Cardamom Spinach Puree Recipes

BRAISED VEAL WITH CARDAMOM- SPINACH PUREE

Steps:

• Heat olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Season veal with 1 teaspoon salt and pepper to taste, place in the pot and brown on all sides, about 10 minutes. Remove veal from the pot and set aside. Pour in the milk. Stir in the cardamom, jalapeno, garlic and onion. Bring just to a simmer. Reduce heat, return veal to pot and adjust heat to prevent milk from simmering. Cook, uncovered, for 1 hour and 20 minutes, turning roast once. Remove from heat and let meat stand in the liquid for 20 minutes. Remove roast from pot, cut off the strings and cover with a warm, damp towel.
• Place 1 cup of cooking liquid in a large saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Add the spinach and cook, stirring, until spinach is wilted, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer spinach and liquid to a food processor and process until smooth. Stir in remaining teaspoon of salt and pepper to taste.
• Trim the ends of the roast and slice across into 6 pieces. Divide the spinach puree among 6 plates, placing it to one side, and top with veal. Serve immediately with Indian-Spiced Potato Gratin (see recipe).

SAAG PANEER

Steps:

• In a large bowl, whisk together the turmeric, cayenne, 1 teaspoon salt and 3 tablespoons oil. Gently, drop in the cubes of paneer and gently toss, taking care not to break the cubes if you're using the homemade kind. Let the cubes marinate while you get the rest of your ingredients together and prepped.
• Thaw the spinach in the microwave in a microwave-safe dish, 5 minutes on high, then puree in a food processor until smooth. Alternatively, you can chop it up very finely with your knife.
• Place a large nonstick skillet over medium heat, and add the paneer as the pan warms. In a couple of minutes give the pan a toss; each piece of paneer should be browned on one side. Fry another minute or so, and then remove the paneer from the pan onto a plate.
• Add the remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons oil to the pan. Add the onions, ginger, garlic and chile. Now here's the important part: saute the mixture until it's evenly toffee-coloured, which should take about 15 minutes. Don't skip this step - this is the foundation of the dish! If you feel like the mixture is drying out and burning, add a couple of tablespoons of water.
• Add the garam masala, coriander and cumin. If you haven't already, sprinkle a little water to keep the spices from burning. Cook, stirring often, until the raw scent of the spices cook out, and it all smells a bit more melodious, 3 to 5 minutes.
• Add the spinach and stir well, incorporating the spiced onion mixture into the spinach. Add a little salt and 1/2 cup of water, stir, and cook about 5 minutes with the lid off.
• Turn the heat off. Add the yogurt, a little at a time to keep it from curdling. Once the yogurt is well mixed into the spinach, add the paneer. Turn the heat back on, cover and cook until everything is warmed through, about 5 minutes. Serve.
• Line a large colander with a large double layer of cheesecloth, and set it in your sink.
• In a large wide pot, bring the milk to a gentle boil over medium heat, stirring frequently to avoid burning the bottom (a nonstick pot works really well for this purpose). This will take a little while so be patient!
• Add the lemon juice and turn the heat down to low. Stirring gently, you should almost immediately see the curds (white milk solids) and whey (the greenish liquid) separate. Don't fret, this is perfect!
• Remove the pot from the heat and carefully pour the contents into the cheesecloth-lined colander. Gently rinse with cool water to get rid of the lemon flavor. At this point, you could squeeze out some of the liquid, and serve with some honey and some nuts, almost like a fresh ricotta!
• Grab the ends of the cheesecloth and twist the ball of cheese to squeeze out the excess whey. Tie the cheesecloth to your kitchen faucet and allow the cheese to drain for about 5 minutes.
• Twisting the ball to compact the cheese into a block, place it on a plate with the twisted part of the cheesecloth on the side (this will ensure your block of cheese is nice and smooth!) and set another plate on top. Weigh the second plate down with cans of beans or a heavy pot. Move to the refrigerator and let it sit about 20 minutes.
• Combine the cinnamon sticks, cloves, green cardamom seeds, black cardamom seeds, if using into a spice grinder or coffee grinder and grind until fine. Store the spice mix in an airtight container away from direct sunlight.

BRAISED VEAL WITH CARDAMOM-SPINACH PUREE

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Season the veal with 1 teaspoon of the salt and pepper. Place the veal in the pot and brown on all sides, about 10 minutes; take out of the pot and set aside.
• Pour in the milk. Stir in the cardamom, jalapeno, garlic and onion. Bring just to a simmer. Reduce heat, return the veal to the pot, and adjust the heat so that the milk stays just below a simmer. Cook, uncovered, for 1 hour 20 minutes, turning the roast once. Remove from heat, and let the veal stand in the liquid for 20 minutes. Remove the veal from the pot, remove the strings from the veal, and cover with a warm, damp towel.
• Place 1 cup of the cooking liquid in a large saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium heat. Add the spinach, and cook, stirring constantly, until it is completely wilted. Transfer to a food processor and process until smooth. Stir in salt and pepper.
• Slice veal into 6 pieces. Spoon some puree into the center of each of 6 plates. Place veal over sauce. Surround with parsleyed potatoes (see recipe), and serve immediately.

LAMB IN PUREED SPINACH (SAAG GOSHT)

Steps:

• Remove fat and cut meat into cubes.
• Seal the meat by lightly browning in a saucepan (stir to prevent sticking) and then remove.
• At the same time, in a separate pan or wok, fry onion until golden in some ghee or oil, then add ginger, garlic and Spices 1.
• Add tomatoes after 5 minutes.
• Add the browned meat, add Spices 2 and the spinach.
• Stir it all about ensuring it doesn't stick and that the spinach is distributed throughout. (If it seems too dry add a little water.).
• Simmer until the meat is tender- about 45 to 60 minutes (although it will improve if cooked longer- just make sure it doesn't dry out, by adding water.).
• Add Spices 3 and fresh coriander and cook for at least another 10 minutes.
• Serve with Pullao/Basmati Rice.