Saag paneer

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Ingredients

6 l full-cream milk
½ cup white vinegar
10 sundried tomatoes, chopped
salt, to taste
2 bunches spinach leaves
2 T olive oil
1 t crushed garlic
1⁄4 t garam masala
1⁄4 t ground cumin
1⁄4 t ground coriander
½ t chilli powder
fresh cream for serving (optional)
fresh coriander for garnishing

Cooking Instructions

1. Bring the milk to the boil in a deep saucepan, stirring constantly. As soon as the milk starts to boil, remove the saucepan from the heat.

2. Add the vinegar, sun-dried tomatoes and a pinch of salt. After a few minutes, the milk will start to separate into curds and whey. When this happens, pour the mixture through a muslin cloth, allowing the whey to drain.

3. Tie off the muslin cloth and, once cool, place on a plate in the fridge and rest a heavy pan on top. Leave the paneer in the fridge for 2 hours to firm up.

4. Purée the spinach leaves in a blender and set aside.

5. Heat the olive oil in a frying pan and lightly fry the garlic. Add the puréed spinach, garam masala, cumin, ground coriander, chilli powder and a pinch of salt and cook for 15 minutes until the spinach thickens into a rich gravy.

6. Cut the paneer into bite-sized pieces and add to the saag. Stir through some fresh cream if you like. Garnish with fresh coriander and serve with naan.

Cook's note: Paneer is homemade Indian cheese, easy to eat, soft and delicious. Make an extra batch and freeze it for later. Saag is spinach puréed with spices. Together, they make the classic Indian dish, saag paneer. Green has never tasted so good.

This recipe is an extract from Temptations: Exquisite Tastes With An Exotic Touch by Prim Reddy and Niranj Pather published by Penguin Random House South Africa and retailing for R388 at all good book stores.