20110403 Palak Paneer (Spinach with Paneer)

I love palak paneer. At our favorite Indian restaurant in The Hague, palak paneer comes with every menu and I always cleared the dish. So I thought I would give this a try myself. I found so many different palak paneer recipes. As I was feeling adventurous, I decided to modify them and make one of my own. Okay, the dish looked a bit more orange-y and tasted a little more tomato-y than the one from the restaurant. But who cares, because this tasted pretty darn good! Next time I may make a bigger portion and simply serve it with plain basmati rice.

INGREDIENTS
2 tbsp oil
1/2 tsp cumin seed
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
1 tbsp ginger paste
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1 small onion, pureed
100g chopped tomatoes, pureed
100ml creme fraiche
salt
280g frozen pureed spinach, thawed
150g paneer, cubed

METHOD
1. Heat enough oil in a pan to slightly deep fry paneer for about half a minute. Set aside.
2. Heat 2 tbsp of oil in a wok. Add cumin seeds, turmeric, red chilli powder, ginger, and red chilli, and fry until fragrant. Add pureed onion and tomato, and cook until they become a soft paste.
3. Stir in the spinach puree. Add the creme fraiche, and season with salt. Simmer for about 7 minutes with lid on. Add paneer, and cook for a few minutes until heated through.