Amaranth Leaves/Note Saag
Tart with Coconut, Almonds n Parmesan
This
dish existed in my head long before it came into being finally this June and it
tasted better than what I imagined it to be for all the good reasons in life. I
remember the moment the tart formed in my head, the inspiration was a dry-fry
saag preparation by Mom, Amaranth leaves
known as ‘Note Saag’ fried with
onion n green chilies in pungent mustard oil and that tastes simply gorgeous,
the combination of that saag n white rice makes up happy moments of eating at
home. Now exactly at that point of time I decided to extend that love to a
tart, I wanted to translate all that beautiful flavor of Note Saag into the
tart. This is how she is born.
Amaranth is a whole family of perennial plants, some of the
plants are used as leafy vegetables, some cultivated for cereals while some as
decorating plants. So when ill be referring to ‘Note Saag’ it will specify one particular
species of the plant family that we use in India for saag preparations, more
specifically in the eastern part of India. The pictures will guide you to
identify the one I used.
Its monsoon in India now, it rains almost once in a day for an
hour roughly, the air becomes saturated with moisture n heavy until the wind
blows n it feels fantastic! After a period of tremendous summer as the monsoon
comes, it touches the soil n inspires, the soil soon comes up with fresh leafy
greens. So right now the amaranth leaves/note saag is that fresh leafy green
available in the local market, a gift of the monsoon. The note saag is prepared
in many different ways across the home kitchens, some are dry-fried with
minimum spices to lift up their flavor while some are combined with a paste of
poppy seeds or other vegetables to prepare a medley of vegetables
often known as ‘Chorchori’, while some are combined with fresh shrimps n sautéed
together.
In this creation I combined the flavor of the note saag with
fresh coconut, the parmesan, almonds together. The crispy outer layer of the
tart crumbles as we bite into it n mingles with the soft deep flavor of the
saag, the parmesan, the coconut-it almost becomes like a song.
When I first bite into the tart while it was still hot
simply because I just couldn’t wait anymore, it made me emotional, in the next
day I felt the same energy as I took my bite into the tart. So I had to share
this recipe with you, so you can make it n feel that.
So now I think we should go to the recipe.
For The Recipe: We
will need
For
The Saag Preparation
Note
Saag/ Amaranth leaves n tender stems- about 500 gm, washed, chopped into 1 inch
pieces
Red
onion- 1big or 2 medium, halved n sliced
Fresh
coconut – 2 tbsp, cut into strips then chopped into little pieces
Green
chilies- 2, sliced along the length but still in 1 piece/partly sliced
Mustard
oil- 4-5 tbsp
Sugar-
½ tsp
Salt
Pink
rock salt – a pinch
Red
chili powder – a pinch
For
the Short crust Pastry
Plain
flour- 250 gm
Butter-
50 gm at room temp.
Olive
oil/vegetable oil-3 tbsp (I used onion flavored vegetable oil)
Water-3
tbsp approximately
Salt
– a pinch
For
the Filling
The
prepared saag
Egg
yolks- 2
Thick
cream- 150 ml
Parmesan
cheese- 100 gm (you can use Gruyere cheese, its cool)
Freshly
ground black pepper
Fresh
coconut – 2 tbsp, cut into strips then chopped into little pieces
Almonds-
50 gm, sliced along the length
Pre-heat oven to 160 Celsius/325 Fahrenheit
1. Begin by preparing the pastry,
for that in a flat vessel mix the flour with salt, then drop the oil n the
butter n with a blunt knife cut the fat into the flour until it resembles breadcrumbs, you can use your hand too, just
rub the flour with the butter n oil between your fingertips, always work with a
light hand, when the fat is well distributed n resembles coarse breadcrumbs add
the water one tablespoon at a time and incorporating it with the knife into the
mixture, then add one more n do the same. After 3 tbsp of water the dough should
leave the bowl fairly clearly and should come together, try to make it come
together with your hands, if this doesn’t happen nothing to worry, add one more
tablespoon of water and try to do the same, if not add some more drops of water
and try. Just as the dough comes together tip it on a wooden board and press
down on the dough with your hands to make the whole thing come together, this
is not kneading but bringing the dough together. With you both hands press on
the dough and make it come together, then shape it into a flat round, cover in
plastic wrap and put it in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
2. In a frying pan heat the mustard
oil on a high flame, when the oil is hot reduce the flame to medium, add a
pinch of sugar, let the sugar melt n go brown then add the onion n green chili,
toss them around for about 2 minutes, reduce the flame to low n give them 2
more minutes, then add the coconut pieces and stir them, give them 2 minutes,
then add the washed n chopped amaranth leaves, put the flame on high n mix
everything well, stir fry them for 5 minutes on high heat, they will start to
get a little brown, keep stirring, then reduce the flame to minimum n give 10
minutes like this, stirring often so they don’t burn, if the pan gets very dry
at the end of the time add a splash of water. After that add the sugar n chili
powder, mix well, then add pink rock salt, salt n taste. If there are brown
bits sticking to the pan, sprinkle little water and incorporate all of that.
Take them out of a plate and let them cool.
3. Roll out the pastry thinly between
two cling films n line a tart tin, prick the base with a fork and bake blind in
a moderate oven which is 160 Celsius/325 Fahrenheit for 15 minutes. It should not brown. Now in a
bowl mix 2 egg yolks, the thick cream, the grated parmesan with a pinch of salt
and freshly ground black pepper until well mixed. You can reduce the amount of
parmesan if you wish; instead of 100gm you can use 70 gm.
4. Take the pastry out of the oven,
arrange the note saag in the pastry case until the base is well covered, then
pour the cream mixture over them. Sprinkle with the chopped almonds and the
coconut pieces, then back in the oven for 20-25 minutes until the top slightly
starts to get color, for this often at the last 3 minutes I put the top grill
on. Take it out of the oven and leave it for 5 minutes then place it carefully
on a glass and let the tart tin drop down.
Here you are standing in front of the warm tart with a knife
in your hands and anticipation in your heart. Go on, make one slice and bite
into it. It is as good slightly warm or hot or room temperature. Bon Appétit.
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