Saag Paneer from Scratch

In late March and early April, when I was home in Eugene, OR, we went to 'Govinda's Vegetarian Buffet'. Years ago, just the name of this place would have put me off - I wasn't sure what to make of it and had no idea what sort of food they served. These days, it may be our favourite restaurant in Eugene - or at least, 'old reliable'. Govinda's looks like an oversized espresso shack on River Road - not a street known for its food (unless it's fast and processed). But when our bodies have had it with espresso, pricey joints and glasses of wine with desert, Govinda's is just what the doctor ordered. What can I say, when you know what it feels like to eat really health food, how can you not keep coming back?

I generally adore Hare Krishna food - wholesome, vegetarian and totally scrummy (that's 'scrumptious' plus 'yummy' for those who don't know British English). When I asked for recipes, they recommended a book called 'The Higher Taste'. In a happy, synchronistic moment during the first cooking class I taught after returning to England, one of my students produced a pile of The Higher Taste cookbooks and said he was giving them away for free! How great is that? It turns out that it's not so much a collection of pure H.K-style recipes, but a mix of dishes from all over the globe - India, Thailand, Middle East, Europe, Greek, Latin American and more. One of the Indian recipes was for saag paneer.



I've cooked Ayurvedically for years now, with classic Indian spices & herbs, but haven't done much home cooking of the typical curry house dishes: naan bread, chana masala, etc. That all changed last week when I made Saag Paneer from scratch.

This was a process that took several days - which I hope won't put you off. Think of it as a good excuse to relax and take it slow. Or, you can just go out and buy your paneer and then it'll only take you half an hour. Or, use chickpeas instead of paneer. But I wanted to be able to say I'd made my own cheese, and I wanted my paneer to be organic and hormone free, damn it - so I took matters into my own hands. If you don't eat dairy, just skip this first part and substitute 1 1/2 cups cooked chickpeas for the paneer.

Paneer for one meal, serving two hungry people:

2 litres (8 cups, almost 4 pints) of organic whole milk
1 lemon (for 3-4 Tablespoons of lemon juice)
Cheesecloth
fresh herbs - optional. I used several pinches of dry basil.

Juice your lemon first.
Pour the milk into a big saucepan with several inches of room at the top for foamy boiling. Bring it to a full rolling boil on medium high heat, stirring frequently to prevent any sticking or scalding. When it boils and foams up, turn the heat to low, and while it's still foamy, drizzle in the lemon juice. Give it a slow stir in one direction and after 10 - 15 seconds, take the pot off the heat. Continue to agitate the 'milk', which will separate into a pale yellow-green watery liquid, plus lumps of curdled clumps at the bottom. If your clumps aren't forming after one minute, place it back over the heat and keep stirring gently; if necessary, add a little more lemon juice. When the curd has formed clumps, cover the saucepan and set aside for 10 minutes.



Place a sieve or colander in the sink and cover the inside with 2 - 3 thicknesses of cheesecloth. Drape the edges of the cloth over the side of the colander. Gently pour the liquid and curd clumps into the colander. If you're going to add in any herbs, do it now by gently folding them in. Then pick up the corners of the cheesecloth, twist it up and run it under cold water for a few seconds. Squeeze your curd bundle to drain out excess liquid. If you have something to secure the twisted bit of cloth, like a wire tie, that's handy. At this point, I simply put a milk bottle, filled with water, into a coffee mug and used this as a weight to further compress the water out of the cheese and also to keep the cloth together. So basically, find something heavy and put it on top to continue draining the cheese.



After half an hour, you're in business. It should be compressed and feel firm. If you're not going to use the cheese immediately, then wrap it in a paper towel, place in a container and refrigerate - use within 4 days.


Saag Paneer
Adapted from "The Higher Taste", published by The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust

2 very large bunches of fresh spinach (if they are not very large, then make it 3 or 4 bunches - spinach really cooks down!)
1 block of paneer, cut into half inch cubes (or 1 1/2 cups cooked chickpeas)
1 large garlic clove, minced
1 fresh hot green chili, seeds removed and minced (optional)
1 teaspoon finely grated fresh ginger
1 1/2 teaspoons ground coriander
1 teaspoon sweet paprika
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon sea or rock salt
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2 teaspoons ghee (clarified butter) or coconut oil
4 tablespoons cream (I improvised and used whole milk)
1 teaspoon garam masala
1 teaspoon salt

Steam the spinach in a large saucepan with a little bit of water until it has cooked down and softened. With a fork, lift it out of the pan and into a food processor. Whiz it up a few times until it's roughly pureed. Remove and set aside.
With a mortar and pestle or a blender, or the same food processor after rinsing it out, blend the minced ginger, chili and garlic with a spoonful of cold water. Add the coriander, paprika, cumin and turmeric; pound or blend into a smooth paste.
Heat the ghee or oil in a large saucepan over medium heat, then add the spice paste and fry for a minute or two until the paste is aromatic and starts to stick. Fold in the spinach and mix well to combine with the spices. Cook for a few minutes, then add in the cream, paneer, garam masala, salt and cook for another few minutes. Serve hot with steamed basmati rice.