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Potato and Spinach Saag

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Makes 4 servings 1x

Time 30 minutes

In How to Cook Everything Fast, recipe directions are separated into “prep” and “cook.” Here, we’ve made that distinction with italics for prep-work and plain text for cooking. This reflects the most efficient order and timing of tasks.

Units Scale

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 pounds russet or Yukon Gold potatoes
  • 1 1/2 pounds spinach
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 1 inch fresh ginger
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 1 fresh hot green chile (like serrano)
  • 1 tablespoon garam masala or curry powder
  • Pepper
  • 1 1/4 cups cream

Instructions

  1. Put a large pot filled halfway with water over high heat; salt it.
  2. Peel the potatoes and cut them into 1/2-inch cubes, adding them to the pot as you work.
  3. Cover the pot, bring to a boil, and cook, stirring once or twice, until the potatoes are tender enough to pierce with a fork but not mushy, 5 to 15 minutes.
  4. Trim and chop the spinach, including the stems.
  5. Put 2 tablespoons butter in a large skillet over medium-low heat.
  6. Peel 1 inch ginger and 2 cloves garlic; trim the chile. Chop them all together.
  7. Add the ginger, garlic, and chile to the skillet and turn the heat to medium-high. Cook, stirring frequently, until the aromatics soften, about 2 minutes. Add 1 tablespoon garam masala or curry powder and a sprinkle of salt; stir until fragrant, less than a minute. Add the spinach a handful at a time if necessary so there’s room as it cooks, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the spinach is soft and most of the water boils off, about 5 minutes.
  8. When the potatoes are ready, drain them in a colander, reserving about 1 cup cooking liquid. Return the potatoes to the pot, add the spinach mixture, and turn the heat to medium. Add 11/4 cups cream. Stir to combine and heat until steaming without coming to a boil, just a minute or two; add some of the reserved potato cooking water if the saag looks dry. Taste and adjust the seasoning, and serve.

— Recipe from How to Cook Everything Fast

Recipe variations

Mushroom and Spinach Saag This saag comes together in one pot. Substitute 1 pound trimmed and quartered button mushrooms for the potatoes. Skip Steps 1 and 2. In Step 3, put the butter in a large pot. When it melts, add the mushrooms, and cook, stirring occasionally, until they release their liquid and start to darken, 5 to 10 minutes. Then pick up the recipe at the beginning of Step 4 when you add the aromatics.

Tofu and Spinach Saag Even faster than the main recipe, and you only need the one

large pot. Use 2 bricks firm or extra-firm tofu (14 or 16 ounces each) instead of the potatoes. Cut into 1-inch cubes. Use the large pot to cook the spinach sauce, then add the tofu in Step 5. Cook, stirring once or twice, until the tofu warms through and the sauce thickens, just a couple minutes after adding the tofu.

Paneer and Spinach Saag If you can’t find paneer, the Indian fresh cheese, substitute feta (which is a little saltier) or farmer cheese or fresh mozzarella (which are milkier). Substitute 1 pound paneer for the potatoes; cut it into 1/2-inch cubes. Use a large pot to cook the spinach sauce; add the cheese in Step 5. Cook, stirring once or twice, until the paneer warms through and the sauce thickens, just a couple minutes.