Chicken Saag with rice and naan

Adapted from 1,000 Indian Recipes by Neelam Batra.

2-4 chicken breasts, quartered
2 small bunches fresh spinach, coarsely chopped
1 large onion, coarsely chopped
4 quarter-sized peeled fresh ginger root + one 1-inch piece peeled fresh ginger root, julienned
3 large cloves fresh garlic, peeled + 1 clove minced
1/4 c water
1/4 c plain yogurt, whisked until smooth
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 Tbsp melted ghee (or butter)
2 Tbsp butter, at room temperature
1 large cinnamon stick (about 3 inches)
5 green cardamom pods, crushed lightly to break the skin
1-4 whole dried red chile peppers, such as chile de arbol (optional)
1 Tbsp ground coriander
1 tsp garam masala
1 tsp dried fenugreek leaves
1/2 tsp ground paprika
1/2 tsp salt, or to taste

On medium heat, cook chicken pieces until they turn white on all sides (or lightly browned) and the juices run clear (about 5 minutes, depending on how big your chicken chunks are). Set aside.

In a large pan, bring spinach, onion, ginger slices, whole garlic and water to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, covered, until the spinach is wilted (about 10 minutes). Remove from heat and let cool 5-10 minutes. Pulse lightly in a food processor until just minced (don’t make a puree!!). Return the spinach mix to the pan.

In a small pan, heat the oil and ghee on medium-high. Add the cinnamon, cardamom, and julienned ginger, stirring until the ginger sticks turn golden brown (about 3 minutes). Add the minced ginger, coriander, garam masala, fenugreek, and salt and quickly stir. Slowly add the yogurt (one dollop at a time), stirring constantly to blend it in with the spices.

Immediately after adding all the yogurt, add the entire yogurt spice mix to the spinach mix. Add chicken pieces to spinach mix, cover and simmer on medium-low for 25-30 minutes.

In a small pan, heat the remaining butter and cook the dried chiles for about a minute. Remove from heat, stir in the paprika, then lightly swirl into the spinach mix just before serving. (If you’re doing without chiles, just sprinkle the top of the dish with some paprika before serving.)

Shown here with homemade naan and plain white rice.

You might want to pick out the cinnamon stick and cardamom pods before you serve this dish so someone doesn’t try to eat them; that’d be rather unpleasant.

I crushed my red peppers before putting them in the frying pan.

This recipe dirties up a lot of dishes. You could cut back on them by reusing your chicken frying pan to fry your spices, and you could probably skip the butter-frying of your peppers at the end, too. Just omit the butter entirely and add the peppers and paprika straight to the dish.

Plum and Ginger Chutney

Adapted from “Pureed Fresh Mango-Ginger Chutney” in 1000 Indian Recipes, by Neelam Batra.

1 pound of plums, washed, peeled, pitted and diced
1 Tbsp peeled and minced fresh ginger root
2 Tbsp lemon juice (or lime)
2 Tbsp finely chopped fresh cilantro, including soft stems
1 serrano pepper, minced with seeds
salt and pepper to taste

Mash the plums with a fork or potato masher to make the fruit as smooth as possible.
Mix in all the remaining ingredients.

Keep up to 1 week in the refrigerator.

Some of the Daring Cooks used a plum chutney with their September Challenge, which made me want to try it, too. Then a friend brought me some fresh plums from her tree, and I knew it was meant to happen. I didn’t use the same recipe as the other folks, though. I love my book of Indian recipes, and I like to make them adapt!

The original recipe calls for mashed mango, and suggests mixing in 1/2 c yogurt or substituting peaches, plums, nectarines, pineapples or other soft fruit in place of mango.

Vegetable dosa with coconut curry sauce

The Daring Cooks‘ September challenge comes from Indian Dosas from the reFresh cookbook by Ruth Tal and Fresh Restaurants.

This filling works great as a rice bowl topping or as a wrap too, so don’t be afraid to make a full batch. Can substitute potatoes for chickpeas.

5 cloves garlic
1 onion, peeled and finely diced
1 carrot, peeled and finely diced
1 green pepper, finely diced (red, yellow or orange are fine too)
2 medium hot banana chilies, minced
2 TBSP (16gm) cumin, ground
1 TBSP (8gm) oregano
1 TBSP (8gm) sea salt (coarse)
1 TBSP (8gm) turmeric
4 cups (850gm/30oz) cooked or canned chick peas (about 2 cans)
½ cup (125gm/4oz) tomato paste

1.Heat a large saucepan over medium to low heat. Add the garlic, veggies, and spices, cooking until soft, stirring occasionally.
2.Mash the chickpeas by hand, or in a food processor. Add the chickpeas and tomato paste to the saucepan, stirring until heated through.

Shown here served inside Instant Flour Dosas, topped with Coconut Curry Sauce.

1 cup (120gm/8oz) spelt flour (or all-purpose, gluten free flour)
½ tsp (2½ gm) salt
½ tsp (2½ gm) baking powder
½ tsp (2½ gm) curry powder
½ cup (125ml/4oz) almond milk (or soy, or rice, etc.)
¾ cup (175ml/6oz) water
cooking spray, if needed

1.Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl, slowly adding the almond milk and water, whisking until smooth.
2.Heat a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Spray your pan with a thin layer of cooking spray, if needed.
3.Ladle 2 tablespoons of batter into the center of your pan in a circular motion until it is a thin, round pancake. When bubbles appear on the surface and it no longer looks wet, flip it over and cook for a few seconds. Remove from heat and repeat with remaining batter. Makes 8 pancakes.

1 onion, peeled and chopped
2 cloves garlic
½ (2½ gm) tsp cumin, ground
¾ (3¾ gm) tsp sea salt (coarse)
3 TBSP (30gm) curry powder
3 TBSP (30gm) spelt flour (or all-purpose GF flour)
3 cups (750ml/24oz) vegetable broth
2 cups (500ml/24oz) coconut milk
3 large tomatoes, diced

1.Heat a saucepan over medium heat, add the onion and garlic, cooking for 5 minutes, or until soft.
2.Add the spices, cooking for 1 minutes more. Add the flour and cook for 1 additional minute.
3.Gradually stir in the vegetable broth to prevent lumps. Once the flour has been incorporated, add the coconut milk and tomatoes, stirring occasionally.
4.Let it simmer for half an hour.

Classic spicy Indian curry with pork, served with saffron rice.

Adapted from 1,000 Indian Recipes by Neelam Batra.

2 large cloves fresh garlic, peeled (about 1 tablespoon)
4-6 quarter-size slices peeled fresh ginger (about 1 tablespoon)
1-3 fresh serranos (optional!)
1 large onion, coarsely chopped
1 large tomato, coarsely chopped
3 tablespoons peanut oil

1 tablespoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried fenugreek leaves
1/2 teaspoon ground paprika
1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste

1/2 cup nonfat plain yogurt, whisked until smooth
4 cups of water (or less or up to 5 cups)
1/4 teaspoon garam masala
3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh cilantro

Blend the first four ingredients until smooth, set aside.

Blend the tomato until smooth, set aside.

Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook the onion mixture 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly, then lower the heat until well browned (about 10 minutes).

Add the tomato and crank it back up to medium-high. Cook, stirring occasionally until all the juices evaporate and drops of oil appear on the tops and sides (about 10 minutes) then turn the heat down to medium-low.

Add the seasonings (except the cilantro and garam masala) and let the sauce cook for 2-3 minutes.

Mix in the yogurt about a tablespoon at a time (very, very slowly), stirring constantly to prevent it from curdling.

Add the water and bring to a boil on high heat. Add 5 cups for a very thin sauce or fewer cups for a thicker sauce.

Reduce heat and simmer 12-15 minutes. Garnish with garam masala and cilantro.

Seen here with pork.

Do not cover! You want some of the water to boil off so the sauce becomes sauce!

If you want to add meat or vegetables to your curry sauce, do so anytime between the seasonings and the water, depending on how well cooked you like your vegies. We added cubed pork at the same time as our seasonings.

I misread the instructions and used some 3 tablespoons of ginger root. We also used one habanero pepper in place of serranos. One was plenty warm, although I think JB would have liked to have added 1/2 to 1 more. Remember that ginger can add heat to a dish, too. Unless you like hot, try it without peppers first.

Spicy green peas and onions with saffron rice and spiced chicken.

Adapted from 1,000 Indian Recipes by Neelam Batra.

16 oz. package of frozen peas, thawed
1 large onion, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons peanut oil
2 tablespoons fresh ginger, minced or 1 tablespoon ginger powder
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1-2 serranos, minced
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional!)
1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 teaspoon of mango powder (or just add another teaspoon of lemon juice)
1/2 teaspoon garam masala
salt and pepper to taste

Caution! Turn on your overhead fan if you have one, or open the windows before you begin!

1. Heat the oil in a large cast-iron or nonstick wok or skillet over medium-high heat and add the ginger, green chile peppers, and cumin seeds; they should sizzle upon contact with the hot oil. Quickly add the onion and cook until golden, about 5 minutes.

2. Add the coriander, ground cumin, cayenne, turmeric and salt, then mix in the peas and cook, stirring until all the juices evaporate and the spices cling to the peas (10 to 12 minutes). Mix in the mango powder and/or lemon juice. Sprinkle with garam masala just before serving.

We never use mango powder, and I don’t think we’re missing anything by skipping that ingredient. When we made these the first time, we used 2 serrano peppers and the full cayenne portions. We really had no idea how spicy it was going to be. I may be part Thai, but I’m not a fan of hot foods. I can eat them like the best of them, but I’m not a fan. With two peppers and the cayenne, these were so spicy hot, they turned me off. JB loved them, though. The second time we made them, we emitted the serranos completely, and they were mild enough that our 1 year old ate them (and LOVED them).

Pictured with Taste of India chicken rub and saffron rice.

Basic Raita

3 cups plain yogurt, whisked until smooth
2 tablespoons minced ginger or 1 tablespoon powdered ginger
5-6 scallions, white and light green parts, minced
1 to 1 1/2 cups fresh cilantro, finely chopped
1-2 serranos with seeds, minced
1 teaspoon of sugar
salt and pepper to taste (optional!)
1/2 teaspoon ground paprika (optional!)

Mix it all up. We often serve it in the yogurt container.

Goes well with crackers, chips, pretzels, vegies, and all things Indian.

Chicken with asparagus, couscous and homemade raita.

I like to use this one on chicken, but it can be used on tofu or pork, as well.

1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon salt

optional:
1/2 teaspoon ground red pepper
1 tablespoon lemon or lime juice
1 tablespoon olive oil

Chicken with saffron rice, spicy peas, and naan.

Use the top five ingredients to make a rub, pan fry in oil of your choice.
Or add the remaining ingredients for a marinade, and let set in the refrigerator 20 minutes to 24 hours.

Above served with asparagus, couscous, and homemade raita.
Below served with homemade saffron rice, spicy peas, and naan.