This spinach-cheese dish has always been one of my favorites in the pantheon of North Indian cuisine, and although I’ve tried to make it at home from various recipes found online from my favorite sources, it never looked or tasted quite right. Rajni, my Indian auntie / Indian cooking god mother, said that it’s because many recipes include tomatoes or tomato paste, which changes the flavor. Tomatoes also turn the dish a muddy swamp green. Rajni’s version tasted and looked perfect to me! 

 Ingredients

• 1 small bunch fresh spinach, washed thoroughly (about 250 grams)
• 1 – 1 1/2 cups paneer cubes (about 100 grams)*
• 1 tbsp heavy cream*  
• 2 medium onions, 1 diced into ½ inch cubes and 1 pureed
• 1/2” knob of fresh ginger, grated**
• 2 cloves garlic, minced**
• 1 tsp green chili, minced**
• 2 tbsp ghee or oil, divided
• 1 tsp garam masala, divided
• ½ tsp curry powder
• ¼ tsp cumin seeds
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 cinnamon stick
• Salt to taste

 Instructions:

1. Blanch spinach; blend into a puree
2. Toss paneer cubes with ½ tsp garam masala. Shallow fry in 1 tbsp ghee, turning cubes so they are light brown on multiple sides. Remove paneer from pan.
3. Add remaining 1 tbsp ghee to pan; add cumin, bay leaves and cinnamon; let crackle for 30 seconds
4. Add chopped unions; cook for 1-2 minutes. Add onion puree. Cook until golden brown.
5. Add garlic, ginger, chili. Cook for 1 minute
6. Add ground spices and salt along with 1 tbsp water. Cook, stirring occasionally for 1-2 minutes. 
7. Add spinach puree and cooking for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. 
8. Add paneer cubes. Lower heat and cook for 2 minutes. 
9. Remove from heat. Stir in cream. Garnish with grated paneer and a pinch of garam masala. Serve hot. 

 * to make it vegan, substitute tofu cubes for the paneer, and cashew cream for the heavy cream. For the tofu cubes: soak 1” thick slabs of tofu in hot salt water for 20 minutes. Remove from water, wrap in clean kitchen towels, and place on a flat surface under a cutting board with a heavy pot on top. Press for 20 minutes, then unwrap and cut into cubes. For the cashew cream, soak ¼ cup chopped raw cashews in hot water for an hour, drain, and blend with ¼ cup water until smooth and creamy.

** Rajni suggested that if you’re making several Indian dishes – all of which tend to include ginger, garlic and green chiles, it is easier to make a big batch of ginger/garlic/chile paste using about equal parts of all three ingredients. In that case, use 3 tsp of this paste.

Indian cuisine has so many different types of bread! During our 3 weeks in India, Asher (our family carbotarian) was thrilled to try every variety, but his all-time favorite was the Kerala Paratha that we had in the southern part of India. In fact, our entire family agreed it was the best. It is an unleavened flatbread that is crispy on the edges, chewy in the middle, with delicious layers to peel apart. It reminds me a lot of Taiwanese scallion pancakes, just without the scallions. The dough is the same as regular parathas; the difference is in the special construction technique. 

Ingredients: 

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• ¼ tsp salt
• ½ cup water
• 4 tsp ghee 

Instructions:

1.      Mix flour and salt in a bowl. Add ½ tsp of ghee and rub it through the flour until no lumps remain.

2.      Add water about 2 tbsp at a time, and mix with your hands. Knead the dough* for 2 minutes.  

3.      Cover the dough and leave to rest for at least 10 minutes (An hour is even better; the time gives the dough time to fully hydrate and become easier to work with.)

4.      Shape the parathas: Break off a golf-ball sized piece of dough**, roll it in flour and make a small ball. On a surface dusted with flour, press the ball into a disc with your fingers, then roll it out with a rolling pin into a thin circle (the thinner the better, with more layers in the final product). Pour a few drops of ghee on top and spread it across the surface. Lightly dust with a bit of flour, and spread the flour across the surface too. Starting at one edge of the circle, roll up the pancake into a cylinder, then wrap the cylinder into a snail-shell-like spiral, tucking the end underneath.  Flatten the spiral with your fingers and roll the spiral into a thin flat circle, about 0.5 cm thick. 

5.      Cook the paratha in a medium-hot, unoiled cast iron skillet or frying pan, flipping over once it starts to change color, in as short as 10 seconds. Sprinkle with 1 tsp of ghee and flip it over. Cook until light brown in spots. Sprinkle the other side with ghee and flip it over, again cooking until light brown in spots. Serve right away, while still hot.      

*Experienced home cooks in many cultures seem to have developed an instinct for making dough of the perfect consistency without measuring any ingredients. The ratio of flour to water does depend a bit on the flour and ambient humidity, so you might need to add a bit more flour or water to get to the right texture. This dough shouldn’t be too sticky, and once rested and ready to roll out, the dough should be soft and smooth.

** Keep the rest of the dough covered while you work with each piece.

Corbin and I took a cooking class in the beautiful city of Udaipur. It was really more of an inspiring cooking show, as Rajni, a self-taught home cook, produced delicious masterpieces one after the other in her very compact home kitchen, with minimal assistance from either of us! I especially loved the little tips and tricks that Rajni shared with us, and started thinking of her as an Indian Auntie / Godmother of Indian Cooking. I was delighted when Rajni showed me how to make a proper lassi! I’d previously thought of the lassi as kind of a smoothie, but frozen mango chunks blended with yogurt, mango juice and ice (my previous shortcut version) isn’t quite the same. Rajni’s authentic version has a lovely subtle and sophisticated flavor thanks to the saffron and cardamom.

Ingredients:

• 1 ½ cups plain fresh yogurt
• 1 cup water
• ½ cup milk
• 2 tsp sugar or to taste
• ¼ tsp ground cardamom
• 1 pinch saffron
• 2 tsp finely chopped pistachios or cashews (optional)
• A few raisins or other small pieces of dried fruit (optional)

Instructions:

1. Mix yogurt with water. Pour into a muslin or cheesecloth bag (or cheesecloth-lined colander) and leave to drain for 30 minutes*
2. Grind saffron with a teaspoon of warm milk in a mortar and pestle or the back of a spoon in a bowl.  
3. Add sugar, milk, cardamom powder and saffron mixture to yogurt; mix well.
4. Pour into glasses and chill. Sprinkle with nuts and raisins to garnish, if desired. 

*You might be tempted to skip this step, but don’t! It’s important to remove the sour taste. Save the whey for another use; I use it instead of water as a base for vegan soups.