The Warren Home 
Home Search search Menu menu Not logged in - Login | Register
The Warren > Reviews > Recipes > Vargr's Saag Paneer

Vargr's Saag Paneer
 Moderated by: Vargr, shadowcat-x, boojum
New Topic Reply Printer Friendly
 Rate Topic 
AuthorPost
 Posted: Thu Mar 5th, 2015 03:43 pm
  PMQuoteReply
1st Post
Vargr
Vargr


Joined: Tue Jun 7th, 2005
Location: Colorado Springs, Colorado USA
Posts: 5009
Status: 
Offline
Mana: 
Inspired by a journal at FACCC on Furaffinity, and a link to a wonderful blog there with luscious descriptions and images of Indian foods, Vrghr has taken the leap into the exotic and wondrous world of Indian Cuisine. Gotta tell ya, this wuff was more than a bit nervous going there. Yes, wuffy has cooked curries before, but Indian dishes rely so strongly on a very large number of powerful and somewhat unusual (for Western cooks) spices and ingredients, that it would be all too easy for wuff to go horribly wrong and create something well on the far side of "inedible".

However, Vrghr was asked to put something "special" together for Roomie and a Friend on Valentine's day (and the friend's birthday). And to wuff's mind, Indian Cuisine certainly met the "special" requirement. So, after a lot of browsing recipes and videos on line, Vrghr screwed up his courage, and jumped in with all four feet!

Special note:
Wuffy didn't have fresh Indian Paneer available, and didn't really have the time to make his own, so tried to substitute Mexican Queso Fresco cheese instead. It nearly, but not quite worked. However, that seems to be mostly wuff's fault: Queso Fresco is a bit more watery and easier melting than Paneer, so it takes slightly different handling. Now that wuff knows what he did wrong, he could easily use it again. And here are the tricks this wuffy discovered, so you can use it successfully too, without having to repeat Vrghr's mistakes:

1) The Queso Fresco will melt if heated too long, so keep your pan hot enough to toast the outside edges, but don't leave the cubes in the hot pan any longer than absolutely necessary.
2) Remove the toasted cubes IMMEDIATELY to a resting plate, and immediately separate them, or they'll happily ooze together into a single cheesy mass
3) Let them rest a bit on the plate while you finish up the prep of the spinach. They toughen up a bit and become far easier to work with if they cool somewhat
4) Don't add them back into the Saag until the spinach is nearly ready to serve. Put them in early and stir things about too much, and they'll gladly disintegrate and melt into the hot sauce.
5) If you're going to do multiple servings (seconds or thirds) or serve more on another day, reserve some of the cubes and add them just before you serve out the next batch, so they don't slowly melt away into the hot spinach
In many areas, Queso Fresco is very easy to find. Keep these tips in mind, and you can successfully make use of this substitute!

As far as results go - wuffy was VERY pleased with this! Vrghr has had Saag at a couple restaurants before, and it has sometimes had a somewhat bitter taste wuffy wasn't so fond of. This was full of strong, very complex flavors that constantly evolved as wuff chewed, but none of that bitterness to be found! Though next time, wuff might finish it with a bit of fresh lemon juice for a touch of brightness.

Though the recipe uses quite a few spices and ingredients, the techniques aren't that tough. Wuffy would rate this as a "moderate", just because of all the items to keep track of. Vrghr had to keep the list up on a tablet in the kitchen, just to make sure he wasn't missing something.

Note1 - You can use frozen spinach (not canned) in this as a substitute for the fresh or baby spinach, but wuff has heard it can cause bitterness. The fresh spinach does bring a lovely, slightly sweet and clean flavor to the dish.

Note2 - This dish has a lot of spices and ingredients. And good quality spices are essential to the outcome of Indian cuisine. Thankfully, there are many good sources of high grade spices on line. Vrghr can personally recommend Penzey's (https://www.penzeys.com) though there are certainly others.

Ingredients
For The Spinach
1 lb fresh Spinach, (baby or mature), if using mature spinach, chop roughly, and remove woody stems
1 large Onion (white, yellow, or purple), grated or chopped fine
1 inch Ginger Root, pealed and minced
3-4 cloves Garlic, smashed (or 2 tsp minced garlic)
1 medium Tomato, diced
1-2 Jalapeños, minced (cores and seeds removed, optional)
1 tsp Chili Paste (or red chili powder)
1 tsp Tomato Paste
2 Bay Leaves
2 tsp fresh Thai Basil, minced
1 can (14oz) Coconut Milk
2-3 Tbs Oil (or Ghee)
+2 Tbs Butter (or Ghee)
1 tsp Cumin Seeds
1 tsp Coriander
1 tsp ground Cumin
1 tsp Turmeric
1 tsp ground Fenugreek (or 1/2 bunch Fenugreek leaves, chopped)
1-2 tsp Garam Masala
1/4 tsp ground Nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground Cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground Cloves
1/2 tsp Cayenne (optional) (or Peri Peri, or minced Thai peppers)
~1-2 tsp Lemon Juice (optional)

For The Cheese
1 Lb fresh Paneer (or Queso Fresco, or similar)
1 Tbs Butter (or Ghee)
flour

Directions
For The Spinach
In a large skillet or woc, heat the first 2-3 Tbs of oil/ghee.
Add the bay leaves, cumin seeds, and tomato paste. If using chili paste instead of red chili powder, add it now. Stir a bit, and heat until the spices are fragrant and flavor the oil (~ 1-2 minutes)
Add the minced/grated onion and the minced Jalapeños. Sprinkle with ~ 1/2 tsp salt. Stir and cook until the onions are tender and translucent.
Add the remaining butter/ghee and allow to melt.
Add the spinach in handfuls, stirring into the onions to wilt. If necessary, cover for 30 seconds or so to help steam and wilt it. Then add more handfuls, stir, and wilt until all the spinach has been added. Add the minced Thai Basil and let it wilt down with the spinach. If using Fenugreek leaves, add them to wilt with the spinach.
Add the ground cumin, turmeric, ground coriander, ground cloves, ground nutmeg, ground cinnamon and ground fenugreek. If using the red chili powder, add it now. Stir together.
Cover, and allow to cook together for 2-3 minutes, or until the chili oil appears around the edges.

Puree the spinach mixture until smooth in a blender or immersion blender.
- If using a blender, process in batches, only filling the blender 1/2 way and covering the lid with a folded towel, holding it down to keep the top from popping and spattering everywhere.
- If using an immersion blender, transfer the spinach to a large, tall pan or bowl and carefully plunge and stir until thoroughly blended. Watch out for hot splashes!

Toast the Paneer/Queso
In a new skillet (or clean the other), heat the butter/ghee until very hot.
Slice the cheese into 1/2-3/4 inch cubes.
In a bowl, toss the cheese with a bit of flour until coated on all sides
Quickly place the cheese into the hot skillet. Allow to toast on one side, then toss/flip to toast another side.
IMMEDIATELY remove the cheese to a resting plate. Separate the cubes so they don't stick together. Allow to cool slightly and rest while finishing up the spinach.

Finish Spinach and Combine
Return the pureed spinach to the large skillet
Add the can of coconut milk (milk, half n half, or cream), and the garam masala. Stir together until completely combined.
Taste, and season with salt and pepper as desired.
Stir in the diced tomatoes. Cover, and allow to simmer about 5 minutes.
If using lemon juice, stir it in now.
Carefully add in the toasted cheese. Allow to warm together for a minute or two.

Plate, garnishing with slices of tomato, extra cubes of cheese, mint leave, parsley, or Thai basil.

Enjoy with Naan, flat bread, Pita bread, etc, to scoop up the rich Saag!

Note - This is intentionally a milder version. You can "heat it up" with cayenne, more chili paste, more jalapeños (or leave the seeds and core in place), or even substitute a Serrano or hotter pepper.

Attachment: vrghr_s_saag_paneer.jpg (Downloaded 4 times)



____________________
We grow not old, so long as we continue to chase our dreams.
Back To Top


 Current time is 06:13 am

The Warren > Reviews > Recipes > Vargr's Saag Paneer
Top



UltraBB 1.172 Copyright © 2007-2011 Data 1 Systems
Page processed in 0.0762 seconds (19% database + 81% PHP). 28 queries executed.