Curried Saag Panir: Part 1

Ben and I took to the kitchen Friday.  We had an evening of cooking together.  And when I say evening, I mean the entire evening.  We started cooking around 3:30.  We finally sat down to eat around 8:00.  It just meant I had to drink that much more wine while we cooked.

Ben loves to make cheese.  We decided to combine our cooking to prepare an Indian dish called Curried Saag Panir.  Ben started off by making the panir, a fresh cheese common in Indian food.  The part 2 of this post will be a guest blog by Ben to show how he made the panir.  Much easier than I imagined.  Most cheese he attempts takes several months to come to age.  I do not have the patience for this type of cooking.  The panir was fantastic because it took about 1 1/2 hours total.  That's my kind of cheese.

The Curried Saag Panir turned out wonderful.  Indian food is full of so many spices.  Each dish seems so much more complex than our typical fare.  However, most Indian dishes I have attempted seem to be time consuming.  Attempt this recipe if you have an evening to spend in the kitchen.

1.  combine 1 Tbl of turmeric with 1 tbl kosher salt.  Add the panir and toss until evenly coated.  Place the coated Panir on a paper towel.

2.  Heat 2 tbl oil over medium high heat.  Place panir in pan so that the pieces do not touch.  Brown the cubes on all sides.  Then place on a paper towel to drain.  Set panir aside.

3.  Dice up 2 tbl fresh ginger, 1 white onion, 3 serrano chiles, 5 cloves of garlic

4.  In same pan, add 2 more tbl of oil.  Saute onion, ginger, and chiles until soft (7 min).  Add Garlic and cook for 5 minutes.  Add 1 tsp cummin seeds, 2 tsp ground coriander, 1 1/2 tsp curry powder, and 2 tsp turmeric.  Lower heat to medium and cook for 2 more minutes.

5.  Add thawed and drained spinach (2 10 oz. packages).  Stir in 1 tsp kosher salt.  Cover and simmer for 3 minutes.  Then remove from heat and cool slightly.

6.  Placed slightly cooled spinach mixture into food processor.  Add 1 1/2 cups milk.  Puree mixture with milk until their are small chunks.  Return the mixture to the pan and heat on low until it begins to bubble.

7.  Combine 2 1/2 cups plain yogurt with 2 1/2 tsp. cornstarch.  Add yogurt to spinach mixture.  Place cubes of panir on top of the mixture, cover, and cook for 2 minutes.  Gently mix the panir into the mixture and simmer for 10 minutes.

8.  Serve the Curried Saag Panir over basmati rice.