Shyam starts by blanching fresh spinach first, then in the same boiling water dip tomatoes for just a few minutes - this will make peeling them easier. In a blender, puree the spinach, remove to a bowl, then puree the tomatoes.
Cut onions, clean a few thai chillies.
Cut paneer into small (about 1-2 cm) cubes.
In a pan, add vegetable oil and fry paneer pieces until beginning to brown, remove from pan. Frying paneer in ghee is another way to go, it will certainly be more fragrant and delicious.
Next, add slightly crushed cinnamon stick and couple of pods of black cardamom, also some cumin seeds and mustard seeds. Be careful as the seeds will splutter upon contact with hot oil.
After spluttering subsides, add onions and chillies.
Let onions cook for several minutes, then add ginger-garlic paste, turmeric, and asofoetida. Mix well.
Add coriander powder and a bit of cumin powder. Again, stir well.
Next, add tomato puree.
Mix and let simmer for about 10 mins.
Add spinach puree.
Let simmer for another 10 mins.
Add paneer cubes.
After 5-7 mins, add a bit of cream. I think many places that serve saag paneer go too heavy-handed on the cream, and then the taste of cream overshadows any other flavors.
After 5 mins, add a dash of garam masala, mix.
Serve with rice. Delicious!
As with many Indian curries, it will improve with a bit of time, as the flavors mix further and get absorbed into the protein (paneer here, but just the same if it was fish or chicken), and it will be even better tomorrow for lunch.
A very exciting dinner coming up tomorrow, stay tuned. But for now, good night to all of you!
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