Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Saag-alicious

For my first foray into Indian cooking, I decided to make my favorite: Lamb with Spinach (Dilli Ka Saag Gosht) (pg 67 of Indian Cooking). I've never eaten most of the dishes in this book, so I figured I'd start with something I knew I'd like. Boy, did I like it. I ate waaay too much of this. Matt served himself first, and I thought he took half. I took the other half. Turns out, he did not take half. He thought he left enough for me, and for lunch tomorrow. Tee hee. I ate it all. Matt said that if every meal in the book is as good as this one, we never need to order out again.
 Conclusion: Loved it. 

Jaffrey says to make your own Garam Masala (pg 21), because the store-bought stuff uses cheap ingredients and has no flavor. I quadrupled her recipe, because I don't know how to quarter a nutmeg. Ground up cardamom seeds, cinnamon sticks, cumin seeds, cloves, black peppercorn, and nutmeg make a nice warm mixture. I tasted it, then tasted the commercial blend I had in my pantry, and promptly tossed the commercial blend in the trash. It tasted like sawdust. If I ever need garam masala, I will make it. No contest.

Conclusion: Loved it.

This wasn't a fiery dish, but Yogurt with Cucumber and Mint (pg 210) still provided such a lovely, cool contrast to the cozy heat of the saag.
Mmmm...palate cleanser.
Conclusion: Loved it. A clean sweep!

8 comments:

  1. Okay, so maybe I'll try to make my own garam masala. Sounds easy enough. You are convincing.
    Peggy
    http://adoptsomom.wordpress.com/

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  2. Now you have me craving Indian food. That sounds delicious.

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  3. I soooo miss Indian food in Hawaii!! That looks saagalicious indeed. I'm getting on next flight out and staying for the duration of the Indian cookbook project!

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    1. Do it! Do it! Tell all your IVF patients they'll just have to wait a month. Priorities, people.

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  4. Saags are my favourite too! I'm so glad it worked well. I hear great things about Madhur's books - I can see this one appearing on my shelf :-)

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  5. I love Madhur Jaffrey. I just might have to try making my own garam masala...

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