Indian Night

We had another Indian food night, and we definitely established that at least in our town, the Indian food we make at home is as good or better than what we can get in a restaurant. We had marinated, grilled chicken breasts, Saag with tofu, and jasmine rice. One of these days I'll buy basamati rice, which would be more appropriate. For the chicken breasts, I used a spice mix that we bought at the local Indian Festival this year (they are FANTASTIC!), and mixed it with plain yogurt, green chiles and about a tbsp of olive oil. The saag I made using the recipe from my previous post. I had previously used dry mustard in the recipe b/c I needed a substitute for tumeric, but this time I actually had tumeric. I didn't think it changed the taste much, but the color was slightly different. I browned the tofu lightly prior to adding it to the saag, which I did just prior to serving. I loved the addition!

Saag, Falafel and Tandoori Chicken

My husband and I love eating "ethnic" food. When we go out to eat, we often try to get something that we can't (or don't know how to) make at home. The only problem is that these are not necessarily things that a 3 year old likes to eat (indian, thai, japanese), so lately we've been making it at home. The only recipe I'll be providing here is the Saag. The falafel was from a mix, but we have made it from scratch before, and prefer it from scratch. The tandoori chicken was also from a mix that we bought at an Indian festival here in Fayetteville (I know right, CULTURE, here??!!) Anyway, here's the Saag recipe- I've made this several times now- this is a combination of 3 or 4 recipes I found online- with the final result based on things that were easier to find/ingredients I've heard of. You can also add chicken or tofu to this, but I never have. It's best served over rice, but we did not do this tonight.

Saag

Ingredients:

2 tbsp olive oil

8 oz. frozen spinach

1 medium onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 tsp powdered Ginger

1/2 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp coriander

1/2 tsp dry mustard

dash cayenne pepper (to taste)

1/2 cup vegetable broth or chicken broth

1 tbsp tomato paste

1 tsp salt

6 oz plain yogurt

1/2 tsp garam masala (indian spice mix) Directions: Defrost Spinach In a medium saucepan, over medium heat, heat olive oil. Saute onion and garlic, until onion is softened. Add ginger and cumin and stir. Add spinach, tomato paste, coriander and dry mustard. Mix thoroughly and heat through. Add broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, and simmer for 20 mins. Add yogurt and heat through. Just before serving, add garam masala and stir well. Serve over Jasmine rice and ENJOY!