Palak Panir - spinach With Fresh Cheese

Version1:

# 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.

# Cut the ricotta into cubes and spread on absorbent paper for a few minutes so that surface moisture is absorbed.

# 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.

# 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.

# 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.

# Add the spinach and salt and stir for a minute or two, then add about ¼ cup hot water and the sugar. Simmer for 5 minutes. Stir the yoghurt until it is smooth, add it to the spinach and stir well. Add cubes of panir and simmer for 10 minutes longer. Ready to serve.

Source: http://www.grouprecipes.com/9122/palak-panir-spinach-with-fresh-cheese.html

Version2:

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Source:http://everything2.com/node/1521344