Palak Gosht #1, tomato-enhanced

Oh, look, more curry. A substantial portion of meals this summer have begun with me thawing a protein with no specific agenda, then checking the weather and the world's simplest decision tree. Sunny? Grill it on a stick. Rainy? It's a curry. I've been making curries and dals with a vengeance in some sort of last hurrah for slow food before the semester begins.

This is a pungent, slightly tart riff on my more basic Palak Whatever (now on iteration 3), which I prefer with tofu. This one is lighter on the spinach and heavier on the tomato. I had some AP aromatic base left over from the korma, so I thought I'd put it to good use. This is just begging for chickpeas, don't you think?

Serving size (sauce only): 4 huge (166 cal) to 6 moderate (110)

Marinade for protein

(I made this with 1.5 lb eye of round because it's what was around, but I'd suggest a higher protein to sauce ratio, for 6 servings)

4 cloves garlic, pureed

1 T ginger puree

1 t kosher salt

½ t turmeric

1 t kashmiri chili powder (or ¾ t paprika, ¼ cayenne)

2 T plain Greek yogurt

Sauce base

1 t mustard oil

½ T butter

(Whole spices)

½ t kosher salt

1 small onion (90g)

4 cloves garlic, pureed

1 T ginger, pureed

(optional: 2 T tomato paste)

(Ground spices)

500 ml all-purpose base

3 smallish chiles (cayenne-sized), fresh or dried (I used a poblano)

1 lb fresh tomatoes, cut into 1" dice

12 oz frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed

¼ c dried fenugreek leaves

Whole spices

1T coriander seeds

2 t cumin seeds

1 t mustard seed (I used a blend of black and brown)

½ t nigella seeds

½ t fenugreek seeds

6 whole cloves

3 green cardamom pods

1 black cardamom pod

1 cinnamon stick (3”), broken up

2 bay leaves

6-8 curry leaves (dried in my case)

8 peppercorns

Ground spices

½ t turmeric

⅛-¼ t asafetida

2 t garam masala (I used the Punjabi garam masala from 660 curries, which is a dry-roasted blend)

Combining & finishing touches (to taste)

½ T butter/ghee/oil

(Marinated meat)

1 t garam masala, to taste

2 t lemon juice or 1 t amchur mixed with water

Pinch powdered stevia (or 1 t sugar)

Extra water or cashew milk

Process

At least 30 minutes before cooking or the night before, combine the marinade ingredients and use it to coat your protein of choice.

In a skillet, heat the mustard oil on medium-high and toast all the whole spices together until fragrant and browned (3-5 minutes). Add the onion and fresh chillies, if using, and sweat with ½ t salt. Add the ginger and garlic paste and the powdered spices and briefly saute. As needed, use some of the all-purpose base or water to deglaze the pan.

• For a chunky gravy: add the all-purpose base, simmer briefly (20-30 minutes) and blend all or almost all, then return to pan with tomatoes to simmer some more.

• For a smooth gravy: add the tomatoes and all purpose base, simmer, and blend at the end. (Your choice to blend the spinach or not as part of this process. Evidently I did not.)

Finish the sauce by adding the spinach and fenugreek leaves.

20-30 minutes before serving (depending on your protein), apply the finishing touches: heat the butter/ghee/oil in a non-stick skillet on medium-high. Saute the protein in batches until lightly browned on all sides. Add to the sauce and simmer, covered, for about 20 minutes. At this point, check for taste and consistency and add some acid, sweetness, extra heat (garam masala or cayenne) as desired.

#recipetesting #APcurry #curries #savory #portioncontrol