A rich, spicy curry made with amaranth greens and mild paneer cheese.
Course: Main Course, Side Dish
Cuisine: Indian
Keyword: Amaranth, Curry, Paneer, Saag
Ingredients
1lbfresh or blanched and frozen amaranth
1 16ozcan coconut milkhigh fat
1tablespoonminced ginger
3clovesof garlic
1/2tablespoonminced fresh tumericoptional
1small onionfinely chopped to yield 1 cup
1teaspoongarum masalaI buy mine in bulk from a coop
1-2whole serrano chiliswith seeds (1 for a mild dish, 2 for hot)
1/8teaspoonwild caraway or conventional caraway or cumin seedstoasted
8ozpaneer cheesecut into small rectangles or cubes (optional, and halloumi can be substituted)
Kosher salt
1/4cupgheecoconut oil, or lard
Instructions
If your amaranth greens are raw, blanch it in salted water for a few seconds until wilted, then shock in an ice bath to chill. Remove the amaranth greens, squeeze out the water, and coarsely chop. You want the greens to hold some texture, but they should be able to fit on a spoon-just look out for long stems.
In a food processor, or in a mortar and pestle, coarsely pulse or pound 1 teaspoon of salt with the serrano, garlic, ginger, onion and tumeric until coarse-fine.
Add the ground aromatics with the oil to a large cast iron skillet and cook on medium heat for 5 minutes. Add the caraway and garum masala and cook 5 minutes more.
Add the coconut milk, and amaranth and simmer until the mixture is thickened slightly, about 10 minutes, it should be spoonable, but not soupy. Meanwhile, quickly pan fry the cheese on one side only, as overcooking can make them tough. You can also just warm them up in the greens when you add the coconut milk, but it isn't as pretty.
Double check the seasoning for salt, adjust as needed, then serve immediately with rice or flatbread.