Sunday, February 5, 2017

Eggplant with Red Potatoes

Yield:  4 to 6 servings

Time: under 45 minutes

Difficulty: easy

Ingredients:
  • 3 tablespoons peanut oil or melted ghee (page 41)
  • 2 teaspoons cumin seeds
  • 2 tablespoons ground coriander
  • ¼ teaspoon ground turmeric
  • 1 teaspoon salt or to taste
  • 1 large oval eggplant (about 1 pound), cut into 3/4-inch pieces
  • 2 large red potatoes (or any kind), cut into 1/2-inch pieces
  • 1 to 3 fresh green chile peppers, such as serrano, minced with seeds
  • 1 teaspoon amchur (mango powder - see notes)
  • ½ cup finely chopped fresh cilantro, including soft stems
  • ½ teaspoon garam masala

Instructions

  1. Heat the oil in a large cast iron or nonstick wok or saucepan over medium-high heat and add the cumin seeds; they should sizzle upon contact with the hot oil. Quickly add the coriander, turmeric, and salt, then add the eggplant, potatoes, and green chile peppers. Cover the pan and cook over high heat, stirring, until heated through, 2 to 3 minutes.
  2. Reduce the heat to medium-low and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until the potatoes are tender and the eggplant is very soft, 20 to 25 minutes. Stir every 3 to 4 minutes.
  3. Add the mango powder and cilantro during the last 5 minutes of cooking. Transfer to a serving dish, sprinkle the garam masala on top, and serve.

Notes
:

  • Use any kind of eggplant - especially nice with the small egg-sized ones found in Indian groceries, which can simply be quartered.
  • Mango powder (amchur) is available at Indian groceries or online at Penzeys – you can leave it out, but the sour-savory flavor gives this dish [and others] an extra kick.  Maybe one could use tamarind instead - I haven't tried. 
  • Potatoes take longer to cook than eggplant, so unless you like very soft eggplant, add the potatoes and cook for about ten minutes before you add the eggplant.


Variations:

Source
: Neelam Batra, 1000 Indian Recipes

Saag Paneer

Yield: 4 to 6 servings

Ingredients
  • 8 ounces paneer cheese 
  • 2 small bunches (about 1 pound) fresh spinach, trimmed of roots only, washed well and
  • coarsely chopped
  • 1 large onion, coarsely chopped
  • 4 quarter-size slices peeled fresh ginger + 1 (1-inch) piece peeled and cut into thin matchsticks
  • 4 large garlic cloves, 2 peeled + 1 minced
  • ¼ cup water
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 1 tablespoon melted ghee
     
  • 2 1-inch sticks cinnamon
  • 5 green cardamom pods, crushed lightly
  • 1 tablespoon ground coriander
  • 1 teaspoon garam masala
  • 1 teaspoon dried fenugreek leaves (methi)
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
  • 1/4 cup plain yogurt, whisk until smooth
  • 1 to 2 tablespoons unsalted butter or ghee
  • 4 whole dried small red chili peppers, such as chile de arbol

Instructions
  1. Cut paneer into 1-by-½ inch squares. Lightly fry if you like [see notes below].
  2. Place spinach, onion, ginger slices, whole garlic, and water in a large nonstick saucepan. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat. 
  3. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover the pan, and simmer until the spinach is wilted and the onion tender, about 10 minutes. 
  4. Let cool, then pulse lightly in a food processor until just minced (do not make a smooth puree) and return to the pan.  [An immersion blender works nicely here.]
  5. Heat the oil and ghee in a small saucepan over medium-high heat and cook the cinnamon, cardamom pods, and ginger matchsticks, stirring until the ginger is golden, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the minced garlic, coriander, garam masala, fenugreek leaves, and salt and stir a few seconds. Then add the yogurt, a little at a time, stirring constantly to prevent curdling. Immediately transfer to the spinach, cover, and simmer over medium heat, 10 to 15 minutes.
  6.  Add the paneer cheese to the pan and stir gently to mix, trying not to break the pieces. Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes to blend the flavors.Transfer to a serving dish.
  7. Heat the butter in a small saucepan, add the dried chile peppers, and cook, stirring, until golden, about 30 seconds. Remove the pan from the heat, add the paprika, then immediately add to the spinach dish and swirl lightly to mix, with parts of the chile peppers visible as a garnish. Serve hot.
Notes:
  • The proportion of spinach to paneer cheese varies according to the cook's taste.  Also, the authentic recipe calls for the paneer pieces to be deep-fried: if you wish, lightly fry the paneer pieces until they are just golden. This firms up the pieces, so you don't have to be as careful when stirring.
  • If you like more of a ginger flavor, use all the ginger in the sauté instead of boiling some with the greens.
Variations:
  • Substitute tofu and soy yogurt to make a vegan dish.
Source: Neelam Batra, 1,000 Indian Recipes.