Palak paneer

This one requires getting ahold of some paneer: you can usually get it at international food stores (asian, indian, etc). I think I saw it at Trader Joe's once, too, so maybe it's becoming more mainstream in the States. :) 

• Oil for frying, or ghee 
• Paneer 
• Lots of greens + Mostly spinach + Optionally: mustard greens, fenugreek leaves + Optionally: fresh mint, fresh cilantro 
• Onions 
• Chilis 
• Ginger 
• Tomato 
• Garam masala (for example, like so.) 
• Coriander 
• Cumin 
• Yogurt or cream 
• Lemon 

Fry paneer in a little oil on high heat, until golden and kind of soft and spongy. If you've never fried paneer, don't be shy! It would probably burn before it melted, so don't worry about it melting all over your pan. Just turn up the heat and go at it. Make sure it gets soft on the inside and golden/crispy on the outside. You really don't want hard paneer. 

Remove paneer, turn down the heat, add a little more oil. Saute spices, onion, chili, ginger. *Pro tip*: optionally puree these in a food processor before adding to the pan. Makes for good texture and even flavor distribution. 

Once the other veggies are soft, add greens and chopped tomatoes and let them cook down to mush. Add a little yogurt or cream: enough to give it a good consistency, but not so you'd make it cream-based. At this point, you can puree it all to give it a smoother texture. 

Add salt, pepper, and any additional spices to taste. I usually find myself adding more garam masala at this point, and often extra cinnamon or extra chili powder. Just spice it until you like it. 

Add back the paneer, and let it all simmer a little longer to heat the cheese and let the flavors blend. 

Top with lots of generous squeezes of fresh lemon before serving. Serve with rice.