Simmer Sauces

Saag Paneer

This recipe for saag paneer, one of my fav North Indian dishes comes together in minutes using my Coconut Cashew Korma simmer sauce. The recipe is so delicious as is but in case you want to make it a little more special, I have an optional step of adding a tadka, or tempering of spices at the end.

If you are vegan, sub in tofu for the paneer and for another variation, add in cubed feta which you don't need to fry beforehand. I've also made this recipe with baby kale instead of spinach and works perfectly.

Serves 4

Ingredients

1 pound baby spinach (this recipe is forgiving so if you buy a big box of spinach and it has 11 or 12 oz, no need to buy more)

1 jar Brooklyn Delhi Coconut Cashew Korma (or Cashew Butter Masala works well too!)

1 tablespoon high heat oil like sunflower or canola

14 oz paneer (or extra firm tofu or 6 oz feta), cubed (these amounts are also forgiving so use whatever size the package you have purchased contains)

Optional:

2 tablespoons ghee or high heat oil like sunflower or canola

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

1 pinch of asafetida (if you don't have it, it's OK)

1 dried red chili pepper, broken in half (1/4 teaspoon red chili powder)

Method

In a 5 quart stock pot (or any pot that will hold all of the spinach), heat up a 1/2 cup of water with a sprinkling of salt on high until you start to see many tiny bubbles forming. Add in the spinach and cover pot with a lid. Turn the heat to medium-low and let the spinach cook for about a minute and then mix it so that the less cooked leaves get to the bottom. Cover again and cook until all spinach is wilted, bright green and reduced in size considerably, a couple minutes. During this time, you may need to mix another time to make sure the spinach is cooked evenly. *SEE NOTES BELOW

Transfer spinach to a blender. Add a jar of Coconut Cashew Korma. Blend until smooth.

Heat a non-stick pan on a medium flame. Add in 1 tablespoon high heat oil (enough to coat the bottom). Add in the paneer or tofu cubes and fry until golden brown, about 3-5 minutes. Season with salt.

Pour the spinach mixture onto the fried paneer and season with salt. If you are using feta instead of paneer and tofu, you would add the cubed feta to the spinach mixture and heat through for a few minutes.

This step is optional but makes the dish look beautiful. Heat 2 tablespoons of ghee or oil in a small pan over high heat. Add 1 cumin seed into the pan. When the seed sizzles, add in the rest of the seeds and asafetida. When the seeds are sizzling and dancing in the pan, add in the broken chili pepper and coat with oil. Immediately pour over the Saag Paneer.

Serve with rice or naan and Brooklyn Delhi Mango Chutney, Tomato Achaar or Roasted Garlic Achaar

NOTES:

* If you have a little more time to work with and want your spinach to be super duper green, fill the stock pot with water and bring to a boil with salt. Add in the spinach for about 1 minute, until it is wilty but still bright green. Then shock the spinach in a boil of ice water. With a slotted spoon, transfer spinach to blender. Proceed with the recipe above.

** If you want to just use a saute pan instead of a stock pot for cooking the spinach, you can coat the bottom ofthe pan with oil over a medium flame and add in the spinach in stages, mixing until it's all cooked through.

For Serving

Naan, rice (corn tortilla are delish too!)

Brooklyn Delhi Sweet Mango Chutney, Spicy Mango Chutney, Tomato Achaar or Roasted Garlic Achaar