Keralan Spinach in Yogurt

Where have we been?

Oh, you know, cooking school in the most gorgeous part of India, Kerala.

It was the best vacation we've ever taken, hands-down. (No offense to Phoebe's mom, who offers up awesome accommodations every time, but you can't get a young coconut with a straw in it on every corner in Western Massachusetts). We came home with a deepened appreciation for South Indian food (very different from what you get in most Indian restaurants in the US) and over 30 recipes, which we plan to convert from the metric system, bastardize with kale, and blog.

For our first Haritha Farms recipe, we offer this interesting take on spinach--rather than eating it raw or flash-sauteing it, you'll cook it down with South Indian seasonings until it starts to caramelize on the pan and then mix it with plain yogurt. It's an excellent accompaniment to rice and curries, and an unexpected way to get your greens in.

Ingredient notes: urad dal is used raw, like a spice, in Keralan cooking. If you can't find it in your local Indian grocery store (AKA you don't have a local Indian grocery store), it's OK to leave it out. The yogurt in India was much waterier than our favorite yogurt, so we diluted it with a little water. If you have homemade yogurt, or your yogurt is on the watery side, skip the extra water.


1 tablespoon coconut oil
1 teaspoon black mustard seeds
2 teaspoons urad dal (optional)
2 large shallots, sliced (about 1 cup)
1 green chile, sliced
1-inch piece of ginger, finely minced or ground
1 teaspoon garlic, finely minced or put through a press
6 cups (1/2 pound) chopped fresh spinach
1 and 1/2 cups plain yogurt
1/2 cup water, if needed (see headnote)

Heat a wok over medium-high heat and melt the coconut oil. When the oil is hot, add mustard seeds and urad dal and fry (without stirring) until the mustard seeds are almost fully popped and the dal is golden brown. Add shallots and stir until browned, then add chili, ginger and garlic and stir until the garlic is browned and the raw smell is gone.

Add the chopped spinach and cook over high heat, continually stirring, for about 20 minutes. Be persistent! The spinach will reduce more than you could ever imagine and release sugars that will stick to the pan. When you're certain that the spinach can't reduce any more, remove it from the heat. Once it's cooled to room temperature, stir in the yogurt and water and serve.

Beets with Yogurt and Cumin

This sweet pachadi combines the earthy flavors of beets and cumin in a great winter side dish, a nice Indian variation on our other beet salad. We like to serve this alongside mjeddra for complete nourishment. Try cooking the beets a day ahead to cut down on kitchen time.

4 medium beets
1 cup yogurt
1 tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon mustard seeds

Scrub beets, halve any large ones, and cover with water in a large stock pot. Bring to a boil and then simmer, covered, for 40 minutes to an hour, until tender. Once the beets are cool enough to handle, peel them, and chop them into 1-inch cubes.

Heat the butter in a small pan over medium-high heat. Once the butter is melted, add the cumin seeds and mustard seeds. When the mustard seeds begin to pop, pour the butter and spices over the beets. Add yogurt and stir. (If you stir very gently, you'll end up with a lovely marbelized sauce. Stir more vigorously for a uniformly pink sauce). Chill before serving.

Paneer with Tomatoes and Ninja Kale

We made this recipe from Mangoes and Curry Leaves several times with moderately tasty results before we read the ingredient list closely. Where we had been throwing in the typical 2 cloves of garlic, it calls for a full 1/2 cup -- and not just one onion, but three! We tried it again with the full dose of garlic and onions and were delighted with the spicy, filling results, not at all like the curried marinara sauce we had ended up with before. We kept tinkering with cooking methods (the original recipe takes all evening to make) and have finally arrived at the best variation yet, one that gives you a full serving of kale, so stealthily slipped in among strong flavors that you'll never know what hit you.

3 cups pureed canned tomatoes (or 2 pounds fresh)
1 pound paneer
canola oil or ghee
1 chopped onion (or go ahead and try three!)
1 full head of garlic, peeled and minced
3 inches of ginger, minced
2 small thai chilis, left whole
6 leaves of dinosaur kale or three leaves of collard greens, sliced into thin ribbons
5 green cardamom pods, smashed
2 cloves
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon of smoked Spanish paprika
Salt and black pepper to taste

Slice the paneer into 1/2 inch rectangles. Arrange the paneer on a well-greased pan, and drizzle some extra oil over the top. Broil for about five minutes, or until the tops of the paneer rectangles look like toasted marshmallows. Flip and repeat on the other side. Set the paneer aside to cool. (I prefer to chop my paneer slices into bite-sized squares once they are cool enough to touch, but you can also leave them whole.)

Heat 1/3 cup of oil or ghee in a large wok over medium heat. Add the onions and cook until soft. Add the garlic and ginger and continue frying until the onions and garlic are golden and fragrant. Add the tomatoes and one cup of water. Bring to a boil, then turn the heat to low, and add the kale, paneer and spices. Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, for about 20 minutes. You may want to add a little cayenne to boost the spiciness. Serve with cardamom-scented rice or spinach parathas.

Beet Salad with Feta and Mustard Dressing

Salty feta, sweet beets and spicy mustard are a perfect combination for the dead of winter, brightened with some fresh dill. This salad is good by itself or on a bed of salad greens. We used red beets, which are beautiful, but if pink feta creeps you out, golden beets would be delicious too.

6 medium-sized beets
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
2 tablespoons spicy mustard
Salt
Pepper
1 lb feta, cubed or crumbled
1/2 cup chopped fresh dill

Scrub beets, halve any large ones, and cover with water in a large stock pot. Bring to a boil and then simmer, covered, for 40 minutes to an hour, until tender. Once the beets are cool enough to handle, peel them, and chop them into 1-inch cubes.

Mix together olive oil, apple cider vinegar, mustard, salt and pepper. Pour mixture over the beets, stir well to combine, and top with feta and dill. Serve slightly warm, room temperature, or chilled, either by itself or on top of a bed of salad greens.

Roasted Root Vegetables -- Celeriac, Daikon and Sweet Potatoes

This is the time of year when we get a lot of questions from friends and family about using root vegetables, and we specifically got questions last month about what to do with celeriac and whether we had a simple roasted root vegetable recipe. If you're new to dealing with knobby winter creatures, roasting is an easy way to knock out the contents of your CSA share and heat your house at the same time. Did we mention that you can also do a 25-minute Pilates workout while this is in the oven? Because yeah, that's what we did last night. Celeriac: enabler of gorgeous abs!

We used Japanese sweet potatoes (the kind that are white on the inside), watermelon daikon (try some--it's gorgeous and delicious raw) and celeriac, but you can try this with any combination of root vegetables: try parsnips, beets, purple potatoes, or whatever else you have in abundance. Phoebe's formula is one part sweet vegetables (parsnip, yam, fennel or sweet potato), one part aggressive vegetables (daikon, rutabaga, turnip) and one part neutral vegetables (potatoes or celeriac). If you're using tougher vegetables like rutabaga or turnips, make sure to chop them a bit smaller so you don't end up with rock-hard chunks amid cooked ones.

1 large chestnut sweet potato, diced
3 medium-sized watermelon daikon radishes, diced
1 large celeriac, diced
2 small waxy potatoes, diced
2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt
Pepper

Preheat oven to 425. Toss vegetables with olive oil, salt and pepper in a large pyrex pan or on a rimmed baking sheet. Roast until vegetables are tender with some crispy edges, 25-40 minutes. Stir once or twice midway through with a metal spatula (a wooden one could mush your veggies).

Marinated Cheese Salad

As if cheese wasn't already delicious enough, some genius came up with the concept of marinating it in olive oil with garlic and herbs. Add a toothpick and a loaf of olive bread and you've got an instant party. (Albeit a somewhat quiet party because everyone is so busy stuffing their faces with cheese.)

Munster, cheddar and gruyere are all delicious in this recipe. We usually mix two or three varieties of cheese -- our all time favorite is Trader Joe's English Cheddar with Caramelized Onions.

2 cups of cubed semi-soft cheese
1 tablespoon pink peppercorns (black is also okay)
1 large sprig of fresh rosemary, broken into a few pieces
3 cloves of garlic, peeled but left whole
olive oil
salt

Cut the cheese into bite-sized pieces. Place in a bowl with the peppercorns, rosemary and garlic, then add enough olive oil to almost cover. Sprinkle on salt to taste, then leave to marinate, unrefrigerated, for about four hours.

Carrot, Sweet Potato and Coconut Soup

We had a spoonful of a friend's sweet potato and coconut soup at Paul and Elizabeth's when we were home for the holidays that we wanted to replicate at home. The richness of the coconut and the warmth of the spices are perfect for a filling winter meal. The key here is to cook the carrots until they're really soft--it's OK for the sweet potatoes to get a little broken-down if that's what needs to happen for the carrots to blend smoothly.

2 teaspoons butter or oil
3 carrots, diced
1 large sweet potato, diced
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon garam masala
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1 cup coconut milk
Salt to taste

Heat butter or oil in a large saucepan over medium-high. Add carrots and sweet potatoes and stir, then add spices and saute 2-3 minutes to coat. Add water just to cover, bring a to a boil, then lower heat and simmer 25-35 minutes, until carrots are very tender. Transfer to a blender, add coconut milk and blend until smooth. (Optional: pass through a food mill for a perfectly velvety texture.) Return to saucepan, add salt to taste and simmer 2-3 minutes more.