Spicy Spinach Cake / Pathrodo

Pathrodo. Say that again. brr. Fortunately, this dish is a complete opposite of how it sounds. This is a typical Mangalorean dish. The original dish is made with a specific leaf which is abundantly found in the Southern part of Karnataka. I used to eat this only when I visited with my grandparents and uncle in Mangalore. It was an absolute treat (and still is) whenever I get to eat this when I'm back in India. Anyway my mom, the genius that she is, concocted the same recipe for spinach. It is a little complicated but hey, if I can do it...well, you know how it goes. Oh and it's RIDICULOUSLY DELICIOUS, in a Konkani way.

Prep time: overnight

Serves 2 (minimum; depends how you eat it ;) )

Ingredients

1/2 cup toor dal/yellow pigeon pea (soaked overnight, uncooked)
1 cup rice (basmati works) (also soaked overnight, uncooked)
5 dried red chillies (i'd stick to 2-3 thai dried red chillies; soaked overnight with the above two)
3/4 tspn Asafoetida
1 tbspn tamarind paste
1/4 cup coconut milk (approx. )
1/2 tbspn vegetable oil
1 tspn black mustard seeds
1-1.5 cups of very roughly chopped spinach (i used baby spinach. just tearing a leaf in half is more than enough. Do not add the stems)
Salt to taste.

You need a food processor for this one..a blender might work as well. you need something with a blade. If you're really retro (try getting one of these...haha. that's what some of my family members used when electricity was shut for the entire day).

Method:

1. Soak dal, rice, and red chillies overnight (12 hours) in water in the same bowl.

2. Strain it and let it dry a little bit (I gave it about 20 minutes).

3. In your food processor add the coconut milk and red chillies. Grind.

4. It will be coarsely ground. To this add the dal and rice and grind. Also add the tamarind paste, asafoetida and salt.

5. It should be a semi-liquid with coarse granules of dal and rice. Grind it until you can no longer tell if it's dal or rice, but you can feel the coarseness with your fingers. taste this to see if it's sufficiently salty. it will be really pungent and strong.

6. Add the spinach to the mix. It's not going to coat very well as you can see in the picture, but that's fine.

7. In a pan, add oil and let it heat up. Add the mustard seeds to the hot oil. Let it pop, crackle and sizzle. at this point add the mixture. Stir it around a little bit on medium low heat (2 minutes), just enough to coat it all with the essence of the mustard seeds.

8. Next transfer it to your pressure cooker (without the weight) or steamer and steam it until it is cooked. If it is gooey and sticks to your toothpick when you poke it, let it cook. It took me about 20-30mins to cook it.

9. Let sit for about 10 mins and then serve!!!

10. If you are obsessed with mustard seeds like me, then do this: after you let it sit, cut it up into bite size pieces. In a pan, heat up some oil (1/2 tbspn oil) and add mustard seeds to it. You know the drill, once it starts jumping all over your pan, add the pieces and just pan fry them on both sides. Serve hot!

Note: It is generally eaten as an accompaniment. My brother enjoys them as is. I eat it rice+ yoghurt or rice+ dal soup (next recipe). SO GOOD.

Also this was my first time ever making it. Epic success.

Atomic Spinach Curry

I know the picture is a bit crap, but this dish isn't. Yet another dish I grew up eating and taking to school for lunch. It's very simple but the flavors are fantastic (Garlic !!) It has some eclectic ingredients but I hope you try it out.


Ingredients: (approximated)

2.5 cups of chopped spinach (I used fresh baby spinach)
1/2 cup of toor dal (aka yellow pigeon pea. the dry and not the oily kind) cooked properly (semi or even completely mashed; soak overnight to speed up cooking process, EVEN if you use a pressure cooker like me)
10 cloves of garlic (I used an entire bulb of garlic ergo 'Atomic')
1/2-1 tbspn vegetable oil (actually, just enough to coat your pan)
1/4 tspn Turmeric
1 tspn Red chilli powder (Indian)
1.5 tspn Coriander powder
1 tspn tamarind paste
1/4 cup coconut milk (optional)
Salt to taste ( I almost screwed up this dish by throwing in too much salt...be careful the tamarind paste will provide a significant amount of tang).


Method:

1. To your pan add the vegetable oil and let it heat up.

2. Add the garlic cloves (I love the sizzling sound when it hits the hot oil) and saute until the garlic cloves take on a brownish hue. DO NOT LET THIS BURN.

3. Add the spinach and saute for about a minute (it will wilt a tad bit).

4. Add the cooked dal (this is going to be a semi-liquid form) and coconut milk. Also add the spices and tamarind paste at this point.

5. Let this simmer and jive for about 5-10mins. then it's DONE!

Serve over hot basmati rice with maybe some yoghurt or raitha.

Cacik-Turkish Yogurt and Spinach Dip

This is kind of like Indian raita, and kind of like Greek tzatziki, but if I had to choose between the three, I like this one best. I could eat this all day - actually, that's exactly what I've been doing. --AnglophileLV

Turkish Yogurt and Spinach Dip, aka Cacik

Serves 4

1/2 bag baby spinach
1 fat clove garlic, minced fine
1 pinch salt and pepper to taste
1/2 lemon juiced
1 Tb. chopped fresh dill
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1 Tb. chopped mint
1 Tb olive oil
1 cup Greek style yogurt

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Fill a bowl with ice water. When the water comes to a boil, add the spinach and blanch for 10-20 seconds. Fish out the spinach with a spatula and transfer to the ice water. Cool, drain, and squeeze dry like a sponge. Chop coarsely.

2. Mince the garlic and combine with a pinch of salt. Combine with lemon juice and olive oil, and let stand for 10 minutes. Stir in the yogurt.

3. Combine the chopped spinach, dill, parsley and mint. Stir in the yogurt and garlic mixture. Add fresh ground pepper to taste, and more salt if desired. Serve with crackers, pita chips, or crudites.

*Additional note: this recipe can also include cucumbers, cabbage and beets mixed in.