Indian Recipes
Spinach with Tomato (Saag)
Wilted spinach cooked with garlic, ginger, cumin and fresh tomatoes: a quick side for any curry or a light main with dal and rice.
- Serves 6
- Prep 15 min
- Cook 25 min
- Indian
Method
Wilt the spinach in batches in a large dry pan over a medium heat with just the water clinging to the leaves. Tip into a colander, press out the excess liquid and chop roughly.
Heat the oil in the same pan, add the cumin seeds and let them sizzle. Add the onion and fry for 8 minutes until golden, then the garlic, ginger and chilli for 2 minutes.
Add the tomatoes, ground coriander and ¾ teaspoon of salt and cook for 6–8 minutes until the tomatoes have broken down to a thick sauce.
Stir in the spinach and cook for 3–4 minutes until hot through and well coated. Add the garam masala and lemon juice, check the salt and serve.
Tip: tap a step to tick it off as you cook.
Chef’s notes
- Spinach cooks down dramatically: 750 g raw makes about 4–6 side servings.
- Frozen whole-leaf spinach (500 g, defrosted and squeezed) can be used instead.
How this recipe was developed
The old Cookeryonline page reproduced a published recipe, so we wrote a new one. We based it on Meera Sodha’s way with spinach and the onion-tomato masala common to many home cooks.
- Spinach with cumin. Meera Sodha’s saag aloo builds spinach on a cumin and mustard seed base; wilting and squeezing the spinach first is our tip so the dish does not go watery.
- Masala before spinach. The spinach goes into a cooked-down onion, garlic, ginger and tomato masala, the method Swasthi Shreekanth uses for her masala vegetables.
Sources we compared (ratings as shown on each site on 31 October 2026):
- The Guardian (Meera Sodha): Vegan saag aloo with aubergine
- Swasthi's Recipes (Swasthi Shreekanth): Aloo matar
This is an original Cookeryonline recipe written in our own words. Ingredient choices and techniques are credited above; no source text has been copied.