Indian...Spinach and Potatoes

I really like Indian food. It meets several of my requirements for a favorite cuisine: it can usually be made in one pan, it doesn't usually require meat, and it's spicy.  We had a sad little plastic bag of potatoes in the fridge (where the Crazy Ants can't get to them) so I decided to make Indian Spinach and Potatoes.  

It would seem there are a lot of variations of this dish out there, with different spices and different techniques.  Not knowing anything about true Indian cuisine, I just picked the recipe that looked the easiest and makes use of the cardamom I bought today at the grocery store.  I never follow recipes exactly and I don't believe in measuring spoons or cups, except when it comes to baking and rice.  So any measurements I provide are not accurate. 

Names have been changed to protect the innocent. 

Indian Spinach and Potatoes - about 30 minutes, serves 4

Oil - 2-3 tbsp, canola/vegetable or the like

Onion - 1 small or medium, sliced thin

Garlic - 4 cloves, minced

Ginger - Small piece, sliced (2 - 3 inch piece or thereabouts)

Jalapeno - 1 - 3 (seeded if you are a wiener, not if you aren't)

Cumin seeds or ground powder - 1 tbsp

Turmeric - 1 - 2 tsp

Cinnamon - 1 tsp 

Cardamom, ground - 1 tsp

Potatoes - cut into half inch pieces (I used small brown ones [6 of them] but whatever you have on hand is good)

Tomatoes - 2 medium or one large, chopped

Spinach - Used two packages of fresh baby spinach, roughly chopped

1. Heat the oil over medium heat. When it's hot, add the onions, garlic, ginger, and jalapeno. Gently sautee until the onions are golden.
2. Add the dry spices and stir to coat the onions. Fry for another minute or two.
3. Add the potatoes and stir to coat. Cover the pan and let them sautee for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally to brown the sides.
4 Add the tomatoes.  This will give your dish a little bit of moisture. Put the lid back on and cook for a couple of minutes until the tomatoes start to break down.
5. Add the spinach. If the dish looks too dry at this point (like the spinach might burn) add a little water (maybe 1/3 cup).  It should be absorbed by the potatoes. Stir (duh).
6. Put the lid back on and let it cook for 5 - 10 minutes.  It's done when the spinach is soft and completely wilted but still vibrant green.
7. Salt to taste.

Tips: 

• You can change the proportions of potatoes and spinach. It's not rocket science, just base it on what you like. I love spinach so I used a lot of it.
• Save time: peel the potatoes first, so you can cut them while the onions are frying; chop the spinach while the potatoes are cooking.
• It doesn't matter what size you cut the potatoes, but make sure all the pieces are about the same time so that they have the same cooking time.

We ate the potato creation with brown rice and toasted pita bread. I was pleased with the result. The spinach had a nice green color. As always with Indian recipes I probably ended up doubling the amount of spices from the original recipe.

It was very easy to make and could easily be adapted to whatever one has on hand, like peas instead of spinach or chickpeas instead of potatoes.  Also, I don't always have all the spices needed for a recipe. I think the main necessity for this recipe is the cumin. Be careful with turmeric, it will turn things yellow, which seems to be a problem for me since I am constantly spilling things and flinging them accidentally out of the pan.  Go easy on the cardamom and the cinnamon; they are both kind of sweet.

Recipe I adapted from: http://spicyrasam.wordpress.com/2009/01/25/aloo-palak-potato-spinach-curry/