rheaitis

So the name of the food is in quotes up there because this is really really not how the dish is usually cooked. But it's got paneer and it's got palak, albeit not enough, so what else can I call it? Cottage cheese in spinach garlic sauce?

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Ingredients

• 200 gm paneer/cottage cheese


• 200 gm spinach/palak


• 2 tablespoons jeera/cumin


• 6-8 cloves of garlic


• salt to taste

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Method

So the trick is to have a couple of things going at the same time, because this is going to reduce cooking+prep time. I assume time is of the essence or you'd be cooking this the usual way.

Start by soaking spinach. It's the only way to really get the dirt out; depending where you've bought it you might have to change the water a couple times.



Now while this is soaking, heat oil in a pan and add cumin.


Mince the garlic while the cumin sputters.



After the cumin starts letting off scent, add garlic, saute till transparent and beginning to turn golden.


Chop up spinach with a weather eye on the garlic.


Add spinach to the pan


Rinse out the bowl in which you were soaking spinach and soak paneer unless you just bought it from a shop/dairy/doodhwala. My packet of Amul Malai had been sitting in the freezer for a couple days and really needed the soaking.



Take a completely gratuitous photo of the palak because it's funny when it wilts.



Now add the paneer and allow to cook for ten minutes or so. You can add in the water from the paneer, which I did and which will have to suffice for the paneer photo because my phone glitched while I was taking a shot after adding paneer and I didn't notice till just now.



You can leave some liquid in the pan, especially if you're using this as an accompaniment to rice or iterations of roti, but I prefer to cook it down till the water's all gone and the paneer's brown and crumbly. Add salt before you take it off the fire/stove/induction if you hadn't before; I hadn't because I always forget about salt.

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Consume with carbs of choice, or a nice cool drink because cooking is hot work in this weather and please please desist from cooking this for shakahari/niramisashi/vegetarian family members, cause remember, garlic is non-veg.

So yesterday I made tuna pasta, my parents freaked out and ordered me to get other food delivered because apparently this was a suicidal move (My mother's allergic to sea-food, I... might be, and once about three years ago my mouth itched for about five minutes because of tuna), I told them I was and had the pasta anyway, popped a couple cetrizine tablets and then proceeded to freak out myself and friends by agonizing whether my incipient cold was actually my throat closing up.

Good times, yo.

1. Saute onion and garlic in olive oil, using the oil the fish has been canned in.
2. When onion turns transparent put in shredded fish and saute till browned.
3. Pour water, and add pasta when water starts boiling.
4. Cook with the lid closed till pasta is al dente.
5. Add salt, pepper, spices to taste.
6. When sauce has thickened, add cheese and turn off the heat.
7. Let cheese melt to create a crust, or stir it into the pasta.
8. Optional last step, pop a cetrizine tablet and enjoy your meal.

Today I made pasta with broccoli, mushrooms, and capsicum.

Recipe:

1. Add capsicum to heated oil, saute till tender and beginning to brown.
2. Add mushrooms, brown till letting off water.
3. Lightly saute broccoli (I removed the mushrooms and capsicum before frying broccoli but that's space-constraint)
4. Add water, simmer everything.
5. Add macaroni, salt, pepper, spices according to taste.
6. Turn off heat when pasta's as cooked as you like.
7. Optional last step, add cheese.