Things You'll Need:
- 1 package Frozen chopped spinach (seems to be most effective for this dish, although fresh young spinach leaves could be used)
- 1/2 gallon milk
- 1 cup plain yogurt
- cheese cloth, or similar porous cloth for straining cheese.
- 2 tsp Garam Masala spice (available in most stores now, and there's a link below to a good online seller)
- 1 onion
- 1 tsp fresh ginger - finely minced
- Basmati rice makes an excellent companion to this dish
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Step 1
First, you must make the paneer cheese, so start a couple hours ahead of time on this. It's actually very simple, and you'll likely become interested in trying other cheese-making recipes.
Take out the spinach, to thaw.
Over low-medium heat, bring the 1/2 gallon of milk heat, but do not boil the milk. It needs to be quite hot, but boiling could scald the milk and ruin the flavor.
When the milk is good and hot, add in the cup of yogurt and stir. Ahh! What happened!?? The milk 'breaks' (curdles) and the milk solids separate from the whey (liquid).
Now, just pour the milk curds through the cheese cloth (a colander is handy for this) and you have your cheese curds ready to go. -
Step 2
Pull the ends of the cheesecloth together, and tie them up. Now, hang the cheese curds on the sink faucet to drain for at least 1/2 hour (longer is better, as the cheese will become firmer.
When the cheese has drip-dried, open the cheesecloth bunle and turn your paneer out onto a cutting board. Slice the cheese into bite-sized chunks. Try one - it's delicious! -
Step 3
OK, the hard work is done! The spinach part will only take about 15 minutes, so it's a good time to put on your basmati rice.
Slice the onion, and cook the onion & ginger in 2 tbsp. butter over medium heat for a 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the Garam Masala spice, and stir for another 2 minutes. You don't want to brown the onions, so reduce the heat if necessary. The Garam Masala should release a wonderful aroma - you can really imagine that you're in a good indian restaurant! -
Step 4
Add the thawed spinach, and stir. Add a few tablespoons of yogurt to thin the mixture. Stir again.
Now, add the paneer chunks and stir carefully, to avoid breaking them up. Season to taste with salt. The cheese doesn't need to cook at all, but I like to simmer the dish for at least 10 minutes now, to let the curry spices unfold their flavors. -
Step 5
Serve over basmati rice - bon apetit!
