Saag Paneer (Curry with Spinach and Cheese)

Inspiration: We have been eating food other than Indian lately, but with the recent successes that I’ve had cooking chicken tikka masala and shahi korma, I’ve been really looking to find and try new Indian recipes. B and I went out to an Indian restaurant recently and had this spinach and cheese dish, and we both really loved it. I always love to be inspired by restaurant meals!

What we Loved: This is the third Indian recipe that I’ve made in about a week and a half that has been absolutely delicious. Paneer cheese doesn’t have a whole lot of flavor on its own, but B and I both really loved the nice, brown crust on the cheese and how the creamy spinach sauce went so well with the texture and mild flavor of the cheese. This dish is loaded with spinach, but it doesn’t in any way taste like you’re eating a bowl of spinach. The curry sauce contains so many spices that combine really well with the cream, spinach, and cheese for a wonderfully flavorful curry that has a nice, yellow color from the turmeric that is added to the sauce. There’s a bit of richness from the cream and tomato, a fresh vegetable flavor from the spinach, and a wonderful, creamy depth of spices from the sauce. This is definitely another success!

Helpful Hints: I was a bit worried about sauteeing the paneer, since it is a cheese and I didn’t want it to melt into a gooey mess. It’s a very firm cheese, though, and it won’t melt. In a hot pan, it sautees up very quickly, so keep a careful eye on it. I only needed a minute or two per batch.

Saag Paneer
Source: Tea & Cookies

I modified the recipe just a bit. Here’s the recipe as I made it.

Extra virgin olive oil
8 oz paneer cheese, chopped into cubes
1 large onion, chopped
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
3 green cardamom pods, smashed
1 stick cinnamon
3 small bay leaves
1 teaspoon garlic, minced
1 teaspoon ginger, freshly grated
2 small tomatoes, chopped
1 16 oz bag frozen spinach, thawed
Pinch of red pepper flakes
Pinch of cloves
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 tesapoon garam masala
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 teaspoons tomato paste
1 cup cream

1. Heat a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil in a saute pan over medium high heat. Add the paneer cubes and saute until golden, just a few minutes. Remove the paneer from the pan and set aside.

2. Add another drizzle of olive oilt o the pan. Saute the onion until soft, approximately 5 minutes. Add the cumin seeds, cardamom, cinnamon stick, bay leaves, garlic, ginger, and tomato. Mix to combine.

3. Add the spinach to the pan, and stir to combine. Saute for approximately 5 minutes, letting some of the water from the spinach cook off.

4.  Add the red pepper flakes, cloves, turmeric, coriander, garam masala, salt, and pepper. Stir to combine.

5. Add the cream and tomato paste, and mix everything well to combine. Bring to a simmer, and continue to cook for approximately 5 minutes.

Shahi Korma (Lamb with Creamy Almond Sauce)

Inspiration: B and I have been really into Indian food lately, and I’ve been having a lot of fun searching for Indian recipes and learning to make them at home. It’s such a fun, delicious cuisine.

What we Loved: As I was cooking this, I knew that it was going to turn out well because it smelled exactly like dishes that I’ve had at Indian restaurants before. I love the way that the smell of a recipe cooking can just take you places sometimes. And this curry turned out wonderfully. It was so incredibly rich with spices, from sweet spices like cinnamon to smoky spices like cumin, and it had a great layer of heat in the background. My favorite thing about Indian food is that incredible layering of spices. We also loved the creamy, silky sauce, which had a nice almond flavored base, and the lamb turned out incredibly tender. As noted on Mike’s Table, where I got the recipe, I was really pleased, too, that you could definitely taste the distinct flavor of the lamb. With such a complex sauce, I too was worried that you might not be able to taste the lamb itself, but its flavors were very pronounced and complimented the sauce perfectly. This is definitely a new favorite.

Helpful Hints: On Mike’s Table, he noted that his sauce ended up very thick, almost more like a crust to the meat. My sauce ended up as a creamy sauce, but I think if I would have continued cooking it longer, I could have gotten the same results as in the original recipe. I used 1/2 pound to a pound less meat, so I think that I would have needed to increase the cooking time in order for all of the sauce to be absorbed. But regardless of why or how the consistency of the two sauces turned out differently, I think that this recipe would taste great either way. So if you’d like a creamier sauce, cook for less time, and if you’d like a thicker sauce, cook away!

Shahi Korma (Indian Lamb with Creamy Almond Sauce)
Source: Mike’s Table

 I made just a few adjustments to the ingredients. Following is the recipe as I made it:

2 lbs lamb leg
Extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper
8 cloves garlic, peeled
1 inch knob of ginger
5 tablespoons almonds
6 tablespoons water
10 cardamom pods
1 cinnamon stick
2 shallots, finely minced
2 jalapenos, finely minced
1 teaspoon ground coriander
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon anise seeds
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
Pinch of nutmeg
Pinch of ground cloves
1 1/4 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup water

1. Cut the lamb into 1/2 inch to 1 inch cubes. Season with salt and pepper.

2. Puree the garlic, ginger, almonds, and water in a food processor until a paste is formed.

3. Heat a drizzle of olive oil in a saute pan, and brown the lamb in batches until there’s a slight brown crust on the sides, approximately 5 minutes. Set the lamb aside.

4.  In the oil that is still in the pan, mix in the cardamom and cinnamon.  Add the shallots, and saute until slightly browned.

5. Add the garlic paste, jalapenos, and remaining spices to the pan. Stir for approximately three minutes, browning the mixture slightly.

6. Deglaze the pan with the cream and 1/2 cup water. Scrape all of the browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Return the lamb pieces to the pan. Cover, and simmer on low-medium heat for one hour, stirring occasionally. After one hour, if the sauce is too thin for your liking, remove the lid and continue simmering until it thickens to your preference.

7. Remove the cinnamon stick and the cardamom pods that you can easily find. I stole the idea from Mike’s Table of using the cinnamon for a photo garnish :) Spoon the fat from the top of the sauce and discard.

8. Serve. I served over cauliflower rice and with some chives, because I wanted some green on the plate. I think that crumbled almonds would work well as a topping, too.

Chicken Tikka Masala with Cauliflower Rice

Inspiration: I’ve been wanting to try cooking more curry dishes at home for a while, now, and I stumbled across this recipe last week while I was looking for just that. Perfect!

What we Loved: This is the best meal that I’ve made in a while. B and I loved absolutely everything about this dish, and I wouldn’t change a thing. The chicken was incredibly moist, and the sauce was so spicy and creamy. It had all of the complex flavors of cinnamon, paprika, tomato, cumin, and garlic, and it had that perfect amount of heat that I expect Indian food to have. B said that this tasted just like what you would get in a restaurant. And on top of that, the cauliflower rice that I tried was amazing! I cooked cauliflower and then shredded it into rice using my food processor, and I can’t even believe how much it looked and tasted like regular white rice. I tried mashed cauliflower recently and couldn’t believe how well it worked, but this rice exceeded my expectations even more. Amazing and healthy.

Helpful Hints: I reduced the cayenne pepper in the original recipe by quite a bit (from two teaspoons to 1/2 teaspoon) and was perfectly happy with the amount of spice. With a jalapeno in the sauce, too, I really don’t think that the dish needed any more heat. But add more if you’d like.  And definitely give the cauliflower rice a try, even if you’re skeptical like I was. It’s amazing.

Chicken Tikka Masala with Cauliflower Rice
Source: Blogchef.net (for the chicken tikka masala)

I made a few changes to the recipe, mostly to adapt to cooking inside instead of grilling. Here’s the recipe as I made it.

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts (cut into bite sized pieces)
¼ cup fresh cilantro (chopped, for garnish)

For the marinade
6 oz yogurt (I used Fage 0%)
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon fresh ginger (minced)
Good pinch of black pepper and Kosher salt

For the sauce
Extra virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 jalapeño pepper, finely diced
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoon paprika
Good pinch of Kosher salt
8 oz tomato sauce
3/4 cup heavy cream

For the cauliflower rice
1 head cauliflower, broken into florets

1. In a large bowl, mix the yogurt, cumin, cinnamon, cayenne, ginger, salt, and pepper. Add the chicken pieices, and mix well. Cover and refrigerate for one hour.

2. In a large saute pan, melt a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and jalapeno, and saute for one minute. Add the cumin, paprika, and salt, and stir to combine. Mix in the tomato sauce and cream. Bring to a boil, and then reduce to a simmer. Simmer for 20 minutes.

3. While the sauce is simmering, heat a second saute pan over medium heat. Add the chicken, and saute until cooked through, approximately ten minutes.

4. Meanwhile, add the cauliflower florets to a sauce pan. Cover with water, and cook for 6-8 minutes, until cooked through. Using the shredding attachment of a food processor, rice the cauliflower.

5. Add the chicken to the sauce, stirring to coat the chicken. Serve with the cauliflower rice and cilantro.