Curried Spinach with Fresh Cheese (Saag Paneer)

Name: Curried Spinach with Fresh Cheese (Saag Paneer)
Prep time: 1 h 30 min
Cook time: 1 h 30 min
Total time: 1 h 30 min
Yield: 6
Cuisine: Global
Ingredients: 2 bay leaves; 1 canned tomato, chopped; 7 Seeds from cardamom pods; 1 cinnamon stick; 2 teaspoons garam masala; 8 cloves garlic; 1 ginger (3 in.), peeled and roughly chopped; 2 Tbsps ground coriander; 1 Tbsp ground cumin; 59 milliliters lemon juice; 2 onions, roughly chopped; 5 teaspoons salt; 2 serrano chiles, seeded; 59 milliliters whole-milk yogurt; 2 kilograms spinach, well rinsed and thick stems removed; 1 teaspoon turmeric; 2 Tbsps vegetable oil; 2 liters whole milk

Curried Spinach with Fresh Cheese (Saag Paneer) is a gluten free and vegetarian recipe with 6 servings. This recipe covers 49% of your daily requirements of vitamins and minerals. One serving contains 357 calories, 21g of protein, and 17g of fat. If you have garlic, serrano chiles, ground coriander, and a few other ingredients on hand, you can make it. To use up the ground cumin you could follow this main course with the Moroccan Chocolate Mousse as a dessert. From preparation to the plate, this recipe takes about 1 hour and 30 minutes.

Instructions

Line a colander with 2 layers of cheesecloth and set in the sink. Bring milk to boil in a large pot over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally to prevent scorching.

Ingredients you will need

Milk

Equipment you will use

Cheesecloth

Colander

Pot

Let it boil 30 seconds (remove from heat if it starts to boil over) and stir in 1/4 cup lemon juice. Milk will curdle, separating into cheese curds and a clear yellow whey.

Ingredients you will need

Cheese Curds

Lemon Juice

Milk

Pour into cheesecloth-lined colander.

Equipment you will use

Cheesecloth

Colander

Rinse curds with cold water. Pull up edges of the cheesecloth, gently squeeze out as much water as possible, and form curds into a 6-in. disk. Put cheesecloth-wrapped disk on a large plate, top with a large cutting board, and weigh down with a heavy pot. Put in the refrigerator and let press at least 3 hours and up to overnight.

Ingredients you will need

Water

Equipment you will use

Cutting Board

Cheesecloth

Pot

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to boil. Fill a large bowl with ice water and set aside. To boiling water, add 3 tsp. salt and the spinach. Cook 1 minute, then drain and transfer spinach to ice water. Swirl around to cool spinach and drain again. Use your hands to squeeze water from spinach. Set aside.

Ingredients you will need

Water

Spinach

Salt

Equipment you will use

Bowl

Pot

In a blender, whirl garlic, onions, chiles, ginger, and 1/4 cup of water to make a paste. Set aside.

Ingredients you will need

Chili Pepper

Garlic

Ginger

Onion

Water

Equipment you will use

Blender

In a medium pot over medium-high heat, add oil, cardamom, cloves, bay leaves, and cinnamon. Cook until spices darken, about 2 minutes.

Ingredients you will need

Bay Leaves

Cardamom

Cinnamon

Clove

Spices

Cooking Oil

Equipment you will use

Pot

Add reserved onion paste. Cook, stirring occasionally, until mixture thickens and darkens, about 15 minutes. If the mixture starts to stick, add 1 tbsp. of water at a time, stirring, to help loosen it.

Ingredients you will need

Onion

Water

Stir in coriander, cumin, and turmeric. Cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes.

Ingredients you will need

Coriander

Turmeric

Cumin

Add tomato and yogurt. Cook until thickened slightly, about 3 minutes. Stir in spinach and remaining salt. Turn heat to low and cover. Cook, stirring occasionally, until flavors are blended, about 30 minutes.

Ingredients you will need

Spinach

Tomato