Step 1

Place the collard greens in boiling hot water. Let the collards cook eight minutes, then place them in a strainer to drain out all the water. Rinse the collard greens in cool, running water. Set aside.

Step 2

Heat oil in a pan over medium heat and add asafetida. Saute for 30 seconds.

Step 3

Add onions and garlic to the pan. Add ½ teaspoon salt and saute until the onions are very soft. Stir in the pureed tomato.

Step 4

Add the spices to the pan: turmeric, Kashmiri chilli powder (or paprika), ground ginger and ground fennel.

Step 5

Mix the spices into the garlic, tomato and onions in pan and continue to saute for five more minutes.

Step 6

Add a cup of hot water to the pan and let it come to a boil. Stir in the blanched, drained collard greens and mix them in. Bring the collards to a boil, then turn heat to a simmer and let the collard greens cook, covered, for 20-30 minutes or until they are quite tender but have a good bite. You can tweak this to your preference--let the collards cook longer for more tender greens.

Step 7

Stir in the garam masala and mix it in. You can add ½ to 1 cup more hot water at this point if most of the water has evaporated.

Step 8

Continue to cook the collards for another five minutes. Add salt to taste. Turn off heat and serve hot.