Saag Paneer

One of my favourite Indian dishes with turmeric-spiced paneer and lots of spinach. Paneer is an Indian cheese made by curdling milk with lemon juice.

A dish I always order at Indian restaurants, it is great served with a spread of other curries as part of an Indian feast or own its own served with rice. I like to make my own paneer (I'll share a recipient soon), but you can use shop bought paneer, which can be found in most Asian supermarkets. As an alternative, you can use halloumi as, like paneer, it does not melt. In this version you can also use frozen spinach instead of fresh.

INGREDIENTS

• 2 tbsp oil

• 1 tsp turmeric

• 1 tsp chilli powder

• 450g paneer, cut into 2cm cubes

• 500g spinach

• 1 onion, finely chopped

• 3 cloves garlic

• 5cm piece of ginger

• 1 green chilli, roughly chopped (de-seed for a milder curry)

• 1 tsp Garam Masala

• 1 lemon, quartered

METHOD

• Heat up the oil in a wok or large saucepan

• Add the turmeric and chilli powder and stir well

• Toss in the paneer cubes and cook for about 5 minutes until they are golden on all sides

• Turn the heat off, put the paneer on a plate, leaving the spices in the pan for later

• Put the spinach in a colander and pour a kettle of boiling water over it. Leave to steam dry

• Whizz up the onion, garlic, ginger and chilli in a food processor to make a paste

• Tip the onion mixture and a good pinch of salt (leave this out if using halloumi) into the pan with the spices

• Cook on a low heat for 10 minutes until golden brown.(adding a splash of water if it all looks too dry)

• Add the Garam Masala and stir well

• Add the spinach and cook for 2 minutes

• Add 100ml water to remove any spice that has stuck to the bottom of the pan

• Add the paneer and cook for another 2 minutes

• Serve with the lemon wedges

Enjoy! Joseph x