just the recipe: hing swiss chard subzi
have the words "hing" and "swiss" ever appeared together before in the history of the written word?
stuff enough oil to cover the bottom of the pan. glug glug let's go! 1tsp cumin seeds 0.5tsp hing 2 scallions 1 tomato about the size of an egg 1tsp turmeric 1tsp red chili powder of some kind, like mild smoked hungarian paprika 1 bunch of swiss or red or rainbow or whatever chard salt tools cutting board knife big pan. I used my cast iron for this spatula prep cut the scallions "on the bias" which is a fancy way of saying diagonally. google it if you're not sure what this means. cut them into pieces about half as long as your pinkie chop the tomatoes roughly into pieces the size of your thumb cut off the stems of the chard. chop them separately on the bias into pieces the size of your pinkie. chop the leaves roughly into shreds about half the size of your palm. what do 1. Heat oil until shimmering. Test with a couple cumin seeds. 2. Add cumin seeds and stir them around. Wait until they're ready: they'll swell, sizzle, smell and get darker in color. 3. Add the hing and stir it around. Wait 10-15s. 4. Dump in the scallions. Stir and let em get a lil soft. 5. Dump in the tomatoes, turmeric and red chili powder. Stir and use your spatula to break up the tomatoes. Add some salt at this point, maybe 1/2tsp, to help get the tomato juices out. 6. Wait until tomato juices dry out a little and you see little bubbles of oil sizzle at the edge of the mass of the veg, about 5-8min, stirring every so often. The whole thing will begin to come together into one unified Masala mass and darken in color. 7. Stir in the chopped chard stems. Cook until they're a bit soft. 8. Stir in the chard leaves. Do not cook too long! Do not overcook! Watch carefully and turn the heat off sooner rather than later. Just like eggs, if it's cooked in the pan, it'll be overcooked on the plate. why this works Everything before the chard -- spices, scallions and tomato -- is to make a flavorful base, the Masala. So you can think of this recipe as two steps: create a masala, then cook the main ingredient (the chard) in the masala until it has the right texture. The chard stems are cooked before the leaves because they're tougher and need a little more time to cook. Overcooked leaves are much less appetizing so it's important to add them last once everything else is nearly done. The hing is doing a lot of the work in providing umami and complex flavors. The scallions are aromatics; they provide flavor and texture. The tomato produces a lovely red sauce and is also responsible for acidity. Turmeric is for color and a very subtle warm flavor. Red chili powder is for color, heat and flavor. variations Skip the scallions if you like. The hing and cumin are heavy-hitters on their own. Top with chopped cilantro for herby freshness. Top with chopped roasted peanuts for roasty crunchiness. Or with literally any other nut, ideally roasted and salted. Serve with a dollop of yogurt. It mixes well with the tomato-y sauce to create a creamier red sauce. Beat some yogurt in a bowl to where it has a smooth consistency, and then stir it in before adding the chard. This will make the sauce creamier and add acidity and umami. You can also use sour cream or cream instead; they result in better texture but, in my opinion, worse flavor. Crème fraîche is best but I don't have it in my fridge as often as I have greek yogurt.
i need to take your cooking class!