Saag anyone?
As I typed a response to the "what do you eat when you go out" thread, I mentioned that I cannot make a decent saag to save me life. The more I think about this, the sadder it seems. I can make curry pretty well, and I don't think it's a stretch to rate myself as a good cook (for an amatuer, anyways), and now I'm getting really hungry for saag. Any recipes or advice? The last time I tried to make it, it was so bad that I actually threw it out before it ever hit a plate. Help!!
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5 Comments:
This will maybe gross everyone out, but I make this incredibly lazy saag using canned spinach - it actually works really well since you're already sort of halfway there getting the right consistancy. I sautee ginger w/ coriander and garam masala, add fresh tomatoes and the (drained) canned spinach, then add heavy cream (or greek yogurt, depending on how healthy you want to be...). It's so fast. Otherwise, I use the same-ish recipe with fresh spinach and cook it for 1/2 hour or so.
kellyxrene at 4:41PM on 06/19/08
You need to use the right spices and the right amount of them. If you do, you really can't go wrong, since saag is supposed to be vegetable mush. You can use a different green than spinach--my family also used collards/mustard greens/some other dark leafy greens that I don't know the name of in English.
The basic recipe we used is: cook a ton of greens, grind and set aside, fry a couple tablespoons of minced ginger, 4-5 minced cloves of garlic, and a chopped large onion, season with chili powder, salt, turmeric, and ground toasted coriander seeds (maybe 1/2 teaspoon of each), put in 2 chopped tomatos, simmer for a few minutes, add spinach, and cook until it's done. We never used milk or cream in ours, but you could add a few tablespoons before re-adding the spinach at the end. I actually think it would be better if you stirred in 1-2 tablespoons of ghee at the end instead, but it's not healthy or necessary.
stumbler02 at 5:51PM on 06/19/08
By the way, it should not be a fast recipe, it has to cook for a long time
stumbler02 at 5:52PM on 06/19/08
Hee, I was just in that thread talking about my recent Indian food obsession. Here's a couple videos that might help from Vahrehvah on cooking greens (saag) and Sarson Ka Saag.
His videos gave me the confidence to even try to cook Indian food on my own.
Good luck and let us know how it all turns out. :)
Sieseye at 5:59PM on 06/19/08
The best saag is made from mustard greens or broccoli rabe (my family's of Punjabi descent so saag is pretty common), served with makke di roti (corn dough flatbreads)
browntown at 10:55PM on 06/19/08