Del-icious!: A really good palak paneer

Fresh, crisp golden paneer cubes, subtly spiced onion and spinach sauce, rich with cream and garam masala.

Paneer, like haloumi, is a cheese I really relish cooking. I love the way it crisps golden brown, the edges oozing a little but still retaining it's firm and meaty structure. What's really exciting about it is the fact you can create it yourself at home and it still turns out perfect. I was sure my home made version would be far inferior, crumbling apart and tasting bland, but I was wrong. That's it below in all it's toasted and intact glory. Of course actually making it requires a very large amount of milk which is wasted unless you can find some culinary ingenuity quickly. Or, if you keep a flock of geese or ducks out back, you can let them partake. Having neither most of the time, I mainly resort to buying it.

There are many Indian recipes that utilise this cheese brilliantly, panir mattar, (peas with paneer) being one I have previously made. Palak paneer is a wetter dish, having a sauce rich with spinach, cream and spices. I imagine in vegetarian India, paneer is a revered and essential ingredient, being healthy, simple to make and delicious.

Recipe: Palak Paneer

This dish was made by my friends Juenessa and Karl to bring to our Indian dinner night. Juenessa took it from this website: vegrecipesofindia.com.

250 grams frozen spinach

250 grams or 8 to 9 oz paneer

3 tbsp oil

½ tsp cumin seeds

2 small Indian bay leaves

1 medium onion, finely chopped

2 tsp ginger-garlic paste

1 or 2 green chilies, chopped, or ½ tsp red chili powder

a pinch of turmeric powder

½ tsp black pepper

1 tsp kasuri methi/dry fenugreek leaves

½ tsp garam masala powder

3 tbsp whipping cream

a pinch of sugar

salt as required

Defrost the spinach leaves, squeeze well with your hands to remove any surplus water then puree or blend to a smooth paste.

Heat the oil in a pan over medium heat and fry the paneer until golden brown and crisp on both sides. Remove and place on paper towel.

To the same oil in the pan, add the cumin seeds and bay leaves and fry until the seeds begin to pop. (Watch your eyes, I've had many a close call with popping mustard seeds).

Add the onions and fry until golden, reducing the heat if necessary, then add the garlic ginger paste and chilies or chili powder. Fry until fragrant until the raw smell has sweetened.

Add the turmeric, black pepper and fenugreek leaves and stir well.

Add the spinach puree, seasoning with salt and sugar and simmer, 5 to 6 minutes until thickened.

Next, add the cream and garam masala and stir very well until everything is incorporated well. Taste and add more salt and garam masala as you like.

Finally, add the paneer cubes and stir into the sauce. Serve with rice, naan, salads, curries, whatever you like, We had this as a side dish, but you could easily make it the main attraction.

If you check the recipe on the website, it gives you instructions on how to smoke the palak paneer sauce. It's interesting but I'm not sure completely feasible for a home kitchen.

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