In North India, greens are often cooked simply, with ginger, garlic, and chili powder or green chilies. Indians love eating greens at all meals. They go well with meats. If you are having a simple Indian meal of dal and rice, all you need to add is a green and a relish, perhaps with yogurt in it.

　　

Ingredients

serves 4

　　1 1/2 pounds Swiss chard, well washed

　　3 tablespoons olive or canola oil

　　1 clove garlic, cut into long slivers

　　1 teaspoon slivered peeled fresh ginger

　　1/2 teaspoon salt

　　1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

　　

Step 1

Hold several chard leaves together and, starting at the stem end, cut the stems and leaves crossways, at 1/4-inch intervals.

　　

Step 2

Pour the oil into a large pot and place on medium-high heat. When hot, put in the garlic and ginger. Stir a few times. Put in all the chard, with some of the washing water still clinging to the leaves. Cover. As soon as the leaves have wilted, a matter of a few minutes, add the salt and cayenne. Stir to mix. Cover again and turn heat to low. Cook 5 minutes or until chard is just done.

　　Excerpted from At Home with Madhur Jaffrey: Simple, Delectable Dishes from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka by Madhur Jaffrey. Copyright © 2010 by Random House. Excerpted by permission of Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Random House LLC. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.Buy the full book from Amazon.