Best Instant Pot Saag Aloo Recipe -(Spinach Potato Curry)

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What is Saag Aloo?

Saag Aloo is a flavorful, popular spinach potato curry from Punjab in the North of India made with cooked greens and potatoes. Traditional recipes take a long time to make. But when you use the Instant Pot, your Saag Aloo is ready in a matter of minutes not hours. 

Saag roughly translates to greens in English. Saag can refer to a number of different greens and can include spinach, mustard greens, collards, fenugreek, kale. You can choose any combination you prefer with spinach to make saag. Aloo means potatoes. The potatoes help make saag aloo filling and delicious. My recipe uses spinach as the main greens, as do many others who make Saag Aloo. But you can add additional greens to Saag Aloo that will work with the spinach and potatoes.

Instant Pot Saag Aloo / Spinach Potato Curry Video Recipe

Can I use frozen greens for making Saag Aloo?

I always prefer fresh spinach but if you are in a pinch, you can use frozen greens in this recipe. If you do use frozen greens, let them thaw before using. Place them in a colander and squeeze some of the moisture out. This helps prevents the saag aloo from getting too watery. 

Why make Saag Aloo in the Instant Pot

Saag Aloo is a one pot meal in the Instant Pot and so easy to prepare. Making this dish in the Instant Pot will save you so much time and yield a flavorful result. If you’re new to the Instant Pot, don’t let the pot intimidate you. You can find everything you need to know about basic Instant Pot cooking here.

How to make Saag Aloo in the Instant Pot: A Step By Step Recipe

PREP VEGGIES  To make Saag Aloo, first prep the your veggies by peeling and soaking the  cut potatoes in water after peeling or cutting to prevent them from browning . Then wash the spinach leaves and set them aside.

STEP 1 Turn your Instant Pot on Saute mode . Once your Instant Pot is hot, add ghee or oil.  Add in the cumin seeds, ginger, garlic paste, dried fenugreek leaves and the chopped onions, green chilies and give it a stir . Place A glass lid and let it cook for a minute or two. Add the chopped tomatoes.

STEP 2  Season the veggies with salt, turmeric powder, and the garam masala and give everything another stir.Sauté the spices in the oil for 1 minute or just until they start to get deliciously fragrant.

Add in the spinach leaves and water. Place a high leg trivet  on top of the greens.Place the potatoes in a steamer basket  and put the basket on the trivet. If you need to, push down the greens gently so the steamer basket fits.

Now turn off saute mode by hitting the cancel button. Cover with the lid and set the VENT to SEALING. The pressure cook for 5 minute. When the timer goes off, use the VENT to do a Quick Release.

STEP 3  Once the Pot allows you to open the lid, remove the lid and take the trivet and steamer basket out of the Instant Pot.

Use an immersion blender like Mealthy to blend the spinach and spice into a smooth sauce. We  love our Mealthy immersion blender because it give great results with Indian cooking especially when you need soft silky curries. If you are looking for an immersion blender, you can get a Mealthy here. 

Turn on SAUTE mode again and add in the potatoes to the sauce. Let the potatoes cook in the spinach curry  for about 4 to 5 minutes. Now turn off saute mode by hitting the cancel button.  Mix well before serving.

Tips and Pro-Tricks

There are some things you can do to help ensure your cooking process is easy as possible and saag aloo turns out perfectly each time. 

Some steps you can take to set you up for curry success include:

• Peeling and soaking the potatoes for a few minutes to avoid browning them
• Preparing all your ingredients first before starting to cook, this includes washing off the greens, chopping the onions and tomatoes, and getting the spices ready
• Picking greens that you like the flavor of or that you can find at your local grocery store

Is Saag healthy?

Saag is a warm, comfort food that is also nutritious. Spinach has a lot of nutrients packed in its leaves, such as iron, potassium, and lots of vitamins. And if you add other greens, you get the benefits of the additional greens as well. For a lower carb version of Saag Aloo, you can substitute paneer for the potatoes. Tofu also adds some additional protein to the Saag Aloo.

Can I add any other greens?

Yes! You can add additional greens to Saag Aloo. However, you need to make sure you keep one bunch of spinach (about 7 ounces) to preserve the taste of the Saag Aloo. Greens I have added include either one bunch of mustard greens or kale.

What is the difference between Saag and Palak?

Saag refers to a variety of greens. These can include kale, spinach, mustard greens, and so on. Palak refers to spinach specifically. If you visit an Indian restaurant and ask for a Palak Paneer, you will get only spinach as the green in the dish.

Many people use ‘Saag’ and ‘Palak’ as interchangeable terms. In most cases, people who make saag have spinach as the main green. And the truth is, there is minimal difference between Saag and Palak. 

To learn more about the subtle differences, you can check out my Kale Saag Paneer recipe for more details.

What vegetables can I substitute?

There are a lot of vegetables you can substitute /add for Aloo ( potatoes ) or add into Saag Aloo.  

• Tofu 
• Cooked chickpeas/ Garbanzo beans
• Corn 
• Paneer.

What do I serve with this Saag Aloo?

Personally, I like to serve Saag Aloo with  Makke ki Roti (Corn Tortilla) or regular roti and Rice.

What is tempering and why do you need to temper the Saag Aloo?

Tempering is an optional step you can take when making Saag Aloo. It refers to creating a ghee or oil based garnishment  to the top when serving. Tempering is usually done to extract the essence and enhance the flavor of spices and herbs that are used. Usually, cumin seeds, hing, green chilies , chopped ginger , garlic and red chilly powder are used in tempering. Its totally optional.

Tempering is easy to make. In a small pot, heat ghee or oil over medium heat. Once the ghee or oil is hot, add cumin seeds and hing to the ghee or oil. Remove the pot from heat once the seeds start to crack. Finally, add a small amount of red chili powder to give the tempering a bit of heat.

Does Saag Aloo contain dairy or Can It be made Vegan?

Saag Aloo does not need to contain dairy. You can make my recipe using either ghee (made from butter) or olive oil. If you use olive oil, then Saag Aloo is vegan and dairy free.

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Instant Pot Saag Aloo / Spinach Potato Recipe

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Saag Aloo

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 5 minutes

Total Time: 15 minutes

 Instant Pot Saag Aloo (Spinach Potato Curry)-Full of warming flavors this a one-pot pressure cooker recipe for an Indian favorite, Saag Aloo, also known as  Spinach Potato Curry. This creamy and flavorful potatoes and spinach curry is tasty, healthy and a breeze to make with this 30-minute recipe.

Print

Ingredients

• 2 bunch Organic Spinach (14 oz)
• 12 -15 Baby Potatoes or 2 medium potatoes ( peel /chopped in 1.5 inch piece cubes)
• 1 tablespoon Ghee or oil
• 1 Green chilli/ chopped
• 2 Tomato / chopped
• 1 onion / chopped
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 tablespoon Dried Fenugreek leaves
• 1 teaspoon Garam masala
• 1 teaspoon Turmeric powder
• Salt to taste
• 1 teaspoon Cumin seeds
• 1 tablespoon fresh ginger- garlic paste
• For Tempering (Optional)
• Ghee 1 Tbsp
• Cumin Seeds 1 Tsp
• Chopped ginger
• 3 Garlic Cloves chopped

Instructions

1. Wash the Spinach leaves and set them aside. Peel the potatoes and soak them in water to avoid browning.
2. Put IP on Saute mode adjust to NORMAL.
3. When HOT add ghee. Sauté cumin seeds , ,ginger - garlic paste , dried fenugreek leaves and stir .Add in the chopped onions ,green chilies , and the tomato stir it well .
4. Add in the salt, turmeric powder and the garam masala .mix well.
5. Cancel Sauté add in the spinach leaves and water. Place a high leg trivet and in a steamer basket, place the potatoes. Place the steamer basket on the trivet .Push down the greens if needed to fit the steamer basket
6. Cover with lid,VENT to SEALING. pressure cook for 4 minute. when done Quick Release.
7. Remove the steamer basket from the instant pot and the trivet .Using an immersion blender,blend the spinach into a smooth paste.
8. Turn on the instant pot in saute mode. Add in the potatoes and cook for about few minute. Mix well and serve hot.Enjoy!

Notes

Potatoes : You can use baby potatoes or 2 medium size red potatoes ( peel and cut them in 1.5 inch bite size pieces )

Greens : You can use 1 bunch Kale or mustard greens and 1 bunch of spinach .

Tempering : Tempering is optional .

Low carb : Use paneer in place of potatoes .

For Vegan version Skip ghee and use Olive oil

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* This recipe uses Mealthy's Immersion Blender provided by Mealthy, however this is not a sponsored post and the views provided are mine only.