Ingredients
- 1kg spinach washed, drained and steamed
- 2 x 225g packs paneer approximately 1cm cubed
- 40g ghee or 2 tbsp veg oil (I always have ghee in the fridge, it lasts forever)
- 2 onions, roughly chopped
Spice Bowl (tarka ingredients)
- 2 tsp grated root ginger
- 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp Maldon salt
- 1-2 birds eye chillies, seed retained if you like some heat
- 3 cardamom pods, seeds only
- 2 tsp garam masala
- 1 tsp turmeric
- small bunch coriander, washed and roughly chopped, including stalks (reserve some of the chopped leaves for the garnish)
Method
- Firstly, fry the cubed paneer. Use a mini deep fat fryer for best results, but pan frying is fine, ideally you will have a thermometer to insure the oil is at around 180°. Fry the paneer in batches for 1 minute or until the cheese has a golden crust.
- To make the tarka, heat the ghee or oil in a large lidded pan, and fry the onion for a few minutes until soft. Then add your spice bowl and gently fry for another few minutes, stirring continuously.
- Add the paneer to the pan and gently cook with the spices for 5 minutes, to allow the cheese to take on the flavours. You may need a ladle full of veg stock water from the steamed spinach, to help loosen the mixture.
- Whilst the paneer infuses, using a stick blender, puree the spinach. It doesn’t have to be perfectly smooth, I prefer it rustic and just blitz it casually! Then add the spinach to the curry.
- Mix well and season to taste. Then take off the heat and let it stand with the lid on until you’re ready to serve. When serving, top generously with the coriander leaves, and I serve it with a small bowl of chopped fresh red chilli for people to add to their taste.
Tip
When you’re frying the paneer, take it out after one minute, even if it looks a little pale. It will continue to colour for a short while after being removed from the heat.
