Fall Cooking Demo: Baluchi's Park Slope

Wow, 10/10/10 was quite a beautiful day. The temperature was just perfect for playing in the park, shopping at a farmers' market, listening to some music or even watching an open-air cooking demo.

Luckily, all of those activities were taking place along Fifth Avenue yesterday, between 3rd and 5th Streets. The gang from Balchis Park Slope drew quite a lot of attention as they demonstrated how to cook a very fragrant dish that they like to call "Home Away from Home Fresh Spinach (Saag) and Mushrooms (photos above). In case you missed it, we have provided you with the recipe, below:
----
Serves 4-6


2 Large bunches of fresh spinach, washed, dried and chopped
2 Cups mixed mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
2 medium onions, chopped
4 Tablespoons olive oil or vegetable oil
1 Tablespoon whole cumin seeds
3 dried chilies
1/2 Teaspoon turmeric
1/2 Teaspoon garam masala
Salt to taste
Butter to taste
Fresh coriander for garnish

Pour oil into wide pan set over med/high heat. Add cumin seeds, chilies, turmeric and garam masala. When chilies darken, add onions and stir-fry for 6-7 minutes or until onions turn reddish in color. Add spinach, mushrooms and salt. Cook and stir over medium heat until liquid disappears (about 15 minutes). Cover and simmer over very low heat for 5 more minutes. Finish with cream and butter and remove chilies before serving. Garnish with fresh coriander.
----
We didn't get a chance to post these last week, but here are some photos from October 3rd's cooking demo with the chefs of Belleville.