I’d wager that paneer cheese and potatoes here, are more or less interchangeable, with the main difference being how you’d cook the potatoes (it’s probably easiest to chop to desired size, then boil until just tender on their own in salted water, then add to the curry at the same time you would the paneer; but you absolutely could try frying them off in oil/butter, though it’d take forever to get 'em tender that way unless they were tiny).
[details=Anyway, Palak Paneer Recipe behind the click!]
##Palak Paneer
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp Ghee or Butter, melted
- 1 tsp Cumin Seeds
- 1 medium Red Onion, diced
- ~1.5 tbsp Ginger-Garlic Paste (or ~2-3 tsp each minced garlic and ginger)
- 2 Green Chilies, minced
- 1 tsp Kosher Salt
- 1/2 tsp Turmeric Powder
- 1/2 tsp Cumin Powder
- 1/2 tsp Red Chili Powder (or to taste)
- 2 tsp Coriander Powder
- 2 medium Roma Tomatoes, diced
- ~1/3 cup Water
- 12-14oz Spinach, washed well
- 1/3 cup Heavy Cream and/or Plain Yogurt
- 12-14 oz Paneer, cut into cubes and fried in oil until light brown on 2-3 sides. . . or ~1 lb cooked, chopped Potato
- 2 tbsp Cilantro, chopped
- 1 tsp Garam Masala Powder
Directions
In a medium-sized dutch oven (or a really large skillet, if you don’t mind a bit of splatter), heat the ghee or butter over medium-high heat. Once it’s hot, add in the cumin seeds, allowing them to sizzle for a few moments before dumping in the onions. Stir this mixture regularly and cook until the onions are beginning to darken noticeably, perhaps about 10-12 minutes.
At that time, add in the ginger-garlic paste and cook, stirring well, about a minute or two, to cook off the raw flavors. Paste especially will want to stick, so be careful. Add in the green chilies and cook another minute, then add in the main powdered spices and seasonings–the salt, turmeric, cumin powder, chili powder, and coriander. Let the spices wake up in the oil for a little bit, then go ahead and dump in the tomatoes.
Depending how wet your diced tomatoes wind up being, you may want to add a little water now, because you’re going to cook them 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until they’ve dissolved into pulp, more or less.
At that time, you’ll add in your spinach. If you want, erm, “chunkier” saag, roughly chop the spinach before adding (or use thawed, drained frozen chopped spinach). If you want smoother, you can add it whole or chopped, since either way, you’re gonna blend it in a bit. Anyway, cook this, stirring the spinach into the masala base you’ve created as it cooks down, until the spinach is entirely wilted. Depending on the size of your pan and the amount of steam coming out of it, that’s probably 1-3 minutes.
If you want it super-smooth, let the mixture cool a little now–uncovered–and then blend it up to your desired texture. Then, add it back to the pan and heat through again. Otherwise, keep it hot, and continue on!
Add in the heavy cream (richer) or yogurt (tangier + healthier) and the paneer (or potatoes), bringing the mixture to a gentle simmer. Then, mix in the cilantro and garam masala and taste for seasoning.[/details]
And just cuz I’m feeling like a nice guy, @arrendek, here’s a vegetarian korma (not vegan, but you could sub out the ghee for oil and get there).
[details=Vegetable Korma Recipe behind the click]
##Vegetable Korma
Ingredients
- 4 tbsp Butter, Ghee, or Oil, divided
- 1/2 tsp Cumin Seeds
- 2 medium Yellow Onions, diced
- 2 tbsp Ginger-Garlic Paste, or ~1 tbsp each minced Ginger and Garlic
- 1 green Chili, minced
- 1/2 tsp Red Chili Powder (or to taste)
- 3/4 tsp Turmeric Powder
- 1 tsp Kosher Salt
- 1 tsp Cumin Powder
- 1 tbsp Coriander Powder
- 2 medium Roma Tomatoes, de-seeded and diced
- 1/3 - 1/2 cup Water
- 1 can Coconut Milk
- ~1lb mixed Vegetables (e.g., diced Carrots, Corn, sliced Green Beans, Lima Beans, diced Potatoes, etc.)
- 3 tbsp Cashew Nut pieces
- 3 tbsp Golden Raisins
- 2 tbsp Cilantro, chopped
- 1 tsp Garam Masala
- 1 tbsp Honey
- (Optional) ~1/4 cup Heavy Cream or Yogurt
Directions
Much like the saag above, grab a good-sized dutch oven or stockpot, stick it over medium-high heat, and add in 2 tbsp of butter/ghee/oil. Add in the cumin seeds and let them sizzle and sputter for a few moments before stirring in the onions. Cook them, stirring regularly, for about 8-10 minutes, until they’re just beginning to take on a pale golden tone.
Add in the ginger-garlic paste and cook, stirring, 1-2 minutes, until the raw scent’s mostly gone away. Add in the green chili and cook another minute. Dump in the powdered spices and seasonings (salt, turmeric, chili, cumin powder, and coriander), let them sizzle for a moment, then add in the tomatoes and just a bit of water. Cook, stirring as needed, for 8 minutes or so, until the tomatoes are soft and pulpy.
For extremely smooth curry, add a little water along with the coconut milk, then blend the mixture using an immersion blender or similar. Otherwise, just the coconut milk.
Either way, bring it back up to heat, taking care–it’ll bubble noticeably now. Add in the vegetables and let them simmer for a few minutes. Smaller stuff like corn may be able to cook entirely in the curry, but tougher veggies like carrots or potatoes might be best to steam halfway before adding (or just use a bag of frozen mixed veggies, like I do!).
While the vegetables heat through, in a skillet, heat the remaining butter/ghee/oil over medium heat and add in the cashews and raisins. Cook them just until they’re taking on a little color and the raisins are plumping up. Add them into the main curry.
At this point, finish off the flavorings with the cilantro, honey, garam masala, and optional cream. Taste it to be sure the salty/sweet/tangy balance is all right, then you’re off to the races![/details]
Just to note, both of these recipes are of the “very rich, restaurant-style” variety. So, not the peak of healthiness, though they could obviously be tweaked toward that without much trouble or (honestly) loss of flavor.
It might just be my model (though it is a pretty decent mid-range Cuisinart, by my reckoning), but there are some real trouble spots. The “lip” of the lid is pretty tight, especially where it hugs the edge of where the feeder-tube pokes through the top, so food tends to get tossed up into there and is an absolute bear to get out if it’s something fairly sticky/tacky, like, say, blended meat. The feeder tube itself–a three-part, interlocking gadget–is also pretty annoying. And for whatever reason, the little removable blades/stabilizers tend not to make perfect contact with the bottom of the main compartment, so food tends to creep up inside of the tubes there.
Is it, like, the most onerous thing ever? No, not at all, but it does kinda put a damper on some recipes.
