for a minute. Drop chopped tomatoes in the pan and saute it until the tomatoes turn soft . Switch off the flame and allow the mixture to cool. Transfer the mixture to mixer vessel and blend it with blanched palak, chopped green chilli to a smooth paste.

Next heat oil in the above pan again, add cumin seeds and as they crackle, add fennel seeds and saute it for few seconds. Add hing, turmeric powder, finely chopped onions and saute it till they turn translucent. Add boiled potato cubes, stir in well and then add smooth palak paste. Add the besan paste, mix it well. Add salt, sugar and cook it covered for 5 minutes on medium flame. The curry will thicken by this time, add water to adjust the consistency as per your preference. Add garam masala, give a nice stir and switch off the flame after one minute. Cover the pan with lid. Garnish with more ginger julienne and serve it warm as side dish. Goes very well with rotis [or any type of Indian flat breads]


Note: I have not added garlic in here, if you want you can add a tsp of finely chopped garlic or its paste before grinding the palak into paste. I was not able to retain the green color here as I had blanched palak on previous night and cooked this side dish next day.