Author makes Indian cuisine seem easy
How to pep up vegetables with combinations and seasonings is the flavourful lesson offered in the vegetarian cookbook Fresh India, by British food writer Meera Sodha (Flatiron Books/Raincoast, $45.50). Daughter of Ugandan Indian parents, she makes her family cuisine seem easy. No extensive shopping for ingredients is required as long as your spices are fresh. A big fan of the chickpea, she makes it into a variety of dishes, including bread, pasta sauce and even fudge.
This lively curry should be served with flatbread chapatis (she provides a recipe in the book) or basmati rice. If you can’t find baby spinach, trim the stems from regular spinach and cut leaves in half. Sodha’s book contains 130 recipes and is a welcome addition to the growing number of fine Indian cookbooks on the market.
SPINACH, TOMATO AND CHICKPEA CURRY
Serves: 4
3 tbsp (45 mL) canola or vegetable oil
½ tsp (2.5 mL) black mustard seeds
1 tsp (5 mL) cumin seeds
2 large onions, coarsely chopped
5 cloves garlic, crushed Piece of ginger root (1 inch/2.5 cm), grated
1 can (14 oz/398 mL) tomatoes
2 cans (19 oz/540 mL) chickpeas, drained, rinsed
1 1/2 tsp (7.5 mL) ground coriander
1 tsp (5 mL) chili powder
½ tsp (2.5 mL) ground turmeric
1 tsp (5 mL) salt
1 lb (454 g) baby spinach, washed Yogurt
1. Heat oil in a large, heavy saucepan over medium heat and cook mustard and cumin seeds, stirring, until they pop.
2. Add onions and fry for 10 to 12 minutes, until translucent and they start to caramelize. Add garlic and ginger and stir-fry for about three minutes.
3. Add tomatoes, crushing them with a potato masher. Fill the empty can one-third full of water and add to the pan. Cook for 10 minutes until mixture thickens to almost paste-like.
4. Add chickpeas, coriander, chili powder, turmeric and salt and stir gently into the paste. Then add spinach gently, folding it in. It will wilt and shrink almost at once.
5. Lower heat and cook mixture for about five minutes until spinach is tender. Serve with chapatis or rice and yogurt.