Sort-of-saag paneer with dal

These dishes are actually really easy and really tasty - and really easy to veganize! I was especially pleased with the way the saag turned out. EJ and I ate it over basmati rice with some frozen naan that we keep on hand. These recipes are modified from the Happy Herbivore blog - my all time favorite food blog. Check her out.

Saag

Ingredients
1 small white or yellow onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup water
1 tsb fresh grated ginger root
1 tbsp garam masala spice blend
1 tsp tumeric
1 tsp coriander
cayenne powder, to taste
salt, pepper
3-4 cups tight packed fresh spinach
1/4 cup low fat cream cheese
1/4 cup low fat cottage cheese
(to veganize this, sub the above two ingredients for vegan cream cheese, vegan yogurt, or even a little soy milk).

1. Saute onion and garlic in water until the onion is translucent
2. Add all the spices, including the ginger, and saute an additional 2 minutes
3. Add spinach, saute on low until the spinach is completely wilted.
4. Add cream cheese, stirring frequently, just until the cream cheese melts.
5. Remove from heat, add cottage cheese, and pulse in a blender until spinach is chopped (just a couple of pulses - you don't want to puree it).
6. Taste it - you might want to add some garlic powder, ginger powder, or more garam masala (my favorite spice blend).



Dal

Ingredients

1 small white or yellow onion, diced
3 cloves garlic
1 tsp tumeric
1/4 cup water
1 tsp coriander
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp ground ginger
2 tsp garam masala
cayenne powder, to taste
1/4-1/2 cup diced tomatoes
2 cups veg broth
1/4 cup lentils
1/4 cup raisins

1. Saute the onion and garlic in water until the onion is translucent.
2. Add spices, except garam masala, and saute for an additional 2 minutes (add more water if needed)
3. Add tomatoes (can use tomato sauce), broth, lentils, and bring to a boil. Bring heat down to low, cover, and let simmer for 15 minutes.
4. Remove cover, add raisins, and keep on low heat for an additional 3-4 minutes.
5. Serve with basmati rice and a dollop of greek yogurt!

From Food pics

Green Curry

I have tried and tried to make a curry that I am truly happy with. The ones I've made in the past are ok, but not great. I wouldn't order them in a restaurant. And if I had something like that in a restaurant, I would say "meh". EJ even bought me a book on curry for last christmas, and still all my curries are simply meh. Now that I'm happy with the way this green curry came out, I want to experiment with more red curries. I'll keep you all updated.

A dear friend has told me that he has conquered a never fail curry recipe, and so I dedicate this to Joe. Thanks, man :)

From Food pics

Joe's Curry:

Ingredients:
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 white or yellow onion
3 cups vegetable stock
1 can chick peas
1 cup dry lentils
1 bottle curry paste (the one I bought was green curry, about a 3/4 cup of paste).
1 tbsp curry powder
3 tbsp raisins (optional)
1 tsp garam massala
1/2 tsp ground cloves, or about a tbsp whole cloves
1 tsp minced ginger
crushed red pepper, to taste
dry basmati rice
cumin seed
mustard seed
flat bread
cilantro

1. Saute garlic in olive oil for 30 seconds, and add chopped onion. Saute until the onion becomes slightly translucent.

2. Add stock, chickpeas, lentils, curry paste, cury powder, garam masala, crushed red pepper, raisins, ginger and cloves. (here's the thing about using cloves. The ground cloves are about 10x more concentrated, so be careful. Its a little safer to use the whole cloves, but they are not good to eat. You can eat them, but I don't recommend it. When I made this, I actually went through and picked out the whole cloves before I served it so that EJ wouldn't accidentally eat one. That was a pain. However, Breza says that if you cook it for long enough, the cloves are edible. Worth a try. I'll keep everyone updated.)

3. Let the curry simmer for awhile, I try to let it simmer for at least an hour. You can also add tofu or TVP or anything else to give it a thicker consistency.

4. Meanwhile, you can prepare the rice. Toast about 1 tsp mustard seed and 1/2 tsp cumin seed until it pops (on the stove top) and prepare the rice the way you normally do. We have a rice cooker, which I swear by. The water : rice ratio should be 2 : 1. Add the spices to this and cook as usual.

5. For the naan, I purchased some flat bread from the grocery store (though naan is usually available at Indian grocers). I spread some margarine over it, sprinkled with garlic powder, onion powder, fresh cilantro and Parmesan cheese, and baked about 5 minutes at 350. This was GOOD.

6. Ok, back to the curry. Here you have a couple of options. To thicken it, add about 2-3 tbsp corn starch. You could also use flour, but corn starch is more concentrated, so it has less of a grainy texture. Don't add too much, though. You can also add a little milk or cream to soften the texture, but that is optional. Simmer a bit longer, until it has reached the desired consistency.

7. Mix in a handful of fresh cilantro.

8. Serve over rice with naan. Plain yogurt on the side is also really good for this dish.

From Food pics

Thanks for the help, Joe. I really enjoyed making this.

From Food pics