when in doubt, cook!

[0dense]

So as of this week, SF is Strongly Discouraging large gatherings, so the entire venue for the show we were going to go to as a family has closed for the next few weeks. Best to be careful, but that's a bummer, and boy howdy is this feeding my sense of drama. I just suck at online classes; I’m not looking forward to sucking at learning if campus closes. Lysol’d the bejeesus out of my office's fomites before leaving for the weekend though, so that’s something. 

Anyway! So instead of going to Midsummer, we stayed in and watched Hairspray, and I made palak paneer and papadum. The papadum are still a work in progress but it was tasty, and the palak paneer is my favorite thing to make lately. I’m not claiming authenticity, but it’s simple and delicious, so my recipe (for three people when accompanied by a flatbread) is: 

• One onion, diced
• About five cloves garlic + 5x4x3cm ginger, crushed or grated together
• Garam masala, 1½  tsp
• Cumin, ½ tsp
• Coriander, ½ tsp
• Turmeric, ¼ tsp
• ½ pound paneer, diced. I imagine that you could sub in firm tofu? It just occurs to me now bc I’m marinating some tofu too, so I’ll get back to that after this. 
  • If your paneer is hard from the fridge, dice and let it soak in warm water for a bit before adding it to the veg
• Salt
• A pound of spinach

1. Blanch and drain the spinach
2. In a medium saucepan, melt the onion with ghee/butter 
3. Add in the gigi about ⅔ of the way through
4. Add the spinach
5. Blend together. If you don’t have an emulsion blender, leave the spinach in the boiling water for a little longer and just go to town with a potato masher, maybe? TBH I like it with some texture anyway. The flavor’ll be the same. 
6. Add your salt and spices to taste. The masala from the shop down the street is hotter than the Sadaf version, so it varies. They’re both good, but listen to your own palate and ingredients. 
7. Mix in the paneer and let rest for a bit as you do the other dish of the meal, so that the paneer takes on a bit more of the flavor. Or don’t wait, it’s still tasty!

It’s got to be the simplest main course I’ve got in my bag of tricks, and it’s wildly green and very delicious. The only tedious part is waiting for the onions to clarify and melt down, but the closer I keep the bottom of the pan to 300F, the easier that is. I’ve probably made it three times in the past two months, so it’s quite a winner around here. 

 

Speaking of tofu, though, I’ve gotten into the habit of using our favorite soy sauce marinade on firm tofu! We just sorta eyeball it, but if you melt about a teaspoon of honey or sugar in about half a cup of warm water, and add about three asian soup spoons worth of soy sauce, one soup spoon of white or rice vinegar, and some red pepper flakes if you feel like it, it’s a delicious overnight marinade on softboiled eggs or afternoon marinade on 1cm-sliced tofu. Hm, I should prep those eggs for breakfast on workdays! :)

Comments

[yuuago]

It sucks that you had to change your plans. Sounds like it turned out all right though.

That recipe sounds delicious, I'll have to try it some time. :D