Malabar Spinach & Potato Curry
This is a simple curry recipe that can be eaten as a dinnertime side dish or served with a green salad for a light lunch. I even used the leftovers as a filling for a flatbread wrap with humus, pickles and lettuce.
Ingredients
About 1/2 lb of Malabar Spinach, roughly chopped
1.5 lb of white potatoes, peeled and cut into roughly 1 inch cubes.
3 tsp mustard seeds (black is more typical but yellow works fine too and is easier to find)
4 to 5 garlic cloves
1 green chili chopped (optional. This can be replaced with a couple of tablespoons of diced green bell pepper if you don’t like it spicy)
1 onion, diced
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp chili powder (replace with paprika if you don’t like it spicy)
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp vegetable oil
Method
Heat the mustard seeds in a dry frying pan until they start to pop and brown a bit, then allow them to cool for a couple of minutes.
Blend the mustard seeds, garlic cloves and green chili to a fine paste. This is easiest done in a food processor rather than a blender because in a blender this small amount of ingredients will just get stuck to the sides, out of reach of the blades.
Heat the oil in a pan, add the diced onion and fry on a medium heat, stirring occasionally until brown (about 7 or 8 minutes)
Add the cubed potato and saute for 5 minutes.
Next, add the turmeric powder, chili powder (or paprika) and salt and saute for another couple of minutes, stirring frequently.
Now add the curry paste you made in the blender with 1/2 cup of water. Cover and allow to cook for 10 minutes on a medium heat, or until the potato is nearly cooked all the way through (test with a fork to see if its soft on the outside but still a little firm in the middle)
Finally add the Malabar Spinach leaves and cook covered for 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally..
Serve this hot as a side dish with rice and another vegetable curry, or make the potato curry the main dish with salad and some lentil dahl on the side.