Saag Paneer
Madhur Jaffrey World of the East Vegetarian Cooking
1 inch cube of fresh ginger, peeled and coarsely chopped
3-6 cloves garlic, peeled
½ to 1 fresh hot chile, sliced roughly (I use jalepeno)
Paneer (I use queso fresco, got at Wegman's, inexpensive), cut into chunks
salt
¼ tsp garam masala
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
6 Tbs vegetable oil
1 ½ pounds spinach, washed, trimmed, and very finely chopped
3 Tbs heavy cream (optional)
Put ginger, garlic and green chili into the container of an electric blender or food processor along with ¼ cup water. Blend until you have a smooth paste.
Heat the oil in a large, non-stick saute pan over medium flame. Put in the pieces of paneer and fry them, turning gently as they go golden brown on all sides. (This happens fairly quickly.) Remove from pan and place on plate in a single layer. Sprinkle with a bit of salt, the garam masala and cayenne. Set aside.
Put the paste from the blender into the hot oil in the pan (keep your face averted) and fry it, stirring constantly, for about 30 seconds. Now put in the spinach and ½ teaspoon salt. Stir thespinach around for 1 minute. Cover the pan, lower the heat and let the spinach cook gently with the ginger-garlic paste for 15 minutes. There should be enough water clinging to the spinach leaves to cook them. If all the water evaporates, add 1 to 2 tablespoons and continue cooking.
Now put in the paneer and cream, stir gently, and bring to a simmer. Cover, and continue cooking on low heat for another ten minutes. Stir once or twice during this period.
I've been putting up recipes for A LONG time, but have been keeping it from you! Please accept my apologies.
