Spinach, Potato and Chick Pea Curry

Another recipe inspired by what remains in our kitchen cupboards.

I found a curry recipe in "Healthy Gluten-free Eating" that called for potatoes, chick peas and spinach, but, like many recipes in this book, it was more involved than I had time for. After some Googling, I found a Spinach Chick Pea Curry recipe that was less time consuming and would use a can of creamed corn that had sat ignored on our shelf for over six months. I blended the two recipes to maximize the ingredients used and minimize the time. What I've found about many Indian recipes is that they are forgiving if you have to make substitutions.

The result? Tasty, quick, Indian meal that will help you use what veggies you have on hand. The meal would have been even quicker if I had not included potatoes, which add a step and increase cooking time. However, the increased time is mostly unmonitored, giving opportunity to clean dishes or set table.

Spinach, Potato and Chick Pea Curry

INGREDIENTS

4 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 large, 3 medium or 4 small potatoes, cut into small wedges.
salt to taste
ground black pepper to taste
1 tblsp ajwain seeds (optional)
1 onion, chopped
1 tblsp curry powder
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp chili powder (more if chili powder is mild)
1 tsp turmeric
1 (14.75 ounce) can creamed corn
sprinkle of paprika
1 (15 ounce) can chick peas, drained and rinsed
1 can (14 oz) tomatoes, peeled and chopped in juice
1 bunch fresh spinach, stems removed or 1 cup frozen spinach, thawed and chopped
1 tablespoon fresh or 1 teaspoon dried basil or to taste


DIRECTIONS

1. Dry roast ajwain seeds for 1 minute on high heat in small pan. Remove from heat and set aside.

2. In a large wok or skillet heat 3 tablespoons oil over medium heat. Add potatoes in a single layer, placing them cut-side down. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook for 5 minutes and flip each potato onto second cut-side. Cook for another 5 minutes. Remove potatoes from pan and set aside. Remove excess oil from pan and potatoes.

3. In same large pan, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium heat. Add onions. After onions have sautéed for 3-4 minutes, add curry powder, cumin, garam masala, chili powder and turmeric. Sauté until onions are translucent.

4. Stir in creamed corn. Cook, stirring regularly, for 5 minutes. As you stir, add salt, pepper, ajwain seeds and paprika.

5. Stir in garbanzo beans, tomatoes and potatoes. Cover and cook for 20 minutes or until potatoes are tender. You can add a little water if mixture gets too dry.

6. Add spinach and cover. When spinach is tender, remove from heat and stir in basil.

Cauliflower with Onion and Tomato—Indian Style

Last week we had a very large head of cauliflower delivered as part of our weekly organic vegetable order. I didn't want to spend a long time preparing a dish and was in the mood for Indian but not in the mood for pakora. I Googled 'Indian cauliflower tomato onion', onion and tomato being the other organic vegetables I wanted to use, and decided on the following recipe.

Cauliflower With Onion and Tomato Recipe
Ingredients

1 medium cauliflower, broken into - florets
1 medium onion, chopped
1 2 piece ginger, grated
7 tablespoon water
5 tablespoon vegetable oil
6 garlic cloves, chopped
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon coriander
2 small tomatoes, peeled & chopped
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/8 teaspoon cayenne, or to taste
1 fresh green chili, chopped
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon garam masala

Directions

Soak cauliflower florets in water for 30 minutes & drain. Blend ginger & onion along with 4 tbsp water until smooth. Set aside. Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat until hot. Stir-fry garlic until it turns medium brown. Put in the cauliflower florets & stir-fry for 2 minutes. Remove the cauliflower with a slotted spoon & put in a pot. Fry the paste from the blender for 1 minute. Add cumin, coriander & tomatoes. Stir-fry until it changes colour, reducing heat if necessary to prevent burning. Add turmeric, cayenne, green chili, lemon juice & salt. Sprinkle with water if necessary to prevent sticking. Turn heat to low. Return cauliflower to skillet with whatever liquid may have collected as it drained. Mix gently. Add 3 tbsp water & bring to a simmer. Cover & cook over gentle heat for 5 to 10 minutes. The cauliflower should be just done. Remove lid, sprinkle garam masala over the top. Stir to mix.

I was very happy with the results—tasted like dishes that I've gotten in Indian restaurants. The nice thing about this recipe is that it is forgiving. I substituted ground for fresh ginger, didn't puree the onion (I hate cleaning the blender) and threw in, by mistake, the garam masala with the turmeric and cayenne instead of at the end, and all was fine. It also keeps and reheats well.

Cauliflower Pakora

From Hungrymonster.com. I made this before, and, while tasty, the batter did not come close to covering 2 pounds of cauliflower. It was thick as the recipe said it would be, but I was even wondering if it was too thin. When I dipped the cauliflower in the batter and thoroughly coated a piece, it seemed as though I was left with 1/4 cup less batter. The first few pieces where thoroughly coated, but the rest were partial at best. I'm not 100% convinced that one needs to do the frying of each batch in two stages. Because my pieces were so delicately battered, moving them in and out of the pan two times caused some batter to flake off.

However, M* loved, loved, loved this dish. He was eating it as fast as I was taking it out of the hot oil. Could it be because deep frying makes everything taste better? I liked it, but I wanted each piece to be thoroughly coated. My unhappiness had only to do with presentation.

I bought a smaller cauliflower head this time, so we'll see what happens.

update - Well with about half of the called for cauliflower, double the amount of yogurt and double the amount of chili powder, M* and I really enjoyed this dish again. I'm still struggling with the batter not fully adhering to the cauliflower. It often just stuck to the bottom of the pan - and some fell off during the process of taking the florets out halfway through the process. I think that I will try another recipe or use elements of another recipe next time. I do like this recipe because it calls for yogurt and besan (chick pea flour) only, as I can't have any gluten containing flours. In general this recipe is very easy - although I have yet to master the disposing of all of that oil. I did save it once, after straining out the pieces of fried dough. I'm not comfortable reusing it more than once though. I should probably get passed that.