Name: Sai Bhaji
Ingredients: 150 g dried chana dal; 1 tbsp minced ginger; 3–4 chiles , chopped; Oil; 3 small bunches fenugreek leaves, finely chopped; 2 bunches spinach , finely chopped; Small amount of soy leaves, finely chopped; 2 average-size tomatoes , chopped; 2 eggplants , chopped; 2 potatoes , chopped; 8–10 ea . okra; 50 cloves garlic , minced; Salt to taste; 2 pinches turmeric powder; 1 tbsp red chile powder

Why it works: Fenugreek and spinach share more aroma than cooks usually use. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 19 recipes. Both carry coumarin, which smells sweet, hay. The science ↓

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

Fenugreek + spinachtop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together19 recipes

Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
Eggplant + okratop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together39 recipes

Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
Ginger + clovetop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together6,038 recipes

Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
Spinach + okratop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together27 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine (green bell pepper, earthy).
Spinach + eggplanttop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together55 recipes

Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Chana dal: Provides body and protein-rich texture, thickening the dish as it cooks down.
Spinach: Wilts into the dish, adding moisture and a soft, leafy texture.
Potatoes: Hold their shape while cooking and add starch that thickens the vegetable mixture.
Eggplants: Soften as they cook, absorbing flavors and adding a creamy texture.
Tomatoes: Break down during cooking, adding moisture and acidity to balance the greens.
Garlic: Frying until golden adds savory aroma and a deeper, toasted flavor.

The step that matters

Cook until the greens are well-wilted. Leafy greens release a lot of water and shrink sharply. Cooking them fully drives off excess liquid so the dish becomes thick rather than soupy, and it softens the fibrous stems.

Swap the ginger

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (fenugreek, spinach, tomato, eggplant, potato, okra, clove):

Cuminfits better
Turmericfits better
Garlicfits better
Gingerthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against fenugreek, spinach, tomato, eggplant, potato, okra, clove. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Potato	1 medium (173g) baked	161
Olive Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Eggplant	1 cup cubed (82g)	35
Okra	1 cup (100g)	33
Tomato	1 medium (123g)	22
Soy Sauce	1 tbsp (15ml)	9
Turmeric	1 tsp ground (3g)	9
Spinach	1 cup raw (30g)	7
Garlic	1 clove (3g)	4
Ginger	1 tsp grated fresh (2g)	2
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0
Fenugreek	not in our table	0

Sai Bhaji

Sai Bhaji

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the dal

Cook the vegetables

Serve

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)