hello! Hi everyone. Welcome back to Woo Can Cook, my name is Wesley, and this is a show where we are slowly cooking our way through all of the food from my childhood. Today we’re finally getting back to our series dedicated to South Asian Indian cuisine, with a shot at another classic Indian dish, which is a saag paneer. Unlike the world of Chinese and Taiwanese cuisines that we more typically swim in, South Asian Indian cooking lives less in the world of high heat flash cooking, and more commonly in the universe of slow cooking, braising, and low/slow simmering heat. More specifically today, a saag paneer as you might guess, prominently features the use of an Indian cottage cheese known as…paneer. 

Paneer is a non-aged, non-melting soft cheese, sort of like a cheese curd, for you Canadians. This means that, since the cheese is made using an acid-set process, it can withstand really any amount of searing or braising that we throw at it without melting or crumbling, which is, for lack of a better term, really cool. To pair with our cheese today, a saag paneer is iconically made with a pureed spinach that’s then sauted with onions, chili, and cream to create a thick, saucy, and spicy green curry to go along with our dish. Finally (because, why not), I thought it’s way past time that I take my very best shot at creating my own garam masala spice blend, which is genuinely the true secret to amplifying all of your cooking. Hope you try it.

 

Serves 2-3

INGREDIENTS

  • 4 cloves garlic

  • 1 inch (about 1 tbsp) ginger

  • 1-4 chiles (Thai, serrano, or fresno)

  • 1/2 medium white onion

  • 1lb paneer

  • 6 cups spinach

  • 4 tbsp ghee (melted) (or butter)

  • 1/4 cup heavy cream

  • peanut oil

  • kosher salt

INGREDIENTS (garam masala)

  • 4 star anise pods

  • 8 cardamom pods

  • 1 tbsp clove

  • 1 cinnamon stick

  • 1 tsp fennel seed

  • 1 small nutmeg seed

PREP

  • CRUSH and mince 4 cloves of garlic, set aside

  • MINCE ginger, set aside

  • SLICE the chiles, set aside

  • SMALL DICE the onion, set aside

  • LARGE DICE the paneer, set aside

  • BLANCH the spinach leaves, then add to a food processor and blitz until a smooth texture forms

  • COMBINE all garam masala ingredients, then add to a wok over medium low heat and toast until fragrant for about 5 minutes

  • REMOVE and add to a spice blender, then blitz until a smooth powder forms

  • COMBINE the paneer with 4 tbsp melted ghee (or butter) and 1 tbsp garam masala

ON THE STOVE

  • HEAT a wok over medium heat, then add 4 tbsp peanut oil and long yao

  • ADD the paneer and sear for 2.5 minutes undisturbed, then flip and sear for an additional 1 minute until evenly browned

  • REMOVE the paneer, then add the onions plus a pinch of kosher salt and saute for 2-3 minutes until lightly browned

  • MOVE the onions to one side of the wok, then add the garlic, ginger, and chiles and bloom until fragrant for 15 seconds

  • ADD the spinach plus 1 tbsp garam masala and 1/4 cup heavy cream, and 1/4 cup water, then toss to combine

  • ADD the paneer back to the wok, then let simmer for 20 minutes

  • SEASON with kosher salt to taste, then serve over rice

 

tagged with saag paneer, indian curry, indian recipe, curry recipe, paneer recipe, indian cooking, vegetarian recipe, vegetarian cooking, woo can cook