Cagaar (Spinach Stew)

Name: Cagaar (Spinach Stew)
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 40 min
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients: 2 tablespoons olive oil; 1 large white onion, diced; 8 garlic cloves, minced; 5 medium tomatoes, diced; 1 (16-ounce) bag frozen cut spinach; 1 large handful cilantro leaves, roughly chopped; 2 tablespoons xawaash (see Tip); 1 1/2 tablespoons tomato paste; 1 large jalapeño, halved; 1 ¾ teaspoons fine sea salt

By Ifrah F. Ahmed

Published April 10, 2024

Cagaar (Spinach Stew) — David Malosh for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.

Total Time: 40 minutes
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Rating: 4(290)
Comments: Read comments

Reflecting its main ingredient, cagaar (pronounced “ag-aar”) is both the Somali translation for the color green and a spinach stew. While spinach is the heart of this dish, other vegetables are often included such as okra, carrots, zucchini, or cabbage, depending on one’s preference. This dish almost always utilizes tomatoes as the base, weaving in warm xawaash spices and sparks of mild heat from the jalapeños. This flavorful vegan dish works well over soor (grits), white rice, or alongside suqaar and muufo (corn flatbread).

or to save this recipe.
Subscriber benefit: give recipes to anyone
As a subscriber, you have 10 gift recipes to give each month. Anyone can view them - even nonsubscribers. Learn more.
Subscribe
Share
Print Options
Include recipe photo

Ingredients

Yield:4 servings

2tablespoons olive oil
1large white onion, diced
8garlic cloves, minced
5medium tomatoes, diced
1(16-ounce) bag frozen cut spinach
1large handful cilantro leaves, roughly chopped
2tablespoons xawaash (see Tip)
1½tablespoons tomato paste
1large jalapeño, halved
1¾ teaspoons fine sea salt

Ingredient Substitution Guide

Opt out or contact us anytime. See our Privacy Policy.

Preparation

Step 1
In a medium pot over medium heat, heat up 2 tablespoons of oil until the oil is shimmering, about 1 minute. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 5 to 6 minutes.
Step 2
When the onion has softened, stir in the garlic. After 1 minute, turn the heat to medium-high, mix in the diced tomatoes and cover. Cook until the tomatoes have broken down completely, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes.
Step 3
When the tomatoes have disintegrated into a chunky sauce, add in the spinach, cilantro, xawaash, tomato paste, jalapeño, salt and 1 ½ cups of water. Lower heat to medium, cover, and cook the cagaar for 18 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Discard the jalapeño, if you’d like, before serving. (Cagaar can last for 3 to 4 days, covered and refrigerated.)

Tip

To prepare your own xawaash blend, add 4 teaspoons ground cumin, 1 teaspoon ground coriander, ½ teaspoon ground black pepper, ⅛ teaspoon ground cloves, ⅛ teaspoon ground cinnamon and ⅛ teaspoon ground cardamom to a small nonstick pan. Toast over low heat, stirring continuously, for 1 minute or until the spice mix becomes fragrant, then stir in ½ teaspoon ground turmeric. Makes 2 tablespoons.

Ratings

4 out of 5

290 user ratings

Have you cooked this?

Private Notes

Leave a Private Comment on this recipe and see it here.

Comments

Stephy1 year ago

A few things I did that made it really pop: 1) I used veggie stock rather than water 2) I added a can of chickpeas for protein 3) I added a spoonful of ghee at the end for depth (makes it vegetarian rather than vegan) 4) I immersion blended roughly half of it

Alexa Weibel1 year ago

This is one of the best recipes I've made in a long time: It's bright with jalapeño and cilantro; it's fresh; and it has enormous depth from the xawaash, despite the quick cook time. I also love that it uses mostly pantry ingredients. I'll be making this one again and again!

John johnson1 year ago

why do you need to cook the spinach for another 20 minutes? I cook them until they are just cooked, not disintegrated, so as to keep as much as the nutritional content as possible.

Rachel1 week ago

Used mushroom broth instead of water, small can diced tomatoes plus a few cherry tomatoes that needed to be used up, added a zucchini, some chopped fresh spinach, a can of chickpeas, and at the end some lemon juice. Made it a day ahead as suggested. It was a very good, and easy vegan meal with pearl couscous and whole-grain bread. Will make again.

Emma2 months ago

This was delicious. I made it as written, a rarity! The spices and garlic made it sing and added a bit of lemon juice at the end. The frozen spinach was a genius hack that I will use again.

Emily6 months ago

I followed the recipe exactly and it was awesome. I love the warm spices (I had everything at home already so I made my own - easy!) I will use it for a long time for premade healthy winter weekday lunches. I did throw a can of chickpeas in there when you add the last batch of ingredients. Once simmered for about 20 minutes they’re so tender and delicious. It just really fed my soul, this one.

Private comments are only visible to you.