Frozen Spinach With Potatoes (Saag aloo) Review

4 stars (on a 5 star scale) p. 157 A respectable, mild dish in which mushy spinach surrounds potatoes. Although I was disappointed when I realized it's not the type of saag one gets in Indian restaurants, when I judge it on its own merits, I'm fairly happy. It looks as an authentic dish should, dotted with black mustard seeds. Some bites are pretty flavorful -- maybe those are ones with more garlic, mustard seeds, and the stuff from the bottom of the pan. Some notes on the ingredients:

• I used a yellow onion, as the recipe didn't specify what type.
• I used Yukon gold potatoes, as the recipe didn't specify what type.
• I skipped the asafetida, as I didn't have any on hand.

Some notes on cooking:

• I used three tablespoons of oil, not five as suggested by the recipe. I partially made this decision because I used a non-stick skillet.
• I didn't bother chopping the spinach coarsely -- it didn't seem necessary.
• I forgot to press the water out of the spinach, but I did leave the leaves in the colander for a while.
• Perhaps as a result of the previous oversight, I found the spinach gave off enough water during cooking so that I didn't need to add any.

This dish doesn't need rice. close-up