A delicious and nutritious way to feed your brain this exam season
Exam season can be overwhelming. You have a lot on your plate. Ironically, with so little free time, some of what is on your plate probably is not doing much for you. I am by no means a model for healthy eating, but even I know that a person needs more than coffee, cigarettes, and whatever starchy leftovers can be found in the Rowell Room. That is why I want to share my favourite recipe, saag paneer.
Saag paneer is an Indian dish which literally means spinach paneer. It is rich, cosy, and packed with iron. I make saag paneer once per week, because it is easy and absolutely delicious. It is a great way to keep yourself strong and energized while you study. Plus, it heats up well in the microwave. So, you can bring it to school and extend your stamina.
Paneer, the flavourless, Indian cheese can be found at Carlos House of Spice in Kensington Market. You could also switch it with firm tofu. Then, if you use a can of coconut milk instead of yogurt, you would have a vegan version of this recipe!
Saag Paneer à la Tom
Total preparation time is about 1 hour and the recipe serves 4-6, depending on portion sizes.
Ingredients
- 16 oz. chopped spinach (I use 2 packs/ 4 bricks of frozen spinach, or a whole XL spinach salad container)
- 12 oz. paneer (one brick, cubed into 0.5” x 0.5” pieces)
- 1 large Spanish onion, finely chopped
- 4 large cloves of garlic, finely chopped
- One 1 1/2” thumb of ginger, finely chopped (or 1 tsp powdered ginger)
- 4 tsp ground coriander
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp garam masala
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1/2 tsp cayenne
- Ground black pepper
- 1 cup water
- 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt (the higher the fat content, the better. So, crême fraiche also works well)
- At least 10 Tbsp olive oil
Procedure
- Assemble all ingredients. You are going to want to have everything at hand, because preparation goes quickly.
- If you are serving this dish with rice, consider how many people you going to serve. If you are serving four, put the rice on right away. If you are serving one or two, put the rice after step 7. Brown rice is obviously a different story and will require extra planning. I find that 2 cups of jasmine rice is the ideal amount to make to account for this whole recipe.
- In a small mixing bowl, whisk together turmeric, cayenne, 1 tsp salt and roughly 3 Tbsp olive oil. Gradually add cubed paneer to this mixture, ensuring each piece gets coated.
- Place coriander, cumin, and garam masala in a small vessel. If you are using powdered ginger, add it as well.
- If using fresh spinach, chop it in a blender or food processor. Blend one large handful at a time, adding a little bit of water as needed to prevent the leaves from sticking. You are going to want a fairly dense slurry, but there is no need to fuss, because excess water will be boiled out. If you are using a brick, thaw it in the microwave. This takes some time. So, I do it while proceeding through the following steps.
- In a large, heavy stockpot, heat roughly 5 Tbsp olive oil until a haze appears. If you have cast iron, use it!
- Add the paneer and its marinating sauce, and turn the heat down to medium. Try to spread the paneer across the bottom of the pot, frying each side.
- While the paneer is frying, chop the onion.
- When the paneer begins to turn golden and becomes somewhat spongey, remove it to its mixing bowl. Try to keep as much oil in the pot as possible. A perforated spoon or tongs can be useful.
- If a lot of oil has been lost, add some more and reheat.
- Add all the remaining spices to the oil and stir until the mixture becomes homogeneous (about 15 seconds). Then add the chopped onion and reduce the heat to medium. Stir the onion to coat it in the oil. Place a lid on the pot.
- About a minute later, add the chopped garlic and chopped ginger (if you are using it), and stir with the onions. Recover the pot, and reduce the heat to medium-low. Let the ingredients caramelize, stirring intermittently.
- Once the onions look like a golden-brown stew, add the blended spinach. Sprinkle a heaping teaspoonful of sugar over the spinach. Also add about a teaspoon of salt and some ground black pepper. Stir the ingredients together.
- Increase the heat to medium and cook the spinach for a few minutes, stirring intermittently. If you used fresh spinach, you will want to boil away a little more moisture — until there are no longer large puddles of water forming on top. Taste the mixture. If it still seems watery, keep going.
- Once the spinach is cooked, turn down the heat to medium-low. Add the yogurt slowly, stirring as you go to prevent it from curdling.
- Once the yogurt has been mixed in, add the paneer.
- Reheat and test the taste. You may have to add more salt to get a pronounced flavour. Once you are satisfied, it’s ready to serve over the rice!
- Pair with an off-dry Riesling, like Tawse Quarry Road or Cave Springs, or with a dry rosé.
