Monday Munchies

I grew up watching my parents in the kitchen, and learned a thing or two about cooking from them, but did not develop a strong interest in it until junior high. When I was in the 7th grade, I was in cooking class (which was in the broader curriculum of "Home Ec." Do they even have that anymore?) The first thing we made were peanut butter cookies. I got to take with me my portion of cookies, about 3-4, in a little paper bag. I carried that warm, delicious, greasy bag of cookies around all day, so proud of my accomplishment. I didn't even like peanut butter cookies! But it was that experience which taught me my first lesson in cooking: that I could make whatever food I could conceive of, as long as I had the recipe for it. Of course, it would be a few more years before I could control the ingredients that came into the house, and a few more years after that before I felt confident enough to try making foods that were somewhat complicated, but when I was ready to try, I was still buoyed by that first sense of pride and accomplishment, sure that I could make anything, as long as I had the directions.

Once a month or so, I like to try out a recipe for a food I've never tried before, or a challenging recipe of something I've never been brave enough to attempt before. Sometimes what I make doesn't turn out, or I just don't care for it, but I gain a little more knowledge every time I expand my boundaries. A couple of months ago, I decided I wanted to try cooking Indian food. I'm not sure why, as I had only ever tasted Indian food twice in my whole life before that, but I felt impressed to try it. So I got online and found a relatively simple-looking recipe and gave it a shot. I LOVED IT. My whole family loved it! We liked it so much, it got inducted into my recipe box, and I made it again this week. I also made two new recipes, Indian side dishes, to go with it, which also turned out heavenly. All three recipes will be featured here over three weeks, as part of a mini-series. Enjoy!

If you've always wanted to try cooking Indian food, this would be the recipe to start out on. This recipe for a kind of chicken/spinach stew is fairly easy, but required the use of a blender or food processor. You can do it without one I suppose, but it won't be as easy then. This recipe is also a little on the spicy side, maybe medium? So if you want to cut back on the spicy, leave out the cayenne pepper. Also, the spices in this (as in other Indian) recipe are non-standard for our American household, so you might need to do a bit of shopping ahead.


Chicken Saag

1 whole chicken, cooked and diced
1/4 c. water
4 bunches of spinach (it seems like a lot, but you'll need it!)
1 T. oil
5 cloves garlic, minced
2 onions, diced
1 in. piece of fresh ginger, minced (or 1 t. ground, if you don't have fresh)
2 tomatoes, pureéd
1/2 t. cayenne pepper
1 t. coriander
1/2 t. turmeric
1/2 t. ground cardamom
2 cloves (a dash ground cloves)
1 T. water
4 T. milk
1 t. garam masala
2 T. butter

Boil the spinach in a large pot with 1/4 c. water in the bottom, until wilted. Set aside to cool a bit. In large pot, sauté garlic, ginger, and onions, in oil until onions are translucent. Add tomatoes and spices (except garam masala), and sprinkle with 1 T. water. Simmer 10 minutes. Add chicken and milk, simmer until chicken is tender. While that is cooking, pureé the spinach in a blender or food processor. Add spinach pureé and garam masala to the pot. Cook until the spinach starts sticking to the sides of the pot. Remove from heat, add butter, and cover until ready to serve.