It's hard to learn to cook a cuisine that you didn't grow up eating. The techniques you know and the equipment you own are sometimes not quite right. Even if you can get all of the ingredients called for, they're often different where you live than in the cuisine's country of origin. And you worry that you won't even like them if you've never had them before.
Then when you read the recipe, you don't always know why certain things are done a certain way. Is the method necessary for the best flavor, or is it something handed down from an older time when people didn't have the same resources we have now? Why does this recipe tell you to add the ingredients in this order, and a similar one adds the ingredients in a completely different way? Sometimes you just have to read and cook lots of similar recipes until it all comes together for you.
If you've mastered a dish from a cuisine new to you, and made it your own, you should be proud of yourself. I've only been cooking Indian food for a couple of years, but I'm proud of this one. Once I had this figured out, I've been a lot more confident tackling other Indian dishes. I'm not sure if I'm ready to debut the others on this blog, but someday soon, I will.
Palak Aloo
I like to start with precooked potatoes, but you can start with raw ones and cook them longer in the skillet.
2 medium yellow or red potatoes, about 3/4 pound
2 tablespoons canola oil or more as needed
1 small onion (or 1/2 a regular onion), diced finely, about a cup
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 inch piece of fresh ginger, minced
2 or 3 jalapenos, diced finely
1 teaspoon garam masala
½ teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon ground coriander
½ teaspoon salt
1 large tomato diced
1 lb. spinach or spinach plus other greens (if previously frozen, don’t squeeze dry)
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1/3 cup cashews, ground to a fine powder in a dry blender or food processor
Cook potatoes in the microwave until tender, about 7-8 minutes, or bake in the oven at 400 F for about 50 minutes. Set aside to cool slightly.
Dice potatoes in 3/4-inch cubes, leaving the skin on. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large pot. Fry potatoes until crispy on one or two sides. Remove from pot with a slotted spatula and set aside.
If the pan is dry add a bit more oil until you have about a tablespoon. Sauté onion until tender and beginning to caramelize, 7-10 minutes. Add garlic, ginger and jalapenos and cook for about 2 minutes. Add spices and cook for a minute or until fragrant.
Add tomato and spinach and cook until spinach wilts. (Don't drain the spinach.) Stir in tomato paste and cashews. Cook on low for 10 minutes or so.
Puree mixture in a food processor or using an immersion blender. Taste and adjust spices. Stir in potato cubes and heat through.
Serves 4-5.
Freezes well, but expect the potato to disintegrate into the spinach when you reheat.
Then when you read the recipe, you don't always know why certain things are done a certain way. Is the method necessary for the best flavor, or is it something handed down from an older time when people didn't have the same resources we have now? Why does this recipe tell you to add the ingredients in this order, and a similar one adds the ingredients in a completely different way? Sometimes you just have to read and cook lots of similar recipes until it all comes together for you.
If you've mastered a dish from a cuisine new to you, and made it your own, you should be proud of yourself. I've only been cooking Indian food for a couple of years, but I'm proud of this one. Once I had this figured out, I've been a lot more confident tackling other Indian dishes. I'm not sure if I'm ready to debut the others on this blog, but someday soon, I will.
Palak Aloo
I like to start with precooked potatoes, but you can start with raw ones and cook them longer in the skillet.
2 medium yellow or red potatoes, about 3/4 pound
2 tablespoons canola oil or more as needed
1 small onion (or 1/2 a regular onion), diced finely, about a cup
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 inch piece of fresh ginger, minced
2 or 3 jalapenos, diced finely
1 teaspoon garam masala
½ teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon ground coriander
½ teaspoon salt
1 large tomato diced
1 lb. spinach or spinach plus other greens (if previously frozen, don’t squeeze dry)
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1/3 cup cashews, ground to a fine powder in a dry blender or food processor
Cook potatoes in the microwave until tender, about 7-8 minutes, or bake in the oven at 400 F for about 50 minutes. Set aside to cool slightly.
Dice potatoes in 3/4-inch cubes, leaving the skin on. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large pot. Fry potatoes until crispy on one or two sides. Remove from pot with a slotted spatula and set aside.
If the pan is dry add a bit more oil until you have about a tablespoon. Sauté onion until tender and beginning to caramelize, 7-10 minutes. Add garlic, ginger and jalapenos and cook for about 2 minutes. Add spices and cook for a minute or until fragrant.
Add tomato and spinach and cook until spinach wilts. (Don't drain the spinach.) Stir in tomato paste and cashews. Cook on low for 10 minutes or so.
Puree mixture in a food processor or using an immersion blender. Taste and adjust spices. Stir in potato cubes and heat through.
Serves 4-5.
Freezes well, but expect the potato to disintegrate into the spinach when you reheat.
I agree with you: it is difficult to cook a recipe if you never have tasted something like that. It helps a lot to have a friend, a good restaurant - or a blogger! - giving you directions.
ReplyDeleteThe version I have learned of this dish contains tamarind and is a bit sour, not very spicy. Probably there are as many versions as there are Indian cooks, and I am convinced they are both delicious.