Sabzi

Spinach Curry (serves 8-10)

As promised I'm posting the first vegetarian dish to the blog, and this one is a powerhouse in nutrition and taste! It is the ever loved spinach curry.

I have to admit I really... really disliked this dish as a child, but what the heck did I know? As I grew up my palette matured and I began to appreciate the duality of this dish. It's simple and humble becuase it consists of only four easily available ingredients, yet it is loved by, I would say, all Afghans not just becuase the flavours are so beautifully balanced and complimentary, but becuase spinach is, for lack of a better expression, an esteemed vegetable for us. It symbolizes spring, prosperity, good luck and new beginnings and is eaten on all special occassions, especially at the feast of Now Roze on March 21st, which is New Year's Day and the first day of Spring for Afghans.

So, on that note, let's begin!

Ingredients

3 packages of frozen chopped spinach (defrosted)

1 bunch fresh spinach (washed and chopped)

1 bunch fresh cilantro (washed and chopped)

2 leeks (washed and chopped)

4 cloves of garlic (minced)

1/2 teaspoon salt

2-3 tablespoon oil

Substitution

If preferred, you can substitute with 2 cups of green onion or regular onion instead of leeks

Prep

Before you can begin cooking this dish requires a little bit of prep. The fresh spinach and cilantro are easy. It's leeks that are pretty tricky and if you're like me, you probably haven't worked with leeks very much. So here's an easy step-by-step on how to prep the leeks.

a. First cut off the root end of the leek (staying close to the root) and cut an inch off the green tops. With a knife slice the stalk lenghwise straight down the middle, so that you have two identical halves.

b. Under running water take one half of the stalk, fan open the leek and thoroughly clean out the dirt and mud. Repeat with the other half.

c. On a cutting board, flatten out the half stalk and cut lenghwise into thin half inch strips, then chop into small pieces. Repeat steps abc with the other stalk and set aside in a bowl.

preparing leek

Process

1. In a medium-large sautee pan add the defrosted and fresh spinach and let it come to a boil on high heat for about 5 minutes. Turn down heat to medium and let it cook for about 10 minutes. Now add garlic and salt. Don't oversalt in the beginning as the spinach contains its own minerals and sodium - plus you can always add more later.

-Add a tablespoon or two of water only if the spinach still looks raw and isn't cooking through and drying up.

-Throughout this entire process, from start to finish, DO NOT COVER the dish while it's cooking. If covered, it will lose it's vibrant green colour and look a bit yellow.

garlic and salt added to spinach

2. In another pan, heat oil on medium-low heat. Add the chopped leeks and sweat it for 5-7 minutes. The goal here is to soften the leeks and release the moisture, not to brown it.

sweating the leek

3. Add the leeks and cilantro to the semi-cooked spinach. Allow to cook slowly and soften for 15-20 minutes on low-medium heat. Taste along the way and add another 1/2 teaspoon salt if needed.

Believe me, the smell of spinach, leeks, cilantro and garlic simmering will get you excited and you'l thank yourself for trying this very humble and satisfying dish.

Enjoy with some beautifully cooked chalao. Eshtiya-ya khoob!

#spinach #vegetarian #afghan #afghani #healthy