Indian Spinach with Paneer

Indian food. It's tasty. At least the American version I get - I imagine the real thing is good too. To keep me from going to the little Indian food district we've got goin' on here in Seattle all the time, I make this dish from time to time. I've made it with some homemade naan and spicy chicken (show off), but I'd be pretty happy just eating this plain from the tupperware. As I may have done.

This recipe is adapted from one in Fine Cooking - it was originally for 6 servings (this is roughly 3 servings) and also called for chick peas instead of paneer, but it was a strange texture. If you don't have garam masala, throw in a bit of cumin, a bit of clove, and whatever else you feel like. Also, there were a bunch of words and warnings in the recipe, and I didn't think they were that important. And sometimes, I forget to thaw my spinach in time, so it ends up being a big block of frozen spinach in my pan. That takes a while, so if you're like me, maybe you should thaw it first in the microwave?

Indian Spinach with Yogurt and Paneer
1 Tbs. olive oil
1/2 yellow onion, or 1 shallot, chopped to medium dice
1-2 cloves garlic, chopped (about 2 tsp.)
1 1/2 tsp. minced ginger
1/2 tsp. garam masala
1/2 tsp. ground coriander
10 oz box of frozen spinach, thawed
1/4 tsp. salt
black pepper
scant 1/2 plain yogurt
paneer, diced into 1 in. pieces

Heat the oil over medium-high heat, add the onion or shallot and saute until soft and lightly browned. Add the garlic, ginger, garam masala and coriander and cook very briefly, stirring quickly for 15-30 seconds.

Add the spinach to the pan and stir until well-mixed and heated through, about 2-3 minutes. Remove from the heat and add salt and pepper to taste.

Transfer the spinach to a food processor and add the yogurt and then puree. Return the mixture to the pan and warm the mixture back up. Add the paneer pieces and cook for another minute or so.