Paneer Saag- Cottage Cheese in Pureed Spinach

Paneer is basically cottage cheese and in Ayurveda and many Indian cultures, cow’s dairy is very important. Sadly, today cows are given GMO feed and growth hormones which affect and alter the quality of the milk. For these and many reasons like a stressed gut, the inability to tolerate cow’s dairy has become very common. Try best to avoid the industrial stuff and buy grass-fed and organic.

1/2 gallon milk
2-3 lemons
muslin cloth or strainer
4-5 cups spinach
1 small onion
1 small tomato
1/2 cup heavy cream or milk
1/2 tsp grated ginger
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1/4 tsp turmeric
1/4 tsp chili powder
Lemon juice
Safflower oil

Step 1:
Bring milk to a boil, then add lemon juice to curdle the milk. Slowly, the whey and milk solids should separate, but add more lemon juice if needed. Strain the milk solids and drain whey into a bowl. Save this for later. Make sure to remove all the moisture from the solids. Add salt to the milk solids and wrap in a cloth. Hang cloth on faucet to help remove any excess moisture for 30 minutes, then put heavy weight onto cheese for a few hours. Leave in the fridge for a day until dense. You can cut into small cubes or chunks.

Step 2:
Saute the paneer cubes or chunks in heated oil until slightly brown.

Step 3:
In a separate pan, add cumin seeds and ginger to heated oil. Cook until seeds sputter. Add onion, tomato, turmeric, and green chili. Mix spinach and whey and cook until wilted and well-cooked. You can mix further in a blender to make a puree. Add some cream or whole milk into puree just to make it more dense. Mix the cooked paneer into the spiced and pureed spinach. Squeeze lemon juice for extra taste.