Spinach in clove-infused yogurt sauce

Name: Spinach in clove-infused yogurt sauce
Yield: Serves 4
Cuisine: India
Ingredients: 2.5 cm/1 in piece cinnamon stick; 5 cardamom pods, bruised; 1 large onion, finely sliced; 4 cloves garlic, crushed to a pulp; 200 g/7 oz/scant 1 cup Greek (US strained plain) yogurt; 5 ml/1 tsp gram flour (besan); 400 g/14 oz spinach, fresh or frozen (thawed if frozen); 45 ml/3 tbsp sunflower oil or light olive oil; 2 fresh red chillies, chopped (deseeded if preferred); 10 ml/2 tsp ghee or unsalted butter; 3.75 ml/¾ tsp salt, or to taste; 10 ml/2 tsp fresh root ginger, finely grated; Plain Boiled Rice and a lentil dish, to serve; 5 whole cloves

Preparation info

Serves
4

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

The Complete Indian Regional Cookbook

By Mridula Baljekar

Published 2017

About

The strong flavour of spinach is perfectly matched by the pungent sweetness of cloves in this unusual dish, Palak-dahi Ki Kari, which can be served hot or at room temperature. The yogurt should be thick-set, preferably Greek, so it doesn’t split when heated.

Ingredients

400 g/14 oz spinach, fresh or frozen (thawed if frozen)
200

Asia
India
Central India
Starter
Main course
Gluten-free
Vegetarian

Method

Put the spinach in a large heatproof bowl, pour over boiling water and stir until the leaves have wilted.
Drain the spinach and rinse in cold water, then squeeze out as much water as possible. If you are using thawed frozen spinach, simp