Bathing Rama, Meet Bathing Sita

"Tradition is innovation that succeeds." Food historian John T. Edge (this past week on NPR's The Splendid Table)

I've been thinking about conservatism vs. liberalism a lot the past few days, as it relates to food – specifically, food in America. My Indian mother-in-law has mentioned to me how it confounds her that we Americans "will eat anything." What she means is, we'll go out for sushi, or Thai, or Ethiopian or whatever, and not only not bat an eyelash, but truly enjoy it. My mother-in-law is different. She'll eat Italian, or Mexican (but prefers to avoid garlic and onions, as well as cheese, which in addition to the strict no meat requirement, makes it difficult), but really, when it comes down to it, likes only one thing: traditional, South Indian fare. No innovations, no funny business. Just the real deal. When I think about it, it makes sense. This is an ancient food tradition, and there's a reason it's survived for so long: It works, meaning it keeps people healthy, and it tastes really good.

With that strong tradition behind her, my mother-in-law tends to look on any culinary innovation suspiciously. One time I took a risk and served her a decidedly non-traditional collard green raita (yogurt sauce to be mixed with rice). She put a polite amount on her plate, and gingerly tasted. I tried to inconspicuously watch her face. What I got was, "This isn't terrible. I can eat this." I considered it a victory, especially when the next day she came up with the amazing collard green bhaji idea, and told me she would start buying collard greens when she saw them in the store.

But then, there's me. I'm not Indian, but rather, American. For me, anything goes. Give me sushi, linguine, tacos, dim sum, potato curry, sauerkraut, tabbouleh, fried chicken, phad thai, tuna casserole, injera, haggis, whatever. It all goes into the stomach, and into the mental file as well. I'm not operating on a sense of tradition (though I've gotten pretty good at mimicking, when it comes to South Indian food); I'm really more of an amalgamator. In goes a dizzying array of food information, and out comes something new. It doesn't always work, but sometimes it does.

All of this leads me to this week's recipe, which I call Bathing Sita. It's an Indianized version of the Thai Bathing Rama (spinach in peanut sauce). My Indian version calls for spinach in a cashew sauce. This is all poetically appropriate, because the Thai epic of Rama and Sita (the Ramakien) comes from the Indian Ramayana, and now with my help, India is borrowing Sita back from Thailand for the purpose of this dish. And just like Rama needs Sita, Bathing Rama needs Bathing Sita. So here she is! (Maybe someone can do a master's thesis on this.)

The Bathing Sita sauce reminds me of the gingery tomato cream sauce from the North Indian dish malai kofta, but is made with cashews instead of cream. I served it with broiled tofu wedges basted with salt, oil and lime juice, which reminded me of paneer (Indian cheese). So you get the creamy, spicy North Indian goodness, and you can lay off the dairy a little.

Bathing Sita (Spinach in Cashew Sauce)
One small onion, roughly chopped
Two cloves garlic, roughly chopped
1½-inch piece of ginger, roughly chopped
1½ cups raw cashews
One large tomato, roughly chopped
Water
A few glugs of canola oil
2 teaspoons brown mustard seeds
1 Thai green chili, sliced in half lengthwise
1 tablespoon ground cumin
2 teaspoons ground coriander (seeds)
½ teaspoon turmeric
A little chili powder or cayenne pepper, to taste
Salt
½ teaspoon garam masala
Juice of half a lime
1 tablespoon butter (optional)
One bunch of spinach, washed, with stems removed

In a food processor or blender, puree the onion, garlic, and ginger. Set aside.

Next, puree the cashews and tomato with enough water to make a smooth paste. Set aside.

Pour a few glugs of canola oil into a saute pan, and heat the mustard seeds and green chile halves until the mustard seeds turn grey and start sputtering and popping. Add the onion puree, cumin, coriander, turmeric, chili powder, and some salt, and cook on medium heat until the onion mixture is soft and slightly browned and no longer has a raw smell.

Remove the green chili halves, then add the cashew paste and more salt, and more water if necessary, to make a sauce the consistency of heavy cream. Simmer for a few minutes, then add the garam masala, lime juice, and butter (if using).

Add the spinach and stir until the spinach is wilted. Cover the pan and simmer gently a minute or two until the spinach is tender. Be careful not to overcook it.

Serve over brown rice. Broiled tofu goes nicely with this.