Swiss Chard Paneer

Dear Foodies,


The colder temperatures outside make you crave for hearty, warm food that comforts the soul and the body. It could sometimes be answered by a hearty bowl of soup, or a piled up sandwich. But sometimes you just want to feel the warm grains of rice against your fingers and gobble it up with a side dish of your choice. Nothing can match the satisfaction of eating rice for me, I almost always tend to over eat when its around. And when its paired with greens, you can even convince yourself that its good for you :)

Most greens taste wonderful simply sautéed in your oil of choice, a little garlic and crushed chilli flakes. Spinach, swiss chard, collard greens all do great cooked this way. But last Tuesday at the farmer's market I noticed that huge piles of greens were being lapped up by the bag loads. I couldn't identify them immediately. Curious to see what they were I went to get a closer look and noticed tiny bell peppers growing on a few, while some others had squash flowers and others had little string beans growing on them. I have never seen these being used in cooking before and asked one of the ladies picking up yet another bag of them. And there it was again, sauté in oil with garlic! On my next visit I'm going to be grabbing some of those greens too, and yes, will report back to you :) I suddenly feel like I have many more options for my greens and not just spinach.

Saag (Swiss Chard) Paneer

Ingredients:

• 1 bunch - Swiss chard, washed
• 1/2 slab - Paneer, thawed if using frozen (~15 cubes)
• 1/4 cup - Onion, sliced
• 1/4 cup - Tomato, cubed (substitute with 1Tbsp tomato puree)
• 1/2 tsp each of Ginger & Garlic, minced
• 2 nos - Green chillies, slit lengthwise
• 1/2 tsp - Cumin powder
• 1/2 tsp - Coriander powder
• 1 Tbsp - Oil/Ghee
• pinch of turmeric
• 1/2 tsp - Garam masala
• Salt to taste
• 1 Tbsp - Yogurt/Heavy cream

Method:

1. Rinse the swiss chard, discard the tough lower stems and roughly chop the rest.
2. Heat oil in a saucepan, once its ready add the sliced onions, ginger & garlic. Sprinkle a pinch of salt over them and let the onions soften a bit.
3. Add the chopped tomatoes, chillies, turmeric, cumin and coriander powders next and cook until the tomatoes turn into a mush, about 3-4 mins.
4. Now add the chopped greens (in batches if needed) and stir. It might seem like a lot of greens but they wilt into nothingness very quickly. Sprinkle a little more salt and continue to cook for a few minutes until the greens become tender.
5. Meanwhile, heat a little oil in a shallow pan and cut the paneer into 1/2" thick slices. Place the slices on the pan and brown on both sides. Be cautious while doing so as the moisture in the paneer will cause the oil to splutter. Remove and cut into 1/2" cubes.
6. The greens will release some water when cooking, if not add a about 1/4 cup water and blend using a hand blender. If using a regular blender allow the contents to cool for a bit. Blend to the desired consistency, I prefer to leave it a little coarse or it'll soon resemble swiss chard juice. Not good.
7. Continue to cook the saag on a low heat. Whip some yogurt and add to the mixture along with the paneer cubes. Taste and check for seasonings, sprinkle your favorite garam masala and simmer for 5-10 more minutes on a very low heat.
8. Garnish with some chopped cilantro and serve along with mildly spiced rice or pulka's.

I served this with a simplified jeera rice - cooked the rice separately and then tossed in jeera roasted in some ghee on top. The swiss chard cooked this way is an excellent way to showcase its mild flavor. Greens cooked with dal is very common, but when it comes to swiss chard, that method completely overpowers its delicate flavor. In this dish though you can really enjoy it and you'll even feel like you've pampered yourself :) If you've never cooked with or tasted swiss chard before, this is a great starting point.

Blog Update: I added a print option to each post. Click on print friendly at the end of any post and you can choose which portions of it appear on the final print.