SPINACH POWER: Pleasuring Your Inner Popeye

     Women are attracted to power and comfort, 'they' say. I myself believe this dual gravitation to be human nature. It is in our reddest blood to gravitate toward these two compelling entities. It courses through our veins, urging us to seek it, meet up with it....

          EAT it?

          A tantalizing concept, to be sure. Hence, my own 'gravitation' towards Saffron Hut's recent post on a spinach-dal dish called molagootal (It sounds seductive when said slowly. Try it.). Key words she used: 'power', 'comfort', 'running in their veins'....

          Ah me. I wanted that.

          And so it was that Saffron Hut's recipe ascended to the top of the NC agenda...

          P.S. If you're into saag or palak paneer, this one's for you -- especially if you want to do away with the heavy cream or cheese...

RECIPE B-R-E-A-K-D-O-W-N

First batter up: Trina. Cause she loves loves loves spinach. (You should see her attack spinach-artichoke dip. Holy man.)

Time to send Trina to a happy, magical place, as the recipe called for tur dal (toor dal, tuvar dal, etc.). "Go into my closet, my child. Look for a flat yellow lentil-type. Starts with a 't'. Fare thee well."

She returned with a bag of split mung beans (which are in fact yellow). Apparently I was out of tur dal. So I figured what the hell. "Just use those then."

Like tur dal, split mung dal requires no soaking and cooks up fast-- like, twenty minutes. But I would imagine any cooked lentil would be Ok to use here.... you just need 3/4 cup of them cooked.

*     *     *

"She says use 'some' curry leaves," noted Trina. "How many is 'some'?"

"'Some' means... some," said I. "No, seriously. Indian recipes often don't say exactly how many leaves. They'll say a sprig or a bunch. Or a few. Or--some."

"So how many?"

I shrugged. "Go with eight."

I should have told Trina to use 6 3/8 curry leaves... just to mess with her mind. Actually, she probably wouldn't have minded such an anal measurement. It's the 'whatever-factor' that she can't stand.

Our final version, at any rate, had ten curry leaves. Cause I felt like it.

*     *     *

"What is jeera?"

Jeera is zeera. Known to the English-speaking world as:

"Cumin," I said. "Cumin."

*     *     *

"Don't fret, Trina. We'll knock off most of the chillies for you."

I would have to wait for the full-throttle molagootal experience when it was Trobee's turn to have a go at the recipe.

Trina used a fraction of the requested chillies, resulting in a mild niceness that suited her fine.

Trobee, however, used the same number of dried chillies as Saffron Hut's original recipe. Her finished product had a hot salsa level of heat, pumping out the razzle-dazzle but remaining flavorful. And that suited her.

*     *     *

There's a bunch of ways to spell or say most Indian food ingredients. As you may know.

Trina was jotting down notes for Trobee, who would be cooking the next day. "So... should I say 'mung dal' or 'moong dal' or spell it like the package, 'moongdall'..."

I had to smile. "You know what's cute about you? You're so precise in every thing you do. It's great. Love it."

"So how should I say it?"

I was tempted to say 'whatever'...

*     *     *

"It's awfully thick," said Trina. "But look at the picture. Guess it's supposed to be this way." She puzzled about eating it with rice, as traditionally eaten.

"Just forget the rice then," I said. Tradition should inspire, not confine. I believe.

I took a bite. And another. "You know, I like this. I really like this. This is something you could make a bunch of, keep in your fridge, and add to so many things. Think omelets, crackers, pizza, pasta, chips, toast..."

"Yeah! Toast!"

Hm. Ok. I was more excited about the chips. But hey, whatever floats Trina's (pink) boat.

*     *     *

Trina and I agreed: the spinach concoction was majestic in its spicing, yet would be jacked up still further with some onion-garlic mojo. Which Trobee included in future molagootal manifestations.

"Oh yeah," said I when I tasted the finalized product. "Yeah, yeah. I knew it, I knew it, I knew it!"

I then told Trobee what we were going to do with it.

"Ooh!" she said. "Yum!"

"Well we'll try it and see."

BELOW: Spinach Molagootal Quesadillas! Trobee's version: (the right half) shredded cheese, salsa, chicken, jalapenos, Spinach Molagootal. Courtney's version: (the left half) chopped artichoke (from a can) feta cheese, mushrooms, Spinach Molagootal.

BELOW: Loaded Spinach Molagootal Nachos!

photos by Trobee

---

Spinach Molagootal

Says Saffron Hut in her post:

"This is a dish from the Palakaad region and is typically eaten with rice. The traditional accompaniment is "Thogayal" (a type of chutney) or Pulikaachal (tamarind chutney). Keerai Molagootal is similar to a spinach dal, but has a few additional ingredients that add a layer of complexity to the taste.

For my husband and brother-in-law, this is the ultimate comfort food. My SIL often jokes that they have 'molagootal' running in their veins rather than blood!! that is the power of this dish..."

• ¼ cup tur dal or split mung dal-- rinsed
• 4 cups spinach
• 1/2 tsp oil, then 1/2 tsp later
• 3 green onions, chopped (our addition)
• 4 garlic cloves, chopped (our addition)
• ¼ cup coconut, fresh or dried (we used powder)
• Salt

Masala 1:

• 2 Tb urad dal
• 3 dried red chilies (Trina uses 2 and de-seeds them, Trobee uses 5 with the seeds)
• 1 tsp cumin seeds

Masala 2:

• 1 tsp black mustard seeds
• 2 dried red chilies, de-seeded
• 10 curry leaves

1. Cook the tur or mung dal: Boil it in 3/4 cup water, then cover and simmer for about 20 minutes, or until it is tender. If you want, you can cook up more to store in your fridge. Just boil the dal in three times the water.
2. Meanwhile, boil the spinach in about 2 Tb water until it is wilted. Blenderize to a coarse puree, then set aside.
3. In a medium skillet, heat ½ tsp oil until it is sizzle-hot. Add Masala 1. When the urad dal turns golden brown, add the onions and garlic. Sauté until the garlic is golden-brown.
4. Now grind the pan's contents with the coconut into a paste with your coffee grinder. Set aside.
5. Mix the paste, spinach and the cooked dal in the skillet and bring to a boil, adding a little water if needed.
6. In a small skillet, heat ½ tsp oil until it is sizzle-hot. Add Masala 2. When the black mustard seeds quit popping, dump the pan contents into the spinach mixture. Add salt to taste and heat through. Done.

Click here to see Saffron Huts original recipe.

UPDATE: Trina politely informed me today that the 'chips idea' was in fact hers, and she never recalls having mentioned the toast.

"The nachos were your idea? Oh honey, I'm so proud of you!" is what I told her.

Guess it's a good thing that I never actually became a reporter.

UPDATE 2: Note to Autumn, the NC's token anti-coconut chick (apparently she's allergic to the stuff. Yeah sure, Autumn, we believe ya): Trina and I cooked up Spinach Moolagootal substituting ground almonds for the coconut. Turned out great! You could also use white poppy seeds -- you would roast and grind them with Masala 1. Ah me-the possibilities!

UPDATE 3: Saffron Hut responds!

"...BTW, the substitution of tur dal with moong dal is quite common in molagootals and kootus (there's another word that sounds better when said s-l-o-w-l-y)

And you are right about tradition not  being inspiring vs. confining. The best results come from experimentation right?

Oh dear, why do I feel like that is fodder for another "naughty" post!!!

- cheers!

Saffron