Saag Paneer
Saag paneer was one of the first Indian dishes that I had, and one that I find that I make the most often. Though I'm not a vegetarian, there's something very satisfying with this dish, even though there's no meat ... probably the rich flavors and the oh-so-nutty paneer. I use a store-bought brand of paneer (usually a little less than 8 oz).
Recipe Ingredients:
- 10-15 small cubes of paneer cheese
- ghee for frying
- 2 bunches spinach
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 slice ginger, peeled & grated
- 1/2 medium tomato
- 1/4 yellow onion (for blending)
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1/4 yellow onion, chopped
- 1/2 tsp chili powder
- 1/2 tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp coriander
- 1/4 cup of water
- salt
Recipe Steps:
- Cut the paneer into smallish cubes and fry in ghee until brown. Set aside.
- Rinse the spinach thoroughly and cut off the ends. Chop roughly, then blanch the spinach very quickly in a bit of water. Drain the spinach and set aside (squeezing out excess water).
- In a food processor, puree the garlic, ginger, tomato and onion. Remove from the blender and set aside.
- In a saucepan (with a lid), add the cumin seeds and let them cook on medium heat for a minute or two. Add some ghee to the pan, then the rest of the chopped onions. Let the onions cook for a few minutes, then add the chili, turmeric and coriander. Stir around and then add the garlic/ginger puree.
- While that cooks for a few minutes, put the spinach with 1/4 cup of water (you may need less if the spinach retained water in the blanching) in the food processor and pulse -- don't puree but get it to a roughly chopped state.
- Remove the spinach and add to the saucepan. Cover the pan, lower the heat and let cook for about 10 minutes. Remove, taste and add salt. Finally, remove the pan from heat and add the paneer cubes. Cover and let sit for a few minutes. Serve!
Serving Size: 2-3
Preparation Time: 40 minutes
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