Tag: South Asian
Palak Paneer
Palak Paneer
It’s April 1st, 2020; and every day this month is 4/20. To kick it off, I prepared my favorite Indian dish, and the first one I learned to cook, palak paneer. Palak paneer is a spinach curry gravy with chunks of paneer cheese. You may have seen this dish at an Indian buffet. It is usually overcooked and greenish brown in color. There is no comparison to the homemade version. It takes a little time, but us well worth the results. You can also prepare this dish with chicken or lamb. Below is also a recipe for homemade paneer cheese.
Equipment
- Food processor or immersion blender
Ingredients
- 2 bunches spinach washed
- 1/4 cup water
- 3 tbsp vegetable oil
- 4 green cardamom pods
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 medium white onion finely chopped
- 2 tbsp ginger garlic paste
- 1 green bird’s eye chili finely chopped
- 1 small tomato finely chopped
- 1 tsp coriander powder
- salt to taste
- 1/2 tsp garam masala powder
- 12 oz paneer cheese cubed
Instructions
- Purée the spinach with a 1/4 cup of water in a food processor or immersion blender. Heat up the purée in a sauté pan over medium heat. Sauté for 10-12 minutes until it is thickened and the water has cooked out. Set aside.
- Heat up cooking oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Fry the cinnamon stick, bay leaves, and cardamom pods for 30 seconds.
- Add in the onions and cook for 15 minutes.
- Add in the ginger garlic paste and green chilies. Cook for 2 minutes.
- Add in the tomato. Cook for 6-8 minutes.
- Stir in the coriander powder.
- Pour in the spinach purée in the pan. Season with salt and garam masala. Simmer for 5 minutes.
- Add in the paneer. Simmer for 2 more minutes.
- Turn off the heat and let rest for 5 minutes before serving.
Paneer
Paneer is used in a lot of vegetarian Indian cuisine as a substitute for meat. Paneer is made by adding acidity such as lemon juice or vinegar to boiled milk. The acidity curdles the milk, separating the milk fats frome the whey. They the remaining liquid is squeezed out of the cheese, resulting in a firm cheese that is slightly crumbly. The paneer doesn't melt, holding its shape when being cooked. It almost looks like tofu. Making paneer is quite simple and cost effective, rather than buying store bought brands. Something to keep in mind; 1/2 gallon of whole milk will yield about 8 oz of paneer in the end.
Ingredients
- 1/2 gallon whole milk
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
Instructions
- Over medium heat in a large stock pot, bring the whole milk almost up to a boil. This will take about a half an hour. Make sure to constantly stir the milk so it doesn't burn in the botom of the pot.
- While the milk is cooking, line a collander in a large bowl with cheese cloth.
- At the 30 minute mark, stir in the lemon juice. You will notice in 30-60 seconds the milk curdling. Turn off the heat.
- Pour the milk into the collander. Let it cool.
- Once the milk has cooled, start squeezing out any liquid.
- Place another bowl filled with water on top of the twisted cheese cloth. This will weigh down the cheese and force out more moisture. Let this sit for an hour.
- Take the cheese out of the cheese cloth. At this point, the paneer is firm, but still has some moisture left in it. It will kind of feel like a firmer cream cheese.
- Place the paneer in a bowl or container uncovered in the refrigerator over night. This will help dry out the cheese even more.
- Your paneer will be ready the next day for use.
Palak Dal
Palak Dal
Dal is dried split legumes(lentils, peas, and beans). They are one of the most important food staples in South Asia, especially in the Asian subcontinent of India where a large percent of the population is vegetarian. There are over 50types of dried dal such masoor, urad, moong, toor, chana, etc. Dal is mostly prepared as a soup, usually with a base of onions, garlic, and ginger. It is typically served with steamed rice and some type of a flatbread such as roasted poppadum. Dal is very high in protein, iron, fiber, and vitamin D.This dal recipe contains a hulled and split urad dal, which is a bean called matpe. It is simmered for 45 minutes, then mashed. Cumin seeds, onions, garlic, ginger, and green chilies are then fried, and the mashed dal is added. Chopped spinach is added the last 5 minutes of cooking. The dal is finished off with lemon juice. Serve the palak dal with steamed rice. While lentil soup doesn’t sound very exciting, this dal is unbelievably flavorful and is packed full of vitamins. Plus, all of the ingredients in this recipe is great for your immune system.
Equipment
- bean masher
Ingredients
- 2 cups split urad dal
- 1 bunch spinach washed and finely chopped
- 5 cups water
- 1 tsp turmeric powder
- 1/4 tsp asafoetida
- 3 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 8 garlic cloves finely chopped
- 1” ginger peeled and finely chopped
- 2 green bird’s eye chilies finely chopped
- salt to taste
- 1/2 lemon juiced
Instructions
- In a large pot, combine the dal, turmeric, asafoetida, and 4 cups of water. Simmer over medium heat for 45 minutes.
- Take off the heat. Mash the lentils with a bean masher or the back of a spoon. Set aside.
- Heat cooking oil in another large pot over medium heat. Fry the cumin seeds for 30 seconds.
- Add in the onions, garlic, ginger, and green chilies. Sauté for 8 minutes.
- Add in the mashed dal with 1 cup of water. Simmer for 5 minutes.
- Add in the chopped spinach. Season with salt. Simmer for another 5 minutes. Turn off the heat and squeeze out the juice of half a lemon.
Rajasthani Poppadum Curry
Rajasthani Poppadum Curry
Papads(or poppadum in the U.K.) are very thin lentil flatbreads, about the size of a tortilla. They are either fried or roasted and used as an accompaniment to meals. They come in many flavors and variations from region to region throughout India. In the region of Rajasthan, they are used in curries.What this curry reminds me of is corn tortillas absorbing enchilada sauce, but with Indian flavors. The papads soak up the curry and soften, but still have a firmness to them. The curry sauce is very rich from the yogurt with strong savory flavors from the ginger garlic paste, coriander, cumin, chili and turmeric powders. You could almost just eat this right out of the pan. But don’t. Serve with steamed rice.
Equipment
- Food processor or immersion blender
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
- 1/4 tsp asafoetida
- 2 tbsp ginger garlic paste
- 1 green bird’s eye chili finely chopped
- 1 medium tomato
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 tbsp coriander powder
- 1 tsp turmeric powder
- 1 tsp kashmiri chili powder
- 1 cup Greek yogurt
- 1 cup water
- salt to taste
- 5 poppadum
Garnish
- cilantro chopped
Instructions
- Mix together the ginger garlic paste and green chilies. Set aside.
- In a blender or food processor, purée the tomato and tomato paste. Set aside.
- Heat up cooking oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Sizzle the cumin seeds and asafoetida for 30 seconds.
- Add in the ginger garlic chili paste and fry for 1 minute.
- Add in the tomato purée and fry for 6 minutes.
- Add in the coriander powder, turmeric powder, and Kashmiri chili powder. Fry for 1 minute.
- Slowly whisk in the Greek yogurt. Simmer on low heat for 5 minutes.
- Pour in the water and season with salt. Simmer for 8 minutes.
- While the curry is simmering, preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Place the poppadum on a rack.
- Bake for 3-4 minutes.
- Break up the poppadum into chunks and toss in the curry sauce. Cover and simmer for just 2 minutes.
- Garnish with cilantro.
