Making Indian food can be intimidating – all those spices, the prep work, the inherent exoticism (I think so, and I’m Indian myself!) But after taking an Indian cooking class at the Chelsea restaurant Bombay Talkie, I realized the hardest part is getting all of the obscure ingredients. After that, it’s really not that different from any other recipe.
Now that I had 90% of the spices, a goodie bag from the class, I really had no excuse not to start experimenting. I used the class’ palak paneer recipe and ditched the paneer for chick peas instead. Why? Making paneer from scratch is a bit too complicated for me (for now) and I wasn’t ready to spend $8 on it at Whole Foods or the Indian store. Plus, paneer has tons of fat. It’s OK sometimes, but I didn’t want that in my stomach the night before an 8-mile run.
It was a huge success! Not going to lie, I’m pretty proud of myself. Here’s the recipe (with the recipe for making paneer if you so desire) and my step-by-step process:
What to get (for paneer):
½ gallon whole milk
½ cup heavy whipping cream
2/3 cup vinegar
What to do:
Heat milk and heavy cream in a cast-iron pot over high heat. When the milk starts to boil, turn down the heat to a medium-high heat and add the vinegar. When the contents of the pot begin to curdle and water rises to the top, take the pot off the heat. Drain contents of pot through three layers of cheesecloth into a bowl or sink. Discard the liquid. Twist the cheesecloth and lay in a casserole pan. Place something heavy over the cheesecloth in order to drain all the liquid from the paneer. After ½ hour, wrap the paneer with plastic wrap and put into the fridge. When paneer is ready to use, cut into squares and lightly fry until golden brown.
What to get for masala:
One packet of frozen spinach, cooked and lightly pureed in a blender
4 tbsp olive oil
2-4 tbsp unsalted butter (you really don’t need more than 2 tbsp)
2 tbsp garlic chopped
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 red onion finely chopped
1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste (available at Indian grocery stores)
1½ tsp turmeric powder
¼-½ tsp red chili powder
1 tsp – coriander powder
1 tsp garam masala
½ tsp salt
½ tsp sugar
4 tbsp tomato puree
1 tbsp tomato paste
½ cup heavy whipping cream
1 can of chick peas (or ½-¾ cup paneer cubes if you’re using)
Heat olive oil and unsalted butter over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and cumin seeds and stir twice. Add onion until translucent and slightly browned. Add ginger-garlic paste. Add ½ cup water. Add turmeric, red chili powder, coriander powder, garam masala. Stir a few times until well blended. Add a 1/8-cup of water. Add salt and sugar and stir twice. Add tomato puree and tomato paste. Stir few times. Add ¼ cup water. Stir a few times. Add the pureed spinach. Cook for five minutes or until see oil rise to the top. Add heavy cream and bring to a boil. Add chick peas (or paneer) and cook for three minutes. Serve with warm naan or rice.
Serves 3-4
Melting the butter in olive oil
While the butter melts, I get the spinach and garlic ready
Adding the ginger-garlic paste to the onions (I used white onions because it's what I had)Adding the turmeric, chili powder, garam masala and ground coriander
End result
Palak with chick peas served with whole wheat pita bread and mango lassi - success!
Bon appétit!