CRUNCHY PALAK PANEER

Photo © William Shaw

Serves 4

Paneer is a fresh cheese used extensively in vegetarian Indian cooking. You should be able to find it in a big supermarket or Asian grocery store. It carries flavours very well and the texture is fantastic. Palak is an Indian word for spinach.

for the sauce
2 tablespoons ghee (or vegetable oil)
2 onions, finely chopped
a thumb-sized piece of ginger, finely chopped
3 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 whole green chilli
1 teaspoon salt
400g tin of chopped tomatoes
1 teaspoon sugar
500g fresh spinach, washed

to coat the paneer
2 teaspoons garam masala
50g semolina
200g paneer, cut into Oxo-sized cubes

vegetable oil, for shallow frying
a small handful of chopped fresh coriander leaves
1 teaspoon lemon juice

In a saucepan, heat the ghee, then add the onion and cook for about 3 minutes until soft.
Add the ginger and garlic and cook for a further minute. Add the cumin, coriander, turmeric, the whole chilli and the salt and cook and stir for a minute to infuse all the spices.
Add the chopped tomatoes and sugar and simmer for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a mixing bowl combine the garam masala and semolina. Into the bowl place the cubes of paneer and coat (it’s the old crisp roast potato vibe).
Heat enough oil to cover the bottom of a frying pan and fry the paneer until crisp and golden.
Now, back to the saucepan. Add the spinach and 2 tablespoons water to the tomato sauce and stir in, cooking until wilted.

Fold in your crunchy paneer and sprinkle over the coriander and lemon juice. Serve with a smile and a happy face!