Saag Paneer

This was the first time I ever made this.  Luckily I had my friend Tom to help me out!

For the Paneer:
1/2 Gallon of Whole Milk
1/2 Cup of Lemon Juice (or Lime)
Cheesecloth (not really an ingredient... but important)

1 tsp Kosher Salt
1 tsp Turmeric
1/2 tsp Cayenne 

For the Garam Masala:

1 tsp Cumin Seed
1 tsp Coriander Seed
1 tsp Cardamom pods
1 Cinnamon Stick
1 tsp whole Clove

For the Rest:
1 lb of Chopped Spinach (frozen works fine)
1 White Onion, chopped
1 Serrano Pepper
1 two-inch piece of Ginger, Grated
4 - 6 cloves of Garlic, Grated
1 cup of plain Yogurt

Start off by making the Paneer.  Bring the Milk to a low Boil, slowly, then add the lemon juice.  After the milk comes to a boil, turn the heat down to low for 5 minutes after adding the lemon juice.  Then let the curdled milk sit for a few minutes off the heat as the curds settle.  Run it through some cheese cloth, rinse the curds, squeeze out the liquid, and let it drain by tying it up into a ball and hanging it from... something... somewhere (I hung it from my faucet).   

Press the cheesecloth-wrapped Paneer between a 2 plates (I like to put some paper towel underneath the ball to wick away some liquid) and put pressure on the Paneer.  I used my hefty dutch oven.  Stash it in the fridge.  

Meanwhile, toast your spices, blend them up, and enjoy the fact that you've just made a garam masala.  Good for you.  

After a half hour (or an hour or more) remove your now-pressed paneer and dice it up.  Be Gentle!  Add the cubes into a mixing bowl and fold them with the remaining Salt, Turmeric, and Cayanne.  Fry the paneer on one side until it's perfectly golden.  Remove the paneer and set it aside.  

In the same pan fry up the garlic, ginger, serrano, and onion.  Really let them get nice and caramelized before adding in your garam masala, cooking for a few minutes more, then adding your chopped spinach.  Cook out the spinach until it wilts and a lot of the liquid evaporates out.  Add plain yogurt to your liking, and season with salt.  Heat it through, add the paneer back to the pan, and enjoy over rice!

It takes some work, but not as much as you would think.  Try it!