Spinach & Potato Curry

A very vivid memory of my childhood is that of my grandmother in her garden, barefoot with cracked heels, an old doek (scarf) wrapping her head as she’s bent over lovingly tending the fruits of her labor. She nurtured her plants like she did us boisterous, naughty, snotty-nosed kids….all seven of us!  Just like her vegetable garden where she found peace and solace, her weather beaten face relaxing into an almost trance-like state, she acquired that same look when she fed us her freshly cooked garden pickings, cooked on the old coal stove.  Every time I eat any kind of cooked greens, I think of her and the loving memories she made for us. This dish especially transports me like a time machine right to that very garden in Sea Cow Lake.

Ingredients for Spinach & Potato Curry

1 medium onion diced

1 tsp cumin

Half tsp mustard seeds

4 to 5 dried red chilies

2 medium potatoes large cubes

1 tsp masala

Half tsp turmeric

2 cloves garlic chopped

1 large bag or 2 small bags of fresh spinach

1 tomato diced

Salt

Coat a pan with oil and heat onion, cumin, mustard seeds and chilies. When onion is translucent, add the potatoes, garlic, turmeric and masala lightly browning them. Add spinach and tomato. Cook till potatoes are done and water has evaporated. Adjust salt as you go. Remember the spinach wilts down to nothing so it’s better to add salt at the end.

Enjoy it as a meal like I do, or as a side dish to your other favorite memorable dishes.