Spiced Paneer, Spinach and Pea Grain Bowl with Mint Yoghurt Sauce
Elly Pear's Spiced Paneer, Spinach and Pea Grain Bowl recipe is a vegetarian crowd-pleaser, great for a weekend dinner with friends. This dish is packed with nutritious veggies and a healthy kick of spice.
From the book
Green: Veggie And Vegan Meals For No-Fuss Weeks And Relaxed Weekends
Inspiring vegetarian and vegan recipes
Quick and easy ideas for weeknights
Laid-back feasts and batch cooking tips for weekends
Buy From
Introduction
The spicy cubes of fried paneer cheese are strong competition, but I reckon it’s actually the sauce that is the star of this show. Inspired by Indian restaurant yoghurt sauce (perfect for dipping shards of poppadum into while you neck a cold beer and deliberate over what to order), it was one of the most popular things I’d made in ages when I first served it up. Everyone loved it. I was then tempted to put it on everything, of course. For a real feast, this dish goes particularly well with the Cauliflower and Spinach Pakoras recipe, also from Green.
Ingredients
| 2 tbsp | coconut oil (coconut is best for flavour, but any oil is fine) |
| 2 x 225g packs | paneer, cut into 2cm cubes |
| 1 | garlic clove, peeled and grated or crushed |
| 2cm piece | fresh root ginger, peeled and grated or crushed |
| 1 tsp | cumin seeds |
| 2–4 tbsp | tandoori curry paste (according to taste) |
| 250g | frozen peas, defrosted |
| 4 tbsp | boiling water |
| 2 x 220g pouches | mixed rice and grains (I use brown rice and mixed grains) |
| 130g | baby leaf spinach |
| Lemon wedges, to serve | |
| Red chilli slices, to serve | |
| Naan bread, to serve | |
| For the yoghurt sauce: | |
| 250g | Greek-style yoghurt or plain coconut yoghurt |
| 1 tsp | ground turmeric |
| 2 tsp | lemon juice |
| 3 tsp | mint sauce |
| 1 tsp | caster sugar (or to taste) |
| 2 heaped tbsp | finely chopped fresh coriander |
| ½ tsp | flaked sea salt |
Method
Heat the coconut oil in a large frying pan over a medium– high heat. Add the paneer cubes to the pan and fry until golden, in batches if necessary. Allow the paneer to form a crust on each side of the cubes before turning them over.
This takes about 10 minutes, but it stops the paneer from breaking up and also adds a lot of important flavour and texture. Remove from the pan and set aside.
Lower the heat to medium–low then gently fry the garlic, ginger and cumin seeds for 1 minute. Return the paneer to the pan, add the curry paste, stir and fry for 1 minute over a medium heat. Add the peas along with 4 tablespoons of boiling water and stir everything together.
If you have a microwave, you can speed things up a little by warming the pouches of rice and mixed grains according to the packet instructions. If you don’t have a microwave, don’t fear. (Neither do I!) Simply add the rice and grains to the pan, separating them with your fingers to break up any clumps as they tumble in.
Add the spinach to the pan, toss it all together, then cover with a lid and cook for 2–3 minutes until the spinach has wilted and everything is piping hot.
Meanwhile, make the mint yoghurt sauce. Place the yoghurt in a small bowl and stir in all the other ingredients.
Divide the rice and grains mixture between 4 bowls.
Serve with lemon wedges, red chilli slices and naan bread, alongside the bowl of mint yoghurt sauce.
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