RecipesVegetarian and Vegetables

Rainbow Chard Saag Aloo Recipe – Meera Sodha

Published with kind permission from Meera Sodha, from her cookbook Fresh India (Fig Tree, £20) “I’ll never forget my mum’s head-turning squeal when she saw a bag of Desiree potatoes marked ‘grown in Lincolnshire’ in the aisle of a London supermarket.

Rainbow Chard Saag Aloo Recipe – Meera Sodha
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Ingredients

For the recipe:
  • 400g rainbow or Swiss chard
  • 3 tablespoons rapeseed oil
  • 1 teaspoon black mustard seeds
  • 2 medium brown onions, sliced
  • 600g Desiree potatoes
  • 3cm ginger, peeled and grated
  • 4 cloves of garlic, crushed
  • 400g ripe tomatoes, cut into wedges
  • 1⅓ teaspoons chilli powder
  • ⅓ teaspoon ground cumin
  • ⅓ teaspoon ground coriander
  • ½ teaspoon ground turmeric
  • 1¼ teaspoons salt

Published with kind permission from Meera Sodha, from her cookbook Fresh India (Fig Tree, £20)

“I’ll never forget my mum’s head-turning squeal when she saw a bag of Desiree potatoes marked ‘grown in Lincolnshire’ in the aisle of a London supermarket. She’s evangelical about their butteriness, and proud of the fact they’re grown near our family home, so this dish, which uses a classic Gujarati spicing of cumin, coriander, turmeric and chilli, appears regularly on the Sodha family table.”

Serves 2 to 3 as a main course

Method

01
To prepare the chard, cut the stems from the leaves. Cut the stems into 4cm pieces and slice the leaves into 4cm strips.
02
Put the oil into a large lidded frying pan and, when hot, add the mustard seeds. When they pop, add the onions and cook for 12 to 15 minutes, until soft and golden brown. In the meantime, peel the potatoes and cut into 2cm cubes. When the onions are ready, add the ginger and garlic to the pan and cook for a couple of minutes, then add the potatoes and 200ml of water. Cover and cook for 10 minutes.
03
Add the tomatoes and the chard stalks, cover and cook for a further 5 minutes, or until the chard stalks are soft. Add the chilli, cumin, coriander, turmeric and salt and stir gently. Finally, add the chard leaves, coat with the mixture and pop the lid back on for a final 2 to 3 minutes, until the leaves have wilted.
04
Serve with hot chapattis or rice, yoghurt and a little pickle.
05
For more information on Meera and her cookbooks, please visit meerasodha.com
06
If you enjoyed her recipe, why not try these other delicious dishes:
07
Baked Onion Bhajis
08
Gujarati Dal with Peanuts & Star Anise