Ingredients
½ cup oil, olive or other
2 packages paneer (the looked to be about 8 oz each, available from the Indian grocer)
2 bundles mature spinach (if using frozen, it would be about one package)
1 ½ cans diced tomatoes, undrained (or you can use fresh)
2 tsp red chili powder
3 tsp ground coriander
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp salt, or to taste
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp bottled ginger
1 tsp garlic (she used bottled garlic paste, looked like it would be about 2 cloves)
Preparation
Rinse spinach, remove stems. Place leaves in large stock pot and add water. Water doesn’t need to completely cover leaves because they will release moisture and decrease in bulk as they heat. Bring to boil, cook for several minutes until fully tender. Drain and reserve the cooking water. Puree cooked spinach with a little bit of the reserved cooking water in a blender. Set aside.
Pour ¼ cup oil in nonstick skillet. Cut the cheese into roughly one-inch squares. Sauté the cheese in oil (in two batches) until golden brown on at least two sides, stirring occasionally. Set cheese aside.
Heat remaining ¼ cup oil in stock pot (or large saucepan). Add tomatoes in their juices and sauté for several minutes. Add spices, garlic, and ginger and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant and the mixture begins to look pasty. Add pureed spinach ½ cup at a time, stirring well after each addition. Add reserved spinach cooking water (my memory fails here, I’m not sure how much water we’re talking about maybe three cups?) and paneer and simmer for fifteen to twenty minutes, or until sauce has somewhat thickened. Serve immediately with pea pulao and green coriander chutney.
