One of the best things about my relationship with Willy, especially from the early days, is that he really got me to broaden my culinary horizons. My foodie life was a bland and drab existence back then. He pushed me to try many a thing that I previously held my up nose up to. Some of those things are still not to my taste (hello guacamole, bleh!), but I am grateful for the many things that I LOVE and never would have eaten had it not been for his nudges.

All of Indian cuisine falls into this category, but spinach dishes in particular. I didn’t really think that I was a fan of spinach, but in reality, I am not sure I ever gave them a chance. I certainly was not interested in even trying spinach curries for a number of years, but then a saag paneer roti from Ghandi Roti in Toronto won me over. Now we eat it all the time!

This dish is called palak paneer, but it is more commonly known as saag paneer in Ottawa. As far as I can tell, the distinction is that saag can refer to any green leafy sauce, which includes spinach, mustard leaf, broccoli or other greens. Palak specifically refers to spinach, palak is Hindi for spinach. This is my take on palak paneer, it took me a few tries to really get the taste to be both authentic and please all of us, but when I made this version this week, we got thumbs up all around!

Palak Paneer
3/4 – 1 lb paneer, cubed
2 tbsp oil for frying paneer
1 tsp oil
1/2 tsp cumin seed
2 medium tomatoes, coarsely chopped
1 tsp minced ginger/ginger paste
1 tsp coriander powder
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
~6 cups of fresh coarsly chopped spinach
1 medium red onion, chopped
1/4 – 1/2 tsp red chili powder
2 – 3 tbsp high fat yogurt

Cut paneer into cubes. Heat a frying pan with 2 tbsp of vegetable oil and lightly fry cubes. Pat down and set aside.

Heat oil and add cumin seeds, heat until they pop/crack.

Meanwhile, puree tomatoes, ginger, coriander and turmeric. Add to cumin seeds and cook until liquid has reduced by about half.

Add spinach and, if necessary, about 1/4 cup water. Cook until spinach wilts.

Drain excess liquid into frying pan and saute onions. Add to spinach mixture and puree until desired consistency (we like it mostly smooth, with a few big pieces of spinach left).

Return to heat and add chili powder and yogurt. Stir well and add paneer. heat for a couple of minutes.

Serve with rice or naan bread. Or both!