Tag: curry

Posted on

Chicken Saag (Curried Spinach) with Rice

You’re tired, you want a good rice and curry meal, with both protein and veg, and you want to put minimal effort into cooking. Here’s my favorite hack — this got me through a fair bit of grad school. Also when the kids were little and I was exhausted. 20 minutes, no chopping.

Right now, it looks like you can make this for about $10-$15, depending on grocery prices in your area. I buy 12 pack cans of saag and keep them in the pantry — about $4 / can on Amazon, possibly significantly cheaper at your local Indian grocery.

Vegetarians can use a can of cooked chickpeas or a packet of frozen paneer instead of chicken. I haven’t tried it with green jackfruit, but I think that would work well too. Lamb and shrimp also work just fine, and are traditional.

*****

Chicken Saag (Curried Spinach) with Rice
(20 minutes, serves 2-4, depending on appetites!)

  1. Have leftover rice.
    (If you don’t have leftover rice, you can either make rice, or use naan, roti, paratha, etc. Those can be bought frozen and toasted to deliciousness very quickly.)
  2. Heat about 2 T oil, add up to 1 T cayenne (to your taste, you can skip it entirely if you want), stir for 5-10 seconds on high.
    (You probably want a vent fan going, as it’s likely to make you and everyone else around cough otherwise.)
  3. Dump in 4-6 boneless skinless chicken thighs. (You can trim them if you like, but you don’t actually have to.) Stir for a few more seconds until well-coated in chili oil and lightly seared.
    (Still cooking on high.)
  4. Dump in one 15 oz. can saag and stir in. (I like Jyoti, but there are various fine brands.)
    (Still cooking on high.)
  5. Rinse can and dump water (about 1/2 can) into pot. Stir in and bring back to a boil.
  6. Cover, lower heat to medium, and let cook 5-10 minutes, until chicken is cooked through.
    (You can wander away at this point and plop onto the couch for a bit — just set a timer if you’re likely to forget.)
  7. Uncover, raise heat back to high, and cook another 5 minutes or so, stirring occasionally, until spinach sauce is thick and happy. If you want, break up cooked chicken with your stirring spoon. Taste and adjust salt, etc. if needed, but I actually don’t do anything else to this; I like it as is.
    (Heat up your leftover rice if you’ve got it now, adding a few sprinkles of water before sticking it in the microwave, to help it hydrate. Or toast frozen bread now.)
  8. Serve chicken saag hot over leftover rice. (Or with bread!)

*****

Link to Jyoti saag on Amazon: https://a.co/d/0fvvjVvL

 

Posted on

Curried Beet Tea Sandwiches

Curried Beet Tea Sandwiches

(45 min. — makes 16 tea sandwiches)

1 medium onion, chopped fine
2 T vegetable oil
1/4 t. cumin seeds
1/4 t. mustard seeds
1/2 lb. beets, chopped into matchsticks
2-3 green chilies, seeds removed, chopped fine
1/4 t. salt, or to taste
1 t. lime juice, or to taste
8 slices bread (wheat, white, or multigrain, your choice)

1. Sauté onions with oil, cumin seed, and mustard seed until golden-translucent.

2. Add beets, green chilies, and salt and cook on medium-high, stirring as needed, until beets are cooked through and starting to caramelize, which will bring out the flavor.

3. Stir in lime juice and simmer 5-10 minutes more. Taste and adjust seasonings as desired.

NOTE: If you want the spread to be very fine, let cool, then process in food processor. Sometimes I do this, sometimes I go with a more rustic tea sandwich, usually depending on what kind of bread I’m using.

4. Spread curried beets on four slices of bread; top with other four slices.

5. Trim off edges, and then slice in quarters (use a damp paper towel to clean the knife before and between quartering cuts for a pristine appearance).

NOTE: Curried beets can be made a day in advance; it’s best to assemble sandwiches just before serving.

Posted on

Master Recipe: Curry Sauce for (Leftover) Meat

I’m not sure this problem ever came up in Sri Lanka, but we eat Western food about half the time, and I like lots of it, really I do, but then sometimes I go to the fridge to eat some leftovers and there is no curry to be found and I am sad.  Over the years I’ve learned that it’s actually easy to take a standard plain-cooked meat, chicken, or fish, and turn it into an acceptable curried version.  When a girl is desperate for curry, she does what she needs to do — she makes a curry sauce, adds some cut-up leftover cooked meat, simmers it for a little bit, and eats happy.

3 medium yellow onions, chopped
1 T ginger, grated
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 t. mustard seed
1 t. cumin seed
1 dozen curry leaves
3 cloves
3 cardamom pods
1 2-inch piece cinnamon
1-2 T chili powder
1 t. Sri Lankan curry powder
1 t. salt
1/4 c. ketchup
1-2 T Worcestershire sauce
1/2 – 1 c. (or more, if you like) coconut milk
2-3 lbs. leftover cooked meat, cubed (may also be left on the bone)

3 russet potatoes, cubed (optional)

1.  Sauté onions in oil or ghee on medium-high, stirring as needed, with ginger, garlic, mustard seed, cumin seed, curry leaves, cloves, cardamom, cinnamon, until golden-translucent, about ten minutes.

2.  Add chili powder, Sri Lankan curry powder, and salt, stirring for a few minutes more.

 

3.   Add ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, and coconut milk, stirring each ingredient in.  You now have a basic curry sauce, suitable for meat, chicken, or fish.  (It also works with seitan or young jackfruit, for vegetarian options.)

 

4.  Add leftover cooked meat, stirring until well combined.  Turn down to a simmer, cover, and let cook ten minutes or so; the meat will impart some flavor to the sauce, and vice versa.  Add water if necessary to prevent burning.

5.  Add potatoes (and probably more water) if using, bring to boiling, then turn back down and simmer until potatoes are cooked through.  (You can speed this part up by par-cooking them in water in the microwave earlier, perhaps while your onions are sautéing.)  Cook sauce down until it has a thick consistency, like gravy.

 

Serve hot, with rice or bread.