Saag Food

SAAG (INDIAN SPINACH)

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, saute onion in oil on medium high along with ginger and garam masala until onions are translucent and begin to pick up some color.
• Add minced garlic to pan, and cook briefly to soften. Do not allow the garlic to burn - lower heat if necessary.
• Add tomatoes and cook for 2-3 minutes. Incidentally, you can add a little more or less tomato depending on what you have available, slight differences in quantity will not be noticeable.
• Stir in yogurt. Do not worry if the yogurt separates.
• Add curry powder, coriander, cumin, sugar, and salt.
• Add bag of frozen spinach and mix well to combine. There is no need to defrost first if you use a the bagged spinach. If you are using the frozen block, I would advise defrosting first. You can also use the equivalent of fresh spinach.
• Add about a cup of water to the pot and cover. Simmer on medium for approximately 30 minutes. Spinach is done when the color has changed from the initial bright green to a much less vibrant green (almost brownish). If you crank up the heat, it is possible to cook this a little faster, but you have to pay attention to the moisture level. You may have to add more water throughout the cooking process if it cooks off.
• Once the spinach is fully cooked, remove the lid and cook off any remaining liquid. The spinach should be moist, but there should not be much liquid free in the bottom of the pan.
• Remove pan from heat.
• Using an immersion blender, blender, or food processor, puree the spinach. Leave it as chunky as you like. You can also choose to puree only half of the mixture if you like bigger pieces of spinach.
• Add further salt to taste.
• I have found that I have to fine tune the spices every time I make this dish depending on how I feel that day. For me, adding further small amounts of coriander is the key.
• If you like, potatoes, paneer cubes or chick peas may be added at this point.
• ***NOTE*** It is very helpful to prepare all ingredients in advance of cooking so that they can be added quickly during the cooking process. I recommend combining the components of each step beforehand (i.e. pre-measuring the spices together) so that you can just dump everything in quickly as you go.

SAAG PANEER

Steps:

• In a large bowl, whisk together the turmeric, cayenne, 1 teaspoon salt and 3 tablespoons oil. Gently, drop in the cubes of paneer and gently toss, taking care not to break the cubes if you're using the homemade kind. Let the cubes marinate while you get the rest of your ingredients together and prepped.
• Thaw the spinach in the microwave in a microwave-safe dish, 5 minutes on high, then puree in a food processor until smooth. Alternatively, you can chop it up very finely with your knife.
• Place a large nonstick skillet over medium heat, and add the paneer as the pan warms. In a couple of minutes give the pan a toss; each piece of paneer should be browned on one side. Fry another minute or so, and then remove the paneer from the pan onto a plate.
• Add the remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons oil to the pan. Add the onions, ginger, garlic and chile. Now here's the important part: saute the mixture until it's evenly toffee-coloured, which should take about 15 minutes. Don't skip this step - this is the foundation of the dish! If you feel like the mixture is drying out and burning, add a couple of tablespoons of water.
• Add the garam masala, coriander and cumin. If you haven't already, sprinkle a little water to keep the spices from burning. Cook, stirring often, until the raw scent of the spices cook out, and it all smells a bit more melodious, 3 to 5 minutes.
• Add the spinach and stir well, incorporating the spiced onion mixture into the spinach. Add a little salt and 1/2 cup of water, stir, and cook about 5 minutes with the lid off.
• Turn the heat off. Add the yogurt, a little at a time to keep it from curdling. Once the yogurt is well mixed into the spinach, add the paneer. Turn the heat back on, cover and cook until everything is warmed through, about 5 minutes. Serve.
• Line a large colander with a large double layer of cheesecloth, and set it in your sink.
• In a large wide pot, bring the milk to a gentle boil over medium heat, stirring frequently to avoid burning the bottom (a nonstick pot works really well for this purpose). This will take a little while so be patient!
• Add the lemon juice and turn the heat down to low. Stirring gently, you should almost immediately see the curds (white milk solids) and whey (the greenish liquid) separate. Don't fret, this is perfect!
• Remove the pot from the heat and carefully pour the contents into the cheesecloth-lined colander. Gently rinse with cool water to get rid of the lemon flavor. At this point, you could squeeze out some of the liquid, and serve with some honey and some nuts, almost like a fresh ricotta!
• Grab the ends of the cheesecloth and twist the ball of cheese to squeeze out the excess whey. Tie the cheesecloth to your kitchen faucet and allow the cheese to drain for about 5 minutes.
• Twisting the ball to compact the cheese into a block, place it on a plate with the twisted part of the cheesecloth on the side (this will ensure your block of cheese is nice and smooth!) and set another plate on top. Weigh the second plate down with cans of beans or a heavy pot. Move to the refrigerator and let it sit about 20 minutes.
• Combine the cinnamon sticks, cloves, green cardamom seeds, black cardamom seeds, if using into a spice grinder or coffee grinder and grind until fine. Store the spice mix in an airtight container away from direct sunlight.

CHANA SAAG

Steps:

• Cook the rice as the label directs. Set aside off the heat, about 5 minutes, then fluff with a fork.
• Finely chop the ginger, garlic and chile in a mini food processor; set aside. Heat 2 tablespoons butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add 1 teaspoon cumin seeds; cook until sizzling, 30 seconds. Add the onion; cook, stirring, until browned, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the tomatoes and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring, until the pot is dry, 3 minutes. Stir in 1 teaspoon garam masala.
• Stir the chickpeas and chopped chile mixture into the pot. Add the spinach in batches, adding 1 to 2 tablespoons of the reserved chickpea liquid if the pot is getting too dark. Season generously with salt and pepper and stir in 1/4 cup chickpea liquid. Partially cover and cook, stirring, until the spinach is soft, 5 to 8 minutes. Stir in the heavy cream; remove from the heat.
• Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons butter in a small skillet over medium-high heat. Add the remaining 1 teaspoon cumin seeds and 1/2 teaspoon garam masala. Cook until the seeds pop, a few seconds. Stir into the spinach; season with salt and pepper. Serve the chana saag with the rice, naan, yogurt and/or lemon wedges.

INDIAN SAAG

Steps:

• In a large skillet or wok, melt butter over medium-high heat, and cook and stir cumin seed, chile pepper, garlic, and turmeric until fragrant, about 2 minutes.
• Stir in the chopped mustard greens and spinach a little at a time, adding the tougher parts first (the stems and thicker leaves). Continue to add greens, and cook and stir until all greens have been added and all are thoroughly wilted. Stir in the cumin, coriander, and salt. Cover; reduce heat and simmer until greens are tender, about 10 minutes, adding water as needed to keep the greens moist.

CHICKEN SAAG

Steps:

• Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat, and fry the chicken pieces until browned, about 8 minutes per side. Set the chicken aside.
• Place the spinach into a large pot with 1/4 cup of water, bring to a boil, cover the pan, and remove from heat. Allow the spinach to steam for about 10 minutes, then place into a blender, and blend until very finely chopped. Set the spinach aside.
• Place the onions, garlic, and ginger into the skillet, and fry over medium heat, stirring frequently, until lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Pour in the tomatoes, ground coriander, cayenne pepper, turmeric, cardamom, cloves, and salt; stir in 1 tablespoon water, and cook, stirring frequently, for 10 minutes. Pour in the milk, stir to combine, and return the chicken pieces to the skillet. Bring the mixture to a simmer, reduce heat, cover, and simmer until the chicken is tender, about 20 minutes. Stir the spinach and garam masala into the skillet, and cook until the spinach starts to stick to the pan, about 15 minutes.
• Stir in sour cream, and bring the mixture just to a simmer. Remove from heat and stir in butter.

SAAG ALOO

Steps:

• Fry the cumin seeds in a heavy bottomed pan in a bit of oil and butter until just starting to brown.
• Add the onion and fry until it too starts to brown.
• Add the potato, garlic, turmeric, ginger and garam masala and fry until the potato starts to soften.
• Unless you are using a non-stick pan, you may need to add water and cover to keep the potato from sticking and to help it cook. The first time I did this 1/2 cup at a time and it took about 20-30 minutes but I now prefer to parboil the potatoes, which means you add less water and it only takes about 10 minutes to finish off from this point.
• Add the spinach or chard and cook until it collapses over the potato.
• Salt to taste.

LAMB SAAG

Steps:

• Put the garlic, ginger, chillies and onion into a small food processor and whizz to a purée adding 1 tbsp water if you need to.
• Heat 1½ tbsp oil in a large flameproof casserole or sauté pan. Brown the lamb all over in two batches, then lift onto a plate and put to one side.
• Add the remaining oil and fry the spices in the same pan for 2 mins, adding a splash of water if they start to catch. Then add the onion purée and cook for 2 mins.
• Add the lamb, tomatoes and stock. Stir, cover and cook for 45 mins.
• Stir in the spinach then cook for another 45 mins or until the lamb is tender. If the sauce is looking thin, take the lid off for the last 20 mins of cooking to reduce it.
• Scatter over the coriander. Serve with naan or rice.

SAAG PANEER

Steps:

• In a food processor, working in batches, pulse spinach until minced but not puréed. Do not pack the spinach too tightly or it won't get evenly chopped. You should have about 3 packed cups of minced spinach.
• Heat 1 tablespoon ghee over medium in a large nonstick skillet. When it shimmers, add paneer and cook, turning occasionally, until golden all over, 5 to 7 minutes. Using tongs or a fish spatula, transfer cheese to a plate, leaving as much ghee as possible in the skillet.
• Reduce heat to medium-low, add the remaining 1 tablespoon ghee and the onion, and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened but not browned, about 5 minutes.
• Add ginger, garlic and chile, and cook, stirring occasionally, until fragrant and well incorporated, 1 minute. Stir in coriander and cumin until well blended.
• Add minced spinach and 1/2 cup water, and increase the heat to medium. Season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until spinach is completely soft and most of the liquid is absorbed, about 8 minutes.
• Stir in heavy cream and paneer until well incorporated. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to a serving bowl.
• Divide rice and flatbread among 4 shallow bowls or plates. Pass the saag paneer to spoon on top.

SAAG ALOO

Steps:

• Heat 2 tbsp sunflower oil in a large pan, add 1 finely chopped onion, 2 sliced garlic cloves and 1 tbsp chopped ginger, and fry for about 3 mins.
• Stir in 500g potatoes, cut into 2cm chunks, 1 halved, deseeded and finely sliced red chilli, ½ tsp black mustard seeds, ½ tsp cumin seeds, ½ tsp turmeric and ½ tsp salt and continue cooking and stirring for 5 mins more.
• Add a splash of water, cover, and cook for 8-10 mins.
• Check the potatoes are ready by spearing with the point of a knife, and if they are, add 250g spinach leaves and let it wilt into the pan. Take off the heat and serve.