I have been reading and learning more about Indian food and find it fascinating (and delicious).  The variety of spice mixtures is mind boggling – and often overwhelming.  This past week I wanted to use a large amount of fresh spinach that I had on hand- and recalled an Instragram or Facebook photo of a beautiful spinach curry that a family friend posted some time ago.  I found a recipe on line for aloo palak curry (potato spinach curry) and tried it.  With some modifications, or actually elimination of a few ingredients that I have never heard of, nor had on hand, it still came out delicious!  It surely was nutritious and appealing to the eye as well. If you like spinach and potatoes, you will love this dish. It was served with roasted cauliflower basted in tumeric, curry powder and olive oil.

I will include the recipe and the modifications that I made based on my spice pantry.  Along with the Aloo Palak Curry, I made homemade Ghee and homemade besan – or chick pea flour (also called gram flour or garbanzo flour).  Both were quite easy.  The flour is simply made by grinding dried, uncooked chickpeas in a high power blender like a Vitamix until it is a powder.  I would suggest doing about 1 cup at a time.  I used about 2 cups of chickpeas and had a hard time getting a consistent fine powder.  For my friends and neighbors who are gluten free – this flour will be especially fun for you to try.  The flavor is wonderful and is really good for your digestive system.  The fiber in this flour is mostly insoluble, which makes it a good thing – it is said to metabolize into acids that provide fuel to the cells that line your intestinal wall, lowering your risk of colon problems, including cancer.  One more note about this flour: if you are inclined, look up recipes for a mediterranean flatbread called Socca – it can be made into a crepe like pizza – or a foldover sandwich…it’s also delicious!

Chickpea flour made in a Vitamix

The Ghee is merely slowly melting butter and removing the milk fats by skimming the foam that forms on top of the melted butter.  Just do a google search for making homemade ghee – it really just takes some time – about 30 minutes.  The end results is a buttery flavored oil that you can cook at a higher temperature without it burning.  Ghee is used in almost all Indian cooking.

Ghee, at room temperature and solidified.

There really is a lot of theory and chemistry involved in this type of cooking.  For a very, very long time, these spice blends have been known to aid digestion and metabolism.  I have learned that everything I eat affects my body in some way – and the older I get, the more important eating good quality foods and a balanced diet is for my well being.  I recently purchased two books on this vein.  One, is an encyclopedia of herbs and spices  (The Encyclopedia of Spices and Herbs y Padma Lakshmi c 2016).  I believe it will be a good resource for many years.  The other is an introduction to Aryuveda (The Everyday Ayurveda Cookbook, by Kate O’donnell c.2015), the ancient Indian Philosophy about what we eat – and actually more specifically about when we eat it (during every day – and at different seasons of the year).  It is fascinating. It is said that Ayurveda is simple, but it is made to seem complicated…we will see as I work my way through the book.

Probably the simplest piece of advice I have been given – and have begun to practice, is to start my day with a mug of hot water with lemon in it. A small amount of honey can be added for flavor – and is good for you.  It really helps digestion and I have learned to look forward to it and enjoy startng my day this way.   The lemon is supposed to neutralize and balance the alkalinity in your body. I enjoy coffee and tea – but now drink it later in the morning – or sometimes in the afternoon as a pick me up.

I realize this dish is pretty unique – but suggest you give it a try.  It was comforting, healthy and visually stunning!

Spinach Potato Curry (Aloo Palak Curry)

Makes 3-4 servings
Prep time - 20 minutes
cook time - 25 minutes

Ingredients

1 bunch spinach – 14-16 oz.

3 medium sized potatoes

1 medium onion, finely chopped

1 medium tomato, chopped

3 cloves garlic, 1/2 ” ginger root – grated on a microplane – or finely chopped and crushed into a paste

1 or 2 green chilies

1 large or 2 small bay leaves

3 cloves

1 inch cinnamon stick

1/4 tsp turmeric powder

1/2 tsp garam masala powder

1 1/2 TBS gram – or chickpea flour

3-4 Tbs water

1/2 to 1 cup water

2 Tbs Ghee or Butter

salt and pepper to taste

small ginger julienne for garnish

Serve with indian bread (naan or rotis) or rice

 

 

Instructions

1. Boil potatoes until tender.  Drain and cool, the peel and quarter or dice them.

2. Boil 2 cups of water, with a healthy amount of salt (1-2 tsp).  Turn off the flame and add the spinach.  Blanch in the water for 4-5 minutes

3.  Drain and immediately place in a bowl of cold or ice water.  This will keep the spinach a bright green color.

4.  Strain water off and don’t worry about squeezing all of excess water out.  Place spinach in a blender with the green chilies.  Process to make a smooth puree.

5.  Heat Ghee or Butter in a pan.  Add the bay leaf, cloves and cinnamon to pan and fry until they become aromatic.

6.  Add chopped onion and fry until light brown.  Add ginger-garlic paste and fry over medium-high heat until it softens – but does not brown or burn.  About 1-2 minutes.

7.  Remove cloves that are difficult to find once dish is complete.

8.  Add tomatoes until they become soft.  You should begin to see the oil separate from the vegetable mixture.

9.  Add turmeric and garam masala.  Stir for 10-20 seconds.

10.  Add spinach puree and stir well.

11.  Make a paste with 3 to 4 Tbs water and chickpea flour.  Add to the spinach mixture and stir well.  Add 1/2-3/4 cup water.  Reserve the last 1/4 cup to see if it will be needed. The sauce will thicken from the chickpea flour addition.

12.  Add potatoes and cook for 2-3 more minutes. Remove cinnamon stick and bay leaves before serving.

Serve with bread or rice

 

Notes

This recipe was adapted from: author Dassana Amit on vegrecipesofindia.com

ingredients that I omitted were asafetida (hing) – 1/4 tsp,  and crushed Kasuri methi (dry fenugreek leaes)- 1/2 tsp