Sunday Supper: Potato and Spinach Indian Stew

Potato and spinach Indian stew with toasted Naan.

For today's offering, we turn once again to the April issue of Vegetarian Times (speaking of which, where in the hell is the May issue?) for a recipe that absolutely begged my attention: Yukon Gold and Baby Spinach Masala.
"Fun" fact about Florida (unrelated to driving): It is really hard to find Indian cuisine in this region. There are more Thai-Sushi (score!) and Greek (score again!) eateries than I've seen in my life, but only a very small handful of Indian restaurants. By handful, I mean one (1). I think there are more Indian restaurants in Grand Rapids, Michigan, than in the greater Miami area. What's a girl who's craving freshly baked Naan and savory stews to do? Make it herself.

Indian potato stew (adapted from a V.T. recipe)
Ingredients:
-1 lb. Yukon Gold potatoes, cut into 1/2 cubes (four cups)
-2 Tbs. canola oil
-1 large white onion, diced
-2 garlic cloves, minced
-2 Tbs. fresh ginger, minced
-1 tsp. ground coriander
-1/2 tsp. ground cumin
-1/2 tsp. turmeric
-1 can of coconut milk (13.5 oz)
-1 six-ounce bag of fresh spinach, de-stemmed
-1 Tbs. lime juice

Directions:
-Steam potatoes above simmering water for 15-20 minutes, or just until tender. The directions say to use a steamer basket*, so I used my (metal) colander set atop a pot of boiling water. Seemed to work just fine.
-Heat oil in a large skillet (I used a large frying pan and cursed myself for being too lazy to have still not seasoned my wok) over medium heat. Add onion and saute 10 minutes. Add garlic and ginger and saute until fragrant. Stir in coriander, cumin and turmeric. Add potatoes and saute 1-2 minutes. Add coconut milk (NOTE: Shake the can before you open it!) and 1/4 cup water. Bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer 10 minutes, or until sauce thickens.
-Add spinach and 1/4 cup water and cook until spinach is wilted. Stir in lime juice and serve atop rice.

Tips:
*A minor complaint about Vegetarian Times, a publication I love dearly. The recipes are not the most budget-friendly. Often, they call for too many (exotic) ingredients and kitchen contraptions not found in the average home. I often find myself passing over V.T. recipes because they have more than 15 ingredients and/or require cheesecloth or some other random thing that costs $5-$20. The good news; most of them easily can be adapted to a thrifty budget and still taste fairly hoity-toity.
The original recipe called for a jalapeno chile pepper (Nah, thanks). As the recipe name would suggest, it also called for garam masala. But seeing as South Florida does not like Indian food, I could not find the garam masala. After 10 minutes in the spice aisle at Publix (on top of 40 minutes spent in the rest of the store), I decided that garam masala was stupid and unnecessary. On a related note, if anyone from the north wants to mail some garam masala to my home, I would be most appreciative.
The other spices seemed to provide sufficient flavor. Oh, and turmeric is really yellow and will stain white countertops, FYI. The recipe also calls for fresh cilantro, which I like, but Adam hates. It's an acquired taste, so if someone in your dinner party loathes it, go ahead and leave it out. The dish won't suffer terribly.
Serve with jasmine rice and toasted Naan (prepared in a lightly greased pan on the stovetop). There will be leftovers for days - and days.