Saag (Indian Spinach)

This is one of my favorites at the Indian Restaurant. I change the ingredients a little, depending on what I have on hand, but its is a tasty way to get more vegetables. I will write the original recipe and put my changes in parenthesis next to it. This recipe if from Madhur Jaffrey's World Vegetarian. The original rceipe includes homemade Indian Cheese, I don't use that. This recipe is great over brown rice with chicken.

1 3/4 lbs fresh spinach, trimmed, washed and coarsely chopped
2 tbsp dried fenugreek leaves (I just used a little ground fenugreek, it has a very strong flavor, maybe 1/2 tsp)
1 fresh hot green chile, coarsely chopped (or half a small can of chopped green chilies)
1 tsp cornmeal
3 tbsp peanut or canola oil (I use coconut oil and just 1/2 tbsp)
1/4c finely chopped onion
1-inch piece of ginger root, peeled and finely grated to a pulp (I buy pre-mashed ginger in a jar, use 1 tbsp)
1c finely chopped tomatoes (I use canned most of the time)
1 1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 to 2 tsp roasted cumin seeds (I use ground cumin, 1 1/2 tsp)
1/4 tsp cayenne powder
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
Indian cheese (look up a recipe, lol)

bring 1c water to a boil in a large pan, ad the spinach, fenugreek and green chile. Cover the pan and cook gently 25 minutes. Now mash the spinach with a wooden masher or potato masher until you have a coarse puree. Blend in the cornmeal and cook gently for another 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

In a separate frying pan, heat the oil over med-high heat. When hot, add the onion and stir and fry until it begins to brown. add the ginger and stir once or twice, then ad the tomatoes and cook for 10 minutes over low-med heat until the color of tomatoes intensifies. Stir the tomato mixture into the spinach mixture, then add the salt, roasted cumin, cayenne and cinnamon and stir to mix. Cook gently for five minutes. Serve hot.