Instant Pot saag aloo
Tender potatoes in a gingery, garlicky spinach sauce that the pressure cooker makes silky, served over rice with a spoonful of yogurt.
- 50 min total
- 20 min hands-on
- Follow-a-recipe easy
- Serves 4
- About $2.97 a serving
- 600 calories
- Good the next day
- Vegetarian
- Gluten-free
Dolly says: Make the full amount. It’s just as good for lunch the next day.
Ingredients
For 4 servings.
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp fresh ginger, grated
- 1½ lb Yukon Gold potatoes, cut into 1-inch cubes
- 2 tsp garam masala
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 1 can diced tomatoes
- 1 package frozen chopped spinach, still frozen
- 1½ cups basmati rice
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- ½ lemon
- 1 cup plain Greek yogurt
From your pantry
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- ½ tsp ground turmeric
- ½ cup water
- 2 tsp salt, divided
- 2¼ cups water
Each serving has about 600 calories, 20 g protein, 100 g carbs and 15 g fat, and costs about $2.97 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No yellow onions? White onions or red onions work.
- No Yukon Gold potatoes? Russet potatoes or red potatoes work.
- No diced tomatoes? Crushed tomatoes work.
- No basmati rice? Jasmine rice or long-grain white rice works.
- No lemons? Limes work.
- No plain Greek yogurt? Plain yogurt or sour cream works.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
the onion, the garlic, the ginger and cut the potatoes into 1-inch , so everything is ready before the pot gets hot.
Dice. Dicing means cutting food into small, even cubes, usually a quarter to half an inch across. Pieces the same size cook at the same speed, so nothing burns while the rest catches up.
How you’ll know: Your pieces are little cubes about the size of a chickpea, and they all look close to the same.
Mince. Mincing means chopping something into the tiniest pieces you can, smaller than a grain of rice. Tiny pieces melt into the dish, so you get the flavor without biting into a chunk of garlic.
How you’ll know: Every piece is tiny and about the same size, and the pile starts to look almost like a paste.
Grate. Grating means rubbing food across the holes of a grater to make fine shreds or flakes. It spreads cheese, garlic or ginger evenly through a dish so it melts right in.
How you’ll know: Even shreds fall off the back of the grater, and you stop while the piece is still big enough to hold.
Cube. Cubing means cutting food into chunky, even squares, usually three quarters of an inch to an inch. Same-size cubes cook at the same speed and brown on every side.
How you’ll know: Your pieces look like a handful of sugar cubes, a little bigger than diced, all close to the same size.
Set the Instant Pot to and add the oil. When it’s hot, add the onion and cook, stirring, until soft and at the edges, about 5 minutes.
Sauté. Sautéing means cooking cut-up food in a little oil or butter over medium to medium-high heat, stirring now and then. It cooks things quickly and browns them lightly without burning.
How you’ll know: You hear a steady, lively sizzle, not a hiss and spit, and the edges start to soften and color.
Golden brown. Golden brown is the color of good toast, somewhere between yellow and light brown. It means the outside is cooked and crisp but not burnt.
How you’ll know: It looks like toast and smells toasty; dark brown with a bitter smell means it went too far.
Timer: 5 min
Add the garlic, ginger, cumin, garam masala, turmeric and coriander and stir for 30 seconds, .
Fragrant. Fragrant means cooking until you can clearly smell it, usually garlic or spices, often in about 30 seconds. That’s the moment the flavor is ready, just before it can burn.
How you’ll know: You can smell it from a step back, and garlic is pale gold, not brown.
Pour in ½ cup water and scrape the bottom clean.
Dolly’s tip: Anything stuck to the bottom can set off the burn warning. Scraping it loose and keeping the spinach on top prevents it.Add the tomatoes, potatoes and 1½ teaspoons salt, then set the spinach block on top. Don’t stir.
Lock the lid, turn the valve to Sealing and pressure cook on High for 5 minutes. It takes about 10 minutes to come up to pressure first.
Timer: 5 min
Meanwhile, the rice, then bring it in a with 2¼ cups water and ½ teaspoon salt over high heat.
Rinse. Rinsing means running cold water over rice or canned beans in a strainer while you swish them around. It washes off loose starch and can liquid, so rice cooks up fluffy and beans taste clean.
How you’ll know: The water running out goes from cloudy to mostly clear; it doesn’t have to be perfect.
Bring to a boil. It means heating a liquid on high until it’s fully boiling before you move on. A lid on the pot gets it there faster, which makes it a good moment to chop something.
How you’ll know: Big bubbles break all over the surface, and they keep coming when you lift the lid.
Saucepan. A saucepan is a pot with tall, straight sides and one long handle. It’s for things that need depth, like rice, sauces or a few boiled eggs.
How you’ll know: The food fills it about halfway, leaving room to bubble without spilling over.
High heat
Stir once, cover, turn to low and cook 15 minutes.
Low heatTimer: 15 min
When the pot beeps, let the pressure come down on its own for 10 minutes, then turn the valve to Venting, keeping your hand away from the steam.
Timer: 10 min
Stir well, mashing a few potatoes against the side to the sauce.
Thicken. Thickening means cooking a sauce or soup until it’s less runny, by simmering it down or adding something like cornstarch. A thicker sauce clings to food instead of pooling on the plate.
How you’ll know: It coats the back of a spoon, and a line drawn through it with your finger holds its shape.
Stir in the cream and squeeze in the lemon.
Add salt .
To taste. To taste means there’s no exact amount: add a little, taste, and add more if it needs it. You’re the judge, and it’s easy to add more but hard to take any out.
How you’ll know: Each taste gets a little better, and you stop when it tastes good to you.
Fluff the rice and serve the saag aloo over it with a spoonful of yogurt.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
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