Palak Panir - spinach With Fresh Cheese

Samina Ali

South Indian yumminess!

ingredients

Version1

285 g (8 oz) fresh spinach leaves (without stems) or other greens
Spices -
1 tablespoon dried fenugreek leaves, optional
250 g (8 oz) panir or ricotta or firm tofu for vegans
oil for deep frying
1 tablespoon ghee (or oil)
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 1/2 cups hot water
1/4 teaspoon black cummin seeds
1 tablespoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon chilli powder
1/2 teaspoon finely grated fresh ginger
1 teaspon salt to taste
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 cup yoghurt (soya yoghurt for vegans)
1/2 cup milk

Version2

1 bunch of spinach (roughly 500 gm (1 lb’ish), or 250gm (1/2 lb) frozen chopped spinach
1 cup (250 ml) peeled and chopped tomatoes (canned is fine)
250 gm (1/2 lb) paneer, (make your own, or buy it from an Indian grocer) cut into 1 cm cubes
2-3 cm (1 in) piece of fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
1 onion, peeled and grated
1 hot green chilli, chopped (optional)
1 Tbs garam masala or good quality mild curry powder
2 tsp ground turmeric
1/2 Tbs cumin seeds
Sea salt
2 Tbs ghee (make your own, it takes 5 minutes)
2 Tbs vegetable oil

directions

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Version1:
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Cooking Spinach:
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# Put the washed spinach leaves into a pan with the water that clings to them, add the fenugreek leaves (if used), cover and steam until spinach is soft. Drain well and chop finely.
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Cooking Paneer:
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# Cut the ricotta into cubes and spread on absorbent paper for a few minutes so that surface moisture is absorbed.
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# In a small, deep frying pan heat enough oil in which to deep fry the cubes of ricotta. Add a tablespoon of ghee to flavour the oil.
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# When oil is very hot, fry a handful of ricotta cubes at a time. Have ready the turmeric stirred into 1 cup of hot water and when the ricotta is pale golden lift out on a slotted spoon and drop the cubes into the turmeric water. Repeat until all the ricotta is fried, leave in the water for about 5 minutes, then drain.
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Preparing the Dish:
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# Heat about 2 tablespoons of the oil in a saucepan and add the black cummin seeds, coriander, chilli powder and ginger. Stir and fry briefly, taking care not to burn the spices.
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# Add the yogurt and cook the torka for a few minutes stirring to prevent sticking.
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# Add the spinach, paneer and salt and stir for a minute or two, then add milk and the sugar. Simmer for 5 minutes. Ready to serve.
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Source: http://www.grouprecipes.com/9122/palak-panir-spinach-with-fresh-cheese.html

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Version2:
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Place the cumin seeds in a dry frypan and set over a low flame. Toast the seeds, shaking the pan occasionally, until they smell rich and fragrant. Do not let them burn or a bitter flavour will haunt the dish. Grind the seeds to a fine powder in an electric spice grinder, or a mortar and pestle. Alternatively, you could use ground cumin; just make sure that it is really fresh.
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Place the garlic, ginger and chilli in a mortar and pestle. Remove the seeds and white membrane from the chilli if you prefer a milder dish, or if you are very heat sensitive, leave it out altogether. Grind these three into a smooth-ish paste. Not absolutely pureed, but almost there.
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Heat a large pot of water to the boil and throw in a decent amount of salt (2 Tbs or so). Cut the roots from the spinach and discard. Separate and discard all the large stems from the spinach and discard as well. Place the leaves into a sink of cold water and wash well to remove any grit. Drain, then place into the boiling water. Cook for 60 seconds, then immediately drain the leaves and cool them under cold running water. This will provide the finished dish with its vibrant green colour, instead of dull grey. Place the cooled spinach in a food processor or blender and puree as finely as possible. You may need to add a little water to help this step along.
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If you are using frozen spinach, defrost the package fully and puree in a food processor or blender as above. This stuff is already cooked, so you can omit the boiling step.
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In a mid-sized saucepan, bring the ghee to a low - medium heat. Add the onion and the garlic/ginger mix and cook, stirring now and then for 5 to 6 minutes. Do not allow this mix to brown. Cook it nice and slowly and you will be rewarded with an allium sweetness on the plate. Add the garam masala, cumin and turmeric and cook for a further 5 minutes - still on a low-ish temperature. Add the tomatoes, stir and increase the heat slightly. Cook until the mix looks akin to a nice, rich tomato sauce. Remove from the heat and set aside.
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Heat a frypan to medium heat. A non-stick pan is good here, because paneer has a tendency to stick when frying. Add the oil, then fry the cubes of paneer in a single layer until lightly golden, turning to make sure most of the cheese takes on a little colour. Remove the cheese and drain on a paper towel. Place the tomato mixture back on medium heat, then add the cheese and pureed spinach. Add a little water if need be - you want the consistency to be like a thick soup - no, make that a thin stew. You know - somewhere in the middle. Add a good amount of salt and bring just to the simmer. The longer the spinach is cooked at this stage, the more of its vibrant green colour will be lost - so don’t dawdle here.
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Serve immediately, perhaps as I did - with some steaming basmati rice, a bowl of Charlie’s dhal, a pile of chapatis and some of gn0sis’ lovely cucumber raita, to which I added 1 tsp of freshly ground cumin for added oomph.
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Source:http://everything2.com/node/1521344