Palak Paneer (Saag Paneer)
Submitted by ocelot on June 7, 2007 - 7:35pm
(4 votes)
Servings:
2-3 servingsThis Indian recipe traditionally calls for fried chunks of mild paneer cheese. The raw version uses mushrooms in its place. If you use tofu, chunks marinated in the same manner would come closer to duplicating the original flavor and texture, but the mushroom works reasonably well.
Ingredients:
1 bunch spinach
1 portobello mushroom
¼ cup nama shoyu
1 chunk
fresh ginger
½ cup rich nut milk
2 clove garlic
½ small to medium onion
1 tablespoon Flax
Oil
1 tablespoon lemon juice
½ teaspoon cinnamon
Indian spice to taste
Salt to taste
¼ cup
cashews (optional), crushed
1 tomato (optional)
Preparation:
Cut mushroom into bite-sized chunks. Degill if desired (not strictly necessary, but makes it a little prettier). Marinate for 1/2 hour or more with nama shoyu mixed with enough water to cover the chunks.
Rinse and dry spinach.
Food process (or Vita-Mix) onions, ginger, and garlic until finely chopped. Add spinach, and process. Add nut milk (I use coconut milk, but cashew or any sort of rich nut milk would do), flax oil, and lemon juice and process until saucy. Add remaining spices and salt to taste. (Traditional spices include cumin, coriander, black pepper, and garam masala – I use a preprepared mix.)
If adding tomato, cut into pieces and pulse in food processor a few times at the very end.
Stir in cashews, if desired.
Drain mushrooms, and pour the sauce on top. Warm in dehydrator if desired. Serve over your favorite sprouted rice or rice substitute
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6 reponses to "Palak Paneer (Saag Paneer)"
1.
I'm sorry it didn't work well for you.
It could be the spices. The spice mix I posted in a previous comment is one I have not actually tried, so I have no clue if they actually work. Palak Paneer is traditionally made with cream, so if the almond milk was normal thin nut milk, it might not work well (like trying to use skim milk in place of cream). If you used the tomatoes, that could have been a problem. Some people in my house don't like them, so I didn't use them myself. Also, I'll admit I used normal non-raw soy sauce, not nama shoyu, and it's possible that has an influence on the flavor.
If you think the spices were likely the problem, I strongly encourage finding a pre-made spice mix at an International food store or something - I like leaving the spice mixing to the experts!
2.
Ok. I made this just now. I LOVE Indian food. Honestly, I did what Ocelot wrote for the Indian spice and put that into a jar. I took 2 Tb of it and made a double batch of the above with the only nut mylk I had....Almond. This was the most disgusting tasting stuff! What did I do wrong? Was it the Almond milk? It was fresh almond mylk. How do I Dr this up? What a waste. I LOVE LOVE LOVE Indian food and have been craving it so I though I would make a raw version. Disappointed in no having any coconut milk. HELP! Any suggestions?
3.
I really love this idea. I love indian food!
4.
Traditional spices include cumin, coriander, black pepper, and garam masala. The spice I used was a dal spice mix, but I have no idea what brand or what the individual ingredients were, as I transferred it into a jar for better storage. The Raw Transformation recommends a mix of 1/4 cup cumin, 1/4 cup tumeric, 1/4 cup curry powder, 1/4 cup lime zest, 1/4 cup paprika, 1 tablespoon cinnamon, and 1 tablespoon nutmeg. That sounds about right to me (though obviously way too much if you simply want to make a single serving).
5.
What Indian spice would you suggest?
6.
I wonder if you could also make a paneer cheese out of cashews, and dehydrate it? Thanks for this recipe--sounds great!