Vegan Saag Paneer Food

VEGAN SAAG PANEER

Steps:

• Heat half the olive oil in a frying pan. Add cumin seeds, paprika, coriander powder and garlic, saute 1 minute.
• Add drained tofu. Saute until tofu is golden brown, remove from pan and set aside.
• Grind cloves, cardamom and fennel seeds.
• Heat remaining oil and add ground powder and leek, saute until brown.
• Add kale, saute until kale is limp.
• Add salt and blend kale mixture in a food processor with tomato and tomato paste.
• Return to pan and add tofu mixture. Simmer 10 minutes.

SAAG PANEER

Steps:

• In a large bowl, whisk together the turmeric, cayenne, 1 teaspoon salt and 3 tablespoons oil. Gently, drop in the cubes of paneer and gently toss, taking care not to break the cubes if you're using the homemade kind. Let the cubes marinate while you get the rest of your ingredients together and prepped.
• Thaw the spinach in the microwave in a microwave-safe dish, 5 minutes on high, then puree in a food processor until smooth. Alternatively, you can chop it up very finely with your knife.
• Place a large nonstick skillet over medium heat, and add the paneer as the pan warms. In a couple of minutes give the pan a toss; each piece of paneer should be browned on one side. Fry another minute or so, and then remove the paneer from the pan onto a plate.
• Add the remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons oil to the pan. Add the onions, ginger, garlic and chile. Now here's the important part: saute the mixture until it's evenly toffee-coloured, which should take about 15 minutes. Don't skip this step - this is the foundation of the dish! If you feel like the mixture is drying out and burning, add a couple of tablespoons of water.
• Add the garam masala, coriander and cumin. If you haven't already, sprinkle a little water to keep the spices from burning. Cook, stirring often, until the raw scent of the spices cook out, and it all smells a bit more melodious, 3 to 5 minutes.
• Add the spinach and stir well, incorporating the spiced onion mixture into the spinach. Add a little salt and 1/2 cup of water, stir, and cook about 5 minutes with the lid off.
• Turn the heat off. Add the yogurt, a little at a time to keep it from curdling. Once the yogurt is well mixed into the spinach, add the paneer. Turn the heat back on, cover and cook until everything is warmed through, about 5 minutes. Serve.
• Line a large colander with a large double layer of cheesecloth, and set it in your sink.
• In a large wide pot, bring the milk to a gentle boil over medium heat, stirring frequently to avoid burning the bottom (a nonstick pot works really well for this purpose). This will take a little while so be patient!
• Add the lemon juice and turn the heat down to low. Stirring gently, you should almost immediately see the curds (white milk solids) and whey (the greenish liquid) separate. Don't fret, this is perfect!
• Remove the pot from the heat and carefully pour the contents into the cheesecloth-lined colander. Gently rinse with cool water to get rid of the lemon flavor. At this point, you could squeeze out some of the liquid, and serve with some honey and some nuts, almost like a fresh ricotta!
• Grab the ends of the cheesecloth and twist the ball of cheese to squeeze out the excess whey. Tie the cheesecloth to your kitchen faucet and allow the cheese to drain for about 5 minutes.
• Twisting the ball to compact the cheese into a block, place it on a plate with the twisted part of the cheesecloth on the side (this will ensure your block of cheese is nice and smooth!) and set another plate on top. Weigh the second plate down with cans of beans or a heavy pot. Move to the refrigerator and let it sit about 20 minutes.
• Combine the cinnamon sticks, cloves, green cardamom seeds, black cardamom seeds, if using into a spice grinder or coffee grinder and grind until fine. Store the spice mix in an airtight container away from direct sunlight.

SAAG PANEER

Steps:

• In a food processor, working in batches, pulse spinach until minced but not puréed. Do not pack the spinach too tightly or it won't get evenly chopped. You should have about 3 packed cups of minced spinach.
• Heat 1 tablespoon ghee over medium in a large nonstick skillet. When it shimmers, add paneer and cook, turning occasionally, until golden all over, 5 to 7 minutes. Using tongs or a fish spatula, transfer cheese to a plate, leaving as much ghee as possible in the skillet.
• Reduce heat to medium-low, add the remaining 1 tablespoon ghee and the onion, and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened but not browned, about 5 minutes.
• Add ginger, garlic and chile, and cook, stirring occasionally, until fragrant and well incorporated, 1 minute. Stir in coriander and cumin until well blended.
• Add minced spinach and 1/2 cup water, and increase the heat to medium. Season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until spinach is completely soft and most of the liquid is absorbed, about 8 minutes.
• Stir in heavy cream and paneer until well incorporated. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to a serving bowl.
• Divide rice and flatbread among 4 shallow bowls or plates. Pass the saag paneer to spoon on top.

SAAG PANEER

Steps:

• 1) Make onion paste. We made tons - 5 onions sliced, put oil in pot on med/high. Cook, stirring occasionally, for "a long time maybe 10 mins", well past onions are translucent, instead they should be carmelized and turning brown. Add water until it is mushy. Then use a hand blender or a food processor and turn it into a paste.
• 2) Add 1/4 cup oil to the pot. Add onion paste, we added 1 cup which is probably 1 1/2 onions. Add 2 tbsp ginger paste, 1 1/2 tbsp garlic paste. Cook for 5 - 10 mins "The cook time is very forgiving, and is the base of most pakistani food. If you added meat, you would do it now.".
• 3) Turn to low heat. Add 5 dried red peppers, 2 bay leaves, 2 whole cardamoms, 1/4 tsp black pepper, 3 whole cloves, 1/8 tsp tumeric, 1/2 tsp chili powder, 1 1/2 tsp salt, 1 tbsp coriander, 2 tsp cumin.
• 4) Add 1/4 to 1/2 cup water, then add 4 diced roma tomatoes. Heat back up to med-high. Cook 3-5 minutes, mush tomatoes. Add 1/2 cup water. Add 2 tbsp tomato paste. Add 24 oz frozen mustard leaves (2 bags) and 48 oz frozen spinach (2 jumbo bags).
• 5) Boil for half an hour (from frozen state, with lid on). Once it is done, add 2 tsp salt, 1 tbsp butter. Cook some more, maybe 15 mins, to boil off the last water. "Cook until any more would burn the food. Get rid of most the water. Leave some for paneer to absorb.".
• 6) Fry the paneer. Cut 12-16 oz of paneer into cubes, splash bottom of wok with oil. Add 1 tbsp salt. Fry, stirring frequently, until edges are brown & crusty.
• 7) Add fried paneer to the pot. Cover and simmer for approx 20 minutes Let the paneer "absorb the juices".
• 8) Serve with naan (Indian/Pakistani flatbread).