Ingredients
1 litre full cream milk
1 tsp lemon juice
1 spinach bunch
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 ½ tsp ginger, crushed
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 small onion, finely chopped
½ can chopped tomatoes
Salt to taste
1 tsp dried fenugreek leaves
Pinch garam masala
1 Tbsp thickened cream
Brown rice to serve
Summary
- Pour the milk into a saucepan on high heat. When boiled, add lemon juice. Once the milk curdles (separates) take off heat & leave for 5 mins.
- Carefully drain the contents into a cotton cloth or tea towel & squeeze out excess water. Shape into a cube & place something heavy on the bundle to help the paneer set in one solid piece for an hour or two (four hours is preferable).
- Clean spinach & remove stalks. Blanch in hot water for a few minutes & squeeze out excess water. Puree in a food processor.
- In a frying pan, fry the oil, onion, ginger, garlic & cumin until browned.
- Add tomatoes, cook them down, and then add spinach puree. Season with salt and add cubed paneer pieces.
- Serve with fenugreek, garam masala and cream (optional). Serve hot on a bed of brown rice.
Hints and Tips
You may wish to partially blend or not blend the spinach at all for a more traditionally rustic version of this dish.
If you can, make the paneer the night before so it has time to bind into a single piece overnight in the fridge. If you love paneer as much as we do, you may want to make a large quantity and keep it in the fridge for other occasions, as it takes a little while to make.
