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Got a whole load of collard greens from the CSA this week. I thought about making them southern style (simmering a long time and subbing liquid smoke instead of a big nasty ham hock) but then I figured why not try something new. I knew that collards are used quite frequently in Ethiopia (ye’abesha gomen) and India (haak) so I turned to World Vegetarian by Madhur Jaffrey. I didn’t have the chilies on hand for making haak so I decided on karam ka saag. I really enjoy her cookbooks because they always have a little cultural information along with the recipe. This dish is made by the Muslims of Kashmir, it’s slightly spicy and has that awesome slow cooked green flavor.

Karam Ka Saag (Collard Greens with Browned Onions)

roughly 1.5-2 lbs. collard greens
a few tablespoons olive or mustard oil
2 medium onions sliced into thin half-rings
3 garlic cloved, peeled and diced
1-inch piece of ginger, peeled and minced finely
1 canned plum tomato, finely chopped
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon cayenne

Remove the leaves from the stalks and central rib. You can use scissors or a knife for this but what I do is just grip the cut end of the stalk in my left hand and strip the leaf off with my right. Don’t worry, collards are tough and they can take it. Then slice them into fine ribbons. I sort of did a little chiffonade but you can chop them however or even tear them into small pieces. The key is to get smaller pieces so they will cook all the way through.

Put the oil in a huge pot over medium-high heat. When it’s hot, put in the onions and cook til a medium brown color, stirring every so often. Add garlic and ginger and stir about a minute. Add the tomato and cook another minute. Add greens, 2 cups of water, salt and cayenne. Mix up and bring to a boil.

Now cover, turn the heat to low and simmer for about an hour, or as long as you need to until the greens are really really tender. You shouldn’t have much liquid left once they are done cooking. If you do, just take the lid off and bring it back up to a boil until it evaporates, stirring fairly often.

I served mine with white rice and miso curry roasted potatoes from Vive Le Vegan, which is another really simple dish with complex flavors. If you don’t cook with miso you need to get on that immediately. Check your local asian market. My favorite is the milder light brown miso but it comes in many different flavors so there’s something for everyone.

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