Aloo Palak

Apparently that failed garam masala baked potato wedges got my dander up for some curry, and the polenta dish I was planning to make tonight didn't thrill either of us at the thought of it, and when the only fresh produce in the house is spinach and potatoes, well, that's got palak written all over it.

The lack of food styling and lighting consideration in the photo above is due to the hungry photographer who, after smelling the fantastic coriander and cumin for the past 20 minutes, couldn't wait to have at it.

I think Aloo Palak is usually pureed, but J and I like chunks, so I boil the potatoes first and them set them aside to cool. The rest goes pretty quick-- though this is my Americanized shortcut speaking. The more traditional references I've consulted make the process much more multi-faceted. I've done it both ways and both are yummy.

Chop up 1 bunch of spinach. Once cool, cut potatoes into bite-size chunks. Also slice one whole medium onion. Press 3-4 cloves of garlic through a press. Grate about a tablespoon of fresh ginger. Dice one small chili pepper, I use these miniscule, frozen little buggers from my local Indian grocery. I'm not sure what the variety is called, but they are pellets of fire. If you're using a jalepeno or something like that, it might be a teaspoon or two. Measure out the spices:
1 tsp turmeric, 1 tsp cumin, 1 tsp ground coriander, 1 tsp garam masala, 1/2 tsp red chili powder, a pinch or two of salt.

Heat 2-3 tblspns of olive oil in a pan and add spices. Stir and give them a minute or two to start releasing their oils, then add onion, ginger and garlic. Stir this all around and let it cook together for another 2-3 minutes, or until onions start to turn translucent and the kitchen is really fragrant. Then add the spinach. The water content of the spinach seems to keep the spices from scorching, which is good. Burny-tasting spices are one curry mistake I've learned from. Once the spinach has cooked down for a minute or two and there's room enough in pan once again, add the potato chunks. Stir this all together and reduce the heat. This is where I also add some soymilk to give it a bit of a "sauce" and some creaminess. Tonight I only had about 1/4 of a cup left, but this worked just fine. Once all the flavors cook together- a few more minutes- the dish is ready to eat.

To accompany the Aloo Palak, I dug into the freezer for a soup I bought in the frozen section of Patel Bros. grocery.. which is a comprehensive source of all Indian dry good and spices one could need, plus some produce. They also have a freezer wall of mostly-vegetarian ready-to-eat wonders from all over the subcontinent. I've toyed with the idea of making a Sambhar soup for a while, and I bought this frozen one partly to get a sense of what's up in the sambhar realm. This brand Recipes of Udupi South Indian Vegetarian Cuisine claims to be all natural, and there is nothing with an x, y or z in the ingredients, so I think it may be true. This was a nice tangy soup, protein-full with 3 kinds of dahl, a tomato base and piquant tamarind heading up the curry.

I also made a batch of stovetop quickie rotis with a cup of chickpea flour for added protein.
That's:

1 c. of durum atta (whole wheat durum flour)
1 c. ladu besan (chickpea flour)

and then just add water gradually until you have a sticky dough. I usually work it into a ball and then let it rest, covered with a damp paper towel for about a half an hour, or while I do other things, but I'm not sure if this is really necessary.

Then just spray a griddle with some canola oil, form into pancake size patties and cook until brown on both sides.

These come out like hearty pancakes, but without the chickpea flour, I've turned this basic formula into chapattis and given the time to hold them over an open flame so they inflate and get fluffy. After tonight's dinner I tried one of the extra rotis spread with Adriatic fig spread and that turned out to be a good combination too! Kind of like a chutney, only... Croatian.