Saag Paneer

Tags: indian, vegetarian, spinach, paneer

Servings:

Ingredients

160 g frozen spinach (thawed in boiling water then drained)
2 tbsp ghee
125 g diced onion
20 g minced garlic
10 g minced ginger
5 g frozen red chilli
0.5 tsp ground coriander
0.5 tsp garam masala
0.5 tsp ground cumin
0.5 tsp ground turmeric
50 g creme fraiche
200 g paneer
salt (to taste)
black pepper (to taste)
cilantro (to finish)

Steps

Fry the onion and chilli in ghee.
Add garlic and ginger.
Add spices and toast for a minute.
Add thawed spinach plus a little water as needed.
Brown and cut the paneer (see notes).
Simmer for 5 minutes.
Blend with a hand blender to a smooth consistency.
Stir in creme fraiche.
Add paneer.
Simmer for a few more minutes.

Notes

This version leaves out the tomato entirely and uses creme fraiche in place of double cream.

Paneer: Brown the block on both sides, cut in half, then flip each half and brown the previously-inside edges too. Cut into small pieces — the ~16 pieces from last time were too big and hard to cut with a spoon. Aim for ~48 pieces (or simmer longer) so they season through.

Seasoning: Paneer came out under-seasoned last time — smaller chunks and a longer simmer should help.