Monday 25 August 2008

23.08.08: Imposter saag paneer

She made Saturday nite at home awfully cosy with Our fave saag paneer, starring halloumi as paneer, with Geeta's papaya orange chutney quietly shining in its supporting role. A soopah salad of radishes, avo, toasty pumpkinseeds, carrot, and lamb's lettuce drizzled with Nigella's wasabi lime dressing made for a pretty, well-balanced plate.

SHE SAYS: There's something about piling a spicy, rich curry on the fork with lots of crunchy salad that makes everything seem right for a little while. I suspected the M&S halloumi would be best for this dish, and it did indeed keep its firm texture, release perfect saltiness, and add the merest hint of mint to the proceedings.

HE SAYS: This dish has a lot going for it. The halloumi is so saltastic and moreish and the spinach, mild and creamy without the cream, so the overall effect is so satisfying. With a big dollop of chutney on top adding a little shweet spice to the plate, I was one happy camper. I am so enjoying our current craze of julienne carrots and delish toasted pumpkin seeds smothered by the always tasty dressing, which manages to
intensify all that it covers - including some rice, which didn't mind a bit. In fact it made for some interesting unexpected mouthfuls.

2 comments:

Mallika said...

Substituting halloumi for paneer is and inspired idea. I've always fel cold paneer can taste somewhat close to polystyrene.

N+D said...

Hi Mallika, as you can see We love your recipe - it has just the right amount of richness that She doesn't feel terribly guilty after a big plateful!

The halloumi does v well, and the mint doesn't intrude on the other flavours, but if We could easily get our hands on some paneer, we would.

Looking fwd to perusing more of your lovely recipes soon...