Last autumn, we made Thai Pumpkin Curry, so this year, we figured we’d travel a little West and make an Indian Curry! That left us with the question of what other ingredients to use besides the pumpkin. Normally, our minds would go to lentils, chicken, or chickpeas, but while perusing the cheese section of our local grocery store, Paneer caught our eye! We haven’t cooked much with paneer, but we’ve ordered it quite a few times in the past while out to dinner…so we know it doesn’t melt like most cheeses. Instead, it acts a lot more like tofu (for scientific reasons that I don’t understand). Anyway, we decided to use it as our protein for this dish, and we never looked back!
Time: 60 Minutes
Ingredients:
- Paneer
- About 1/3 of a pumpkin (can use canned pumpkin too if you prefer)
- A pint of Canned Tomatoes
- Frozen Peas
- Frozen Chopped Spinach
- Onion
- A few tablespoons of full fat Greek yogurt (or heavy cream)
- Spices
- Freshly grated Ginger
- Ground Cloves
- Ground Cumin
- Ground Turmeric
- Dried Cilantro
- Red Pepper Flakes
- Ground Cinnamon
Method:
- Prep your pumpkin (unless using canned pumpkin):
- Cut the stem off. Then place on your cutting board flat side down, and cut the pumpkin in half.
- Scoop out the seeds and stringy parts
- Cut your pumpkin into wedges.
- Cut off the skin.
- Cube the pumpkin.
- Boil the pumpkin cubes until they are soft.
- Drain pumpkin water
- Combine your cooked pumpkin cubes and your canned tomatoes, and puree. We used an immersion blender in our original pumpkin pot, but you can also use a blender/Food Processor and then put your puree back into the original pot.
- Stir in all of your spices, and let simmer.
- Melt some butter in a large pot. While that heats, slice your onion and cube your paneer.
- When the butter’s hot, add your onion, and sautee for a few minutes. Then, add your paneer. Cook while stirring occasionally.
- After about 10 minutes, when your paneer has started to brown, add in your peas and spinach, and cook until everything is hot.
- Pour in your pumpkiny sauce, and allow to simmer for about 10 minutes.
- Stir in your Greek yogurt and bring back to a simmer.
- Plate, devour, and enjoy!
