Tuesday, July 19, 2022

Saagwala

A rich creamy spinach curry perfect with naan.  I've been making this with goat, but lamb or beef will both work well.


Ingredients:

1 kg (2.2 lbs) goat, lamb, or beef, trimmed and cubed
4+1 cm piece of ginger, peeled and grated
6+3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 medium onions, diced
6 T ghee
1 T coriander, toasted and ground
2 t cumin, toasted and ground
1 1/2 t garam masala
5-6 green chiles (preferably finger hot), thinly sliced
cayenne to taste
stock
2 packages frozen spinach, thawed and drained
1/2 - 3/4 C cream
4 T cilantro, stems included, finely chopped
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Melt ghee in a deep pan, then saute the onion until starting to brown.  Add the 6 cloves of chopped garlic (reserving the other 3), the 4 cm of grated ginger (reserving the other 1), and the green chiles.  Saute for a couple of minutes before adding in the spices and 1 t salt, stirring frequently until fragrant.

Add the meat along with enough stock to cover meat, cover, and simmer until tender.  Times will vary considerably depending on the type and cut of meat; goat can take 3 hours or more.  When the meat is tender, remove from the pot and set aside, leaving everything else in the pot.  Add in the spinach and stir to combine.  Using an immersion blender (or removing to a blender), puree until fairly smooth.

Cook the spinach mixture down uncovered until thickened to the desired consistency (or a little thicker to account for the cream), roughly 35 minutes, stirring frequently.  Return the meat along with the cream, cilantro, and the reserved garlic and ginger, and simmer gently until the flavors blend 5-10 minutes.  Adjust the seasoning to taste (this will likely require more salt than you think), and serve with warm naan or rice.