Back in the days when I tackled such challenging projects, I made my own paneer, the fresh cheese that is integral to this dish of spicy spinach. Although you can buy paneer at markets specializing in Indian ingredients (and you can find these in almost every city), there is a superb substitute, and it’s sold everywhere: tofu. Like paneer, tofu is a fresh, quickly made cheese; it just happens to have a soy base rather than a cow’s milk base. But both are supremely bland, tender, and delicate. The curry powder used here should not be especially fiery or laden with black pepper, but on the sweet side, containing spices like nutmeg, cardamom, and cinnamon. (If you’re making your own, you’ll find a recipe on page 593; if you’re buying, just try to avoid mixes labeled hot.)
Recipe information
Yield
makes 4 servings
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
Trim the spinach of its tough, thick stems (with bunched spinach, you can often simply cut off the bottom couple of inches) and wash it to remove all traces of sand; do not dry it. Chop it into pieces no more than an inch or so along any dimension. Cut the block of tofu in half horizontally and wrap it in several layers of paper towels. Put it under a couple of plates; you want some weight on it, but not a lot.
Step 2
Put the butter in a large skillet, preferably nonstick, over medium-high heat. A minute later, add the ginger, garlic, and chiles and cook, stirring occasionally, just until the garlic begins to color, a minute or two. Stir in the curry powder and a large pinch of salt and cook, stirring, for about 30 seconds. Add the spinach all at once. Cook, stirring, until the spinach wilts, then add the yogurt and a cup of the cream. Fish out the chiles and discard.
Step 3
Let the mixture boil fairly rapidly, over medium to medium-high heat; at first, the spinach will give up its water and the amount of liquid in the pan will increase. Then it will begin to evaporate, and the mixture will become drier and drier. When it is nearly dry but still creamy, cut the tofu into 1/2-inch pieces and incorporate. When the tofu is hot, add the remaining cream to make the mixture a bit saucier. Taste and adjust the seasoning, stir, and serve.
Spicy Spinach Sauce
Step 4
The same dish, without the paneer or tofu, used in India on dishes from grilled chicken to steamed broccoli: In step 3, omit the tofu and puree the mixture with enough of the cream to allow the machine to do its work. Add a squeeze of lime juice and serve with grilled or pan-grilled meat, poultry, fish, or vegetables.
