Recipes Ideas for Chard: Saag Aloo

Chard is a fantastic crop to grow at home, It's beautiful so you can grow it in a flowerbed, it will grow in a container, it's low maintenance and you can grow it through winter. It really earns it's place in my kitchen garden. The only trouble is that it can be a bit intimidating knowing what to cook with it. It's one of those crops that doesn't appear much on supermarket shelves as it doesn't store well, so many of us are just not used to seeing it, let alone cooking with it, until we begin growing our own food. That means that chard can just end up in a green soup, or worse still on the compost heap, if we don't get a bit creative.

Well worry no more, this year I'm going to give you some ideas for cooking with chard and here's my first new recipe. It's a spiced Indian dish called Saag Aloo - a really popular dish in UK curry houses and fantastic for a quick lunch, side dish or served up with some chickpeas as a main course. Now I always thought that Saag Aloo was made of spinach and potatoes, so when I came to create this new recipe, I had it in my mind that I'd need to rename it "Chard Aloo". But guess what? It turns out that Saag doesn't mean Spinach after all. Saag Aloo can be made with any seasonal leafy green and is often made with mustard leaves in parts of India. I had no idea! Am I alone?

And another fun fact, Rainbow Chard isn't actually a variety of Chard but a catch-all term for a mixed group of chard. Here I'm using Golden Chard and Pink Passion Chard, but you could also add Swiss Chard or any other varieties you're growing. The Pink Passion chard really kept it's colour on cooking which has elevated this dish into something super special. And I'm so pleased with the spice mix in this one (but if you don't like hot food, go easy on the chilli powder. I like my food spicy)

I hope you enjoy it.

How to make Saag Aloo with Chard instead of Spinach

Recipe Card: Rainbow Chard Saag Aloo

How to make Saag Aloo Curry with Rainbow Chardhttps://youtu.be/pXKrb4OjMMoSee my Step by Step Video on making this dish2020-03-18

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Rainbow Chard Saag Aloo

Yield: 4

Author: Susan Kelly

Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 20 MinTotal time: 30 Min

This is a spiced Indian dish called Saag Aloo and fantastic for a quick lunch, side dish or served up with some chickpeas as a main course. I always thought that Saag Aloo was made of spinach and potatoes, so when I came to create this new recipe, I had it in my mind that I'd need to rename it "Chard Aloo". But guess what? It turns out that Saag doesn't mean Spinach after all. Saag Aloo can be made with any seasonal leafy green and is often made with mustard leaves in parts of India. This one is made with Chard stems and leaves.

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp coconut (oil or other oil)
• 1 onion - chopped
• 700g potatoes - peeled & diced
• 400g (ish) rainbow chard - stalks sliced, leaves chopped roughly
• 1 Thumb-sized piece of ginger - chopped/grated
• 1 garlic clove - crushed or sliced
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 tsp coriander
• 1/2 tsp chilli or cayenne (to your taste)
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 2 tbsp tomato puree
• Around 500-600 ml water to loosen

Instructions

1. Steam or boil the diced potatoes until just tender - about 6-10 mins depending on size. Put to one side to steam dry
2. Heat the oil on medium heat
3. Add the mustard and cumin seeds and cook for 15-30 seconds until they start to pop
4. Add the chopped onion and chard stalks. Cook on low until transluscent - around 10 minutes
5. Add the garlic and ginger and cook for another minute
6. Add the coriander, chilli & turmeric and stir
7. Add the cooked potatoes, stirring gently to coat with the spices
8. Add the tomato puree and water to loosen
9. Place the chopped chard leaves on top and cover with a lid for about 2 minutes. Remove lid and stir. Cook for a further 1 minute at a time until the leaves are cooked.
10. Season and serve