Uttarakhand Kafuli Spinach Fenugreek Green Curry

Method

1. 1

   Boil the greens: Place spinach, fenugreek leaves, water and turmeric in a large pot. Bring to a boil. Cook on medium heat for 10 to 12 minutes until both are completely wilted and very soft.

2. 2

   Cool and blend: Remove from heat. Let cool for 5 minutes. Use a hand blender or transfer to a mixer. Blend until very smooth — a fine, dark green purée. Kafuli should have no fibrous texture remaining.

3. 3

   Add the flour for thickening: Return the blended greens to the pot. Add 3 tbsp rice flour. Whisk immediately until no lumps form. The flour will thicken the kafuli as it cooks.

4. 4

   Cook the flour in the purée: Heat the blended and flour-added purée on medium heat, stirring continuously for 8 to 10 minutes. The rice flour will cook through and the kafuli will thicken considerably to a dense, spreadable consistency. Add salt.

5. 5

   Check the consistency: Kafuli should be very thick — when you stir it, it should be as thick as a smooth hummus or thick porridge. It holds its shape on a plate. This thickness is characteristic and different from a flowing curry.

6. 6

   Make the garlic tempering: Heat 3 tbsp mustard oil in a small pan until smoking. Reduce to medium. Add sliced garlic — fry stirring for 30 to 45 seconds until golden and beginning to crisp. Add cumin seeds — they will crackle. Add dried red chilli and asafoetida. Stir 10 seconds.

7. 7

   Pour tempering into kafuli: Pour the entire hot garlic-mustard oil tempering into the thick kafuli. The oil will pool on the surface at first — stir gently to incorporate partially but leave some swirls of oil visible.

8. 8

   Add ghee: Add 1 tsp ghee on top.

9. 9

   Taste and adjust: The kafuli should be earthy, slightly bitter from the fenugreek, sharp from the mustard oil and garlic. Add more salt if needed.

10. 10

    Serve with mandua roti: Serve hot with mandua (finger millet) roti or wheat roti. A bowl of warm kafuli with roti is the complete Kumaoni meal.

11. 11

    Note: Kafuli is the most fundamental green preparation of the Kumaoni cooking tradition in Uttarakhand. The thick rice-flour-thickened green purée is entirely different from the thin spinach curries of the plains. Made year-round with whatever mountain greens are in season — in summer with spinach and fenugreek, in winter with mustard greens and bathua (pigweed). The garlic tempering in smoking mustard oil is the essential final step that transforms a simple boiled green into a deeply flavoured preparation.