What to do with all this cheese?

We had a lovely day today. Went to the Wild Animal Park this morning with friends (always a great start to the day),  came home and worked on our conversation skills.

You can see it here. Please excuse the poor video quality. It was taken with the camera I had nearby to capture any surprise situps.

Please keep in mind that the Bee gets a little camera shy. You’re seeing the subdued version of the babble.

Still no more sitting up, but she spent the whole afternoon faking me out.

Anyway, on to the recipe. I’ve got to get some work done on a project for a friend, so here it is, quickly. Please note that this evening’s photos were taken by my exceedingly talented husband!

Saag Paneer

8 oz paneer

1 lb. spinach

1 large onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1/2 t. grated fresh ginger

1 t. turmeric

1 t. garam masala

3 t. olive oil

salt

1/2 to 1 cup buttermilk (optional)

1 cup plain yogurt (optional)

Cook the spinach until done. My preferred method is to pile it into a great big microwave-safe bowl, add a little water, cover with plastic wrap and microwave for about three minutes. If you use frozen spinach, you can skip this step.

Cut the paneer into small cubes (whatever size you like). Dust the cubes with turmeric and leave to sit for a moment.

Heat two teaspoons olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat until the oil is shimmering (traditionally, one would use ghee here, but olive oil works just fine and you’re probably more likely to have it on hand).

Fry the paneer until brown on each side. Remove from pan and set aside.

Add remaining olive oil to the skillet and saute onion, garlic, and ginger until onion is translucent and has a little color on it.

Add the garam masala and cook for a moment more (until fragrant).

Drain the spinach very, very well, then add it to the pan and cook until all of the water is gone.. Salt to taste.

You can either eat this tasty treat as it is right now, or you have a couple of other options. If you’d prefer the “creamed spinach” version you get in some restaurants, remove the pan from the heat and let cool for a few minutes. just before serving, stir in 1/2 cup of buttermilk and the yogurt.  If, like me, you’re sharing this with someone who really doesn’t care that much for cooked spinach, and who would be horrified by creamed spinach, you can do like I did. Add a cup of buttermilk and a cup of yogurt to the hot pan. The milk and yogurt will separate, leaving you with tiny curds of deliciousness scattered all through your spinach, and creating a tart “dressing” of whey.

If you go this route, you may want to wait and salt at the end. We had ours with a bowl of dal (no naan, sadly).

The quick and dirty version I slapped together:

Dal

1 onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 c. lentils

4 c. water

1 1/2 T. tomato paste

1/2 t. coriander

1/2 t. turmeric

1/2 t. dried ginger

1/2 t. cumin

hefty pinch cayenne

1 t. salt

1/2 to 1 t. Sriracha (that amazing hot sauce with the rooster on the bottle)

1 t. cider vinegar

olive oil

Pour enough olive oil into a large saucepan to coat the bottom. Heat over medium heat. Saute onion and garlic until onion is translucent. Add coriander, turmeric, ginger, cumin, cayenne, and tomato paste. Stir together.

Add lentils and water. Bring to a low boil, then simmer for half an hour or until thickened and lentils have begun to break down. If using brown or black lentils, you may wish to simply cook until done, then puree half of the soup and add it back to the pot.

Stir in cider vinegar and Sriracha.

All in all, a pretty successful dinner (if not entirely faithful to tradition). D, who started the evening off telling me that, in truth, he really didn’t like saag paneer, said he’d eat this version again, and I’ve got a big pot of dal that should last me a couple of days!