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Archives for March 2020

Saag Murgh, an Indian Classic, Creamed Spinach & Chicken!

March 23, 2020 by Cherie Scott

Saag Murgh | Spinach Chicken 🐔

This luscious spiced infused creamed spinach dish originated in Northern 🇮🇳 Saag Paneer (Indian Whole Milk Cheese), Saag Gosht (Spinach Lamb) are other variations of the dish.

If you choose to eat chicken or lamb you should cut up boneless skinless chicken thighs or a boneless leg of lamb into 2”. (Vegetarians please substitute chunks of  paneer 😉)

Marinate these chunks in a bowl with turmeric, cardamom, cumin, coriander powder, garlic and ginger paste. Add thick Greek yogurt, salt and the juice of an entire lemon. This will tenderize the chicken or lamb. Let it sit and get happy in the fridge for at least two hours.

Meanwhile, blanch the baby spinach in hot water and then place it into an ice bath to chill out.

Using only premium Indian spices (you can order them online at SKORDO- an award-winning small Maine family business – roast them gently on a pan on medium heat, then grind in small batches and set aside.

Next sauté the roughly chopped the onions in ghee with the ground spices and then add the tomato paste for the perfect acid balance to the warm spices. Now add the spinach.

Simmer this spice-infused spinach mixture gently until you are almost giddy with happiness. The kitchen should smell divine. You may now use your blender and purée this spinach. Add in the cream (because it’s the right thing to do!!!)

Do not skip the cream!!!

If wouldn’t blame you if you wanted to stop here and bathe in this luscious creamed spinach.

Now with two knobs of ghee melted into a Dutch oven on medium heat, sauté the marinated chicken or lamb or paneer for 4 minutes.

Add in the purée spinach (saag) and stir well. Bring to a simmer and cover for twenty minutes.

Now chill a bottle of Gewurztraminer – it pairs perfectly with spicy Indian food.

Set the table, heat up some Stone-fired garlic naan and brush generously with melted ghee and sprinkle with cilantro.

This is when I’m reminded I’m an impatient human being with no self-control.

I tear off a chunk of Naan and dunk it right into the pot of luscious, rich and creamy saag Murgh!

 

Saag Murgh - An Indian Classic...Creamed Spinach & Chicken!
 
Print
Prep time
2 hours
Cook time
45 mins
Total time
2 hours 45 mins
 
Indian spiced-infused cream of spinach and marinated chicken
Author: Cherie Scott
Recipe type: Entree
Cuisine: Indian
Serves: 8
Ingredients
  • Saag Chicken
  • Indian spiced-infused cream of spinach and marinated chicken
  • Yields 6-8 servings
  • PART 1: To marinate the chicken
  • 2.5 pounds of boneless and skinless chicken thighs, cut into 2-inch pieces
  • 1.5 cups thick Greek yogurt
  • 2 teaspoons turmeric
  • 2 teaspoons of coriander powder
  • 2 teaspoons of cardamom powder
  • 2 teaspoons of cumin powder
  • 2 tablespoons ginger paste
  • 2 tablespoons garlic paste
  • 1 teaspoon of salt
  • Juice of 1 lemon
  • PART 2: To makes the Spinach puree (SAAG)
  • 20 ounces of fresh baby spinach
  • 8 tablespoons ghee
  • 2 teaspoons of cumin seeds
  • 3 bay leaves
  • 2 black cardamoms, use only seeds
  • 3 serrano chilis,
  • 2 onions, roughly chopped
  • 2 teaspoons Kashmiri (mild) chili powder
  • 2 tablespoons garam masala powder
  • 1 tube of tomato paste (no spices added, salt-free)
  • ¼ cup of heavy cream
  • Handful of dried crushed fenugreek leaves or fenugreek seeds
  • Salt to taste
Instructions
  1. Directions for Part 1:
  2. Marinate: Mix the yogurt, turmeric, cumin, cardamom, coriander powder, garlic and ginger pastes, salt and lemon juice together in a large glass bowl. Add the chicken pieces and coat with the marinade. Cover with plastic, refrigerate and let the chicken marinate overnight or at least 2 hours. Remove the marinated chicken from the refrigerator and let it reach room temperature for a full hour. This is an important step, do not skip it.
  3. Direction for Part 2:
  4. Toast & Grind Spices: In a frying pan, on medium heat, toast the bay leaves, cumin seeds, fenugreek seeds, coriander seeds, cardamom seeds, black cardamom seeds (no husks). Set aside the whole spice mixture and allow it to cool down. Now grind these whole spices together in a spice grinder until fine.
  5. Meanwhile, in a large Dutch oven, add the ghee on medium heat. Add the roughly chopped onions and sautee for 5 minutes until golden brown.
  6. Now add the green chilis, the spice powder mix, garam masala, Kashmiri chili powder and stir for a minute.
  7. Add the tomato paste stir well and allow it to cook on medium heat for another 5 minutes until the mixture separates from the oil in the pot.
  8. Now add the spinach mixture and stir well.
  9. Take your handheld blender and puree this mixture. Set it aside.
  10. In a fresh pot, add the ghee on medium heat. Add the marinated chicken and stir well. Cover the pot and cook until the chicken changes color, about 10 minutes. Now add the pureed spiced-infused spinach mixture. Stir well and cover to cook for another 10 minutes on low heat. Add salt to taste. Give it another good stir. Now gently add the heavy cream (the creamier the better) and let it all simmer for another 5 minutes on low.
3.5.3251

Filed Under: Uncategorized

ROB DUMAS: The Food Science Innovation Go-to Guy!

March 2, 2020 by Cherie Scott

Rob Dumas, U of Maine’s Food Science Innovation Coordinator and Manager of the Dr. Matthew Highlands Pilot Plant. Check out that pasta maker!

Have you ever had a fabulous food idea that you wanted to develop and bring to the marketplace, like an Impossible Red Hot Dog or Maine’s Mushroom Burger, but didn’t know where to get started? Look no further than Rob Dumas, University of Maine’s Food Science Innovation Coordinator and the Manager of the Dr. Matthew Highlands Pilot Plant, a state-of-the-art research facility that aims to elevate, diversify and innovate Maine food products alongside big and small Maine food producers. The Pilot Plant is decked out with top-notch food processing equipment, including a pasta maker, meat chopper, dehydrator, blast freezer, steam cooker, cheese making equipment and packaging equipment.

A few months ago, I was researching how to start a specialty food product in Maine. The first link that popped up led me to Dr. Beth Calder, Food Science Specialist for the University of Maine Cooperative Extension and School of Food & Agriculture. Dr. Calder has been an invaluable resource to me in launching my culinary collection, ‘Journey in a Jar’ – signature shelf-stable Indian sauces, spreads and marinades.

Dr. Beth Calder, Food Scientist, holding my first product: Journey in a Jar’s Buttery Masala simmer sauce, heading for testing at University of Maine’s product testing lab.

Dr. Calder suggested I attend a training at MOFGA( Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association) and that is where I first met Dumas who happened to be a presenter at the training. I was on the heels of launching Maine’s Bicentennial Food Podcast – Maine’s food story past, present and future. Intrigued by how Dumas’ role could shape Maine’s food landscape in the future, I invited him to share his thoughts and his vision on the podcast.

Dumas has the most fascinating food story, one that started in the southern state of Louisiana, and ended up in the northern state of Maine. He’s cooked in kitchens large, small and even presidential. From a submarine off the coast of Virginia, to the White House Navy Mess and even cooking for the Obama family while on the road. Yet, if you met him he would tell you he is facing his biggest challenge yet!

My head is already brimming with ideas I might want to develop alongside Dumas’ expertise and the top notch commercial equipment at the Dr. Matthew Highland’s Pilot Plant. It seems like a no-brainer to leverage the tremendous resources that the University of Maine’s School of Food & Ag have in place. Check them out here. There is a fee associated with the service and its based on the scope of the product being developed.

But first, be sure to tune into Rob’s insightful podcast to find out how a latchie kid from Slidell, Louisiana curated a deep understanding of food… one that greatly influences his gig as Maine’s food innovation go-to-guy!

Rob Dumas and Dr. Beth Calder in The Dr. Matthew Highlands Pilot Plant, University of Maine, Orono.

Filed Under: Podcast

About Me

Hi, I'm Cherie Scott. Welcome to Mumbai to Maine where I reconnect with my cultural roots through family recipes and nostalgic anecdotes. I hope this blog inspires you to dig deep and share your culinary connections with me so we can journey together. I would love to hear from you.

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