A nice lunch curry: spinach, sweet potato, and paneer

This morning I went down to campus a little late so that I could get a few things done at home, and S. requested that I take a little extra time to try to scare something up for our lunches. I looked in the cupboard and found it not entirely bare, so I cobbled together a curry. It turned out very well, so I thought I ought to make a note of what I did. This won't be in a format designed to be specially user-friendly, I'm afraid, because I'm just going to write down what I did.

1. Heat olive oil in a suitable pan -- it must have a lid. Add about 1 T. mustard seeds, 1 t. cumin seeds, and 1 t. whole coriander seeds. Cook one minute.

2. Add 1 t. ground cumin, 1/2 t. turmeric, and 1/4 t. cayenne. Cook 1 minute more.

3. Add 1 medium onion, diced fine. Cook until golden.

4. Add 1 not-too-large sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1" cubes. Stir-fry a little. Then add 3/4 c. water and 1/2 t. salt. Cover the pan and simmer until the sweet potato is on the firm side of tender.

5. Uncover the pan and let the liquid cook down. Add a handful or two of spinach (I used the very nice Trader Joe's whole-leaf frozen spinach), and some cubed paneer or queso fresco. When the spinach is wilted and the cheese is heated through, add the juice of 1/2 lemon. Adjust salt and spiciness.

PS. I know that many lovely people think that sweet potatoes are the work of the devil. And, you know, that's cool with me. But if you don't feel that way or even are on the fence about them, I think that you'll find that spiciness and curry spices go very well with them. And once again I feel compelled to point out that this whole combination is also quite good for you, though it would be well worth eating even if it weren't.

Comments

[lindy]

This sounds particularly nice, and more than a little special for a packed lunch. I did not know that sweet potatoes were controversial. But it's all true about good for you, fence sitters, and they have a lovely orange glow.

[Tony-Bachelor cooking]

This is a good bachelor recipe

[bandicoot]

mmmm, delicious!
i make something a little similar and add a touch of coconut cream and chopped tomatoes along with the spinach/paneer/sweet potato combo.

i didn't know about the sweet potato controversy either....we eat simply bazillions of the things around here!