Saag Paneer with Turmeric Basmati Rice

Turmeric Basmati Rice::
1 cup rice
1 tsp turmeric

Wash rice well with several rinses cold water; rub the rice grains lightly in the water, to help remove the white residue.

Add the appropriate amount of rice and cold water into your rice cooker's bowl. Add turmeric. Let the rice soak in the water for at least 30 minutes, and then cook in rice cooker.

Saag Paneer:
2 bunches of spinach, washed well
1 Tbsp mild curry + 6 tsp vindaloo curry
6 cloves minced garlic
1 Tbsp grated ginger
1 tsp powdered coriander seed
1 stick cinnamon
2 dried red chili
1 quart buttermilk
1 cup plain yogurt
1 pinch salt
1 pinch nutmeg
1 paneer cheese package
a few Tbsp ghee

Blanch spinach in hot water quickly. Rinse well with cold water to stop the spinach from cooking. When cool, squeeze the spinach to remove excess water. Mince with a knife on a cutting board.

Cut paneer into cubes. Brown the cubes in ghee until the cheese has browned. Set aside.

Mince garlic, and saute briefly in ghee until fragrant. Add curry powder and briefly cook until fragrant. Be careful to not burn the curry powder. Add 1/2 cup buttermilk and mix well with curry. Bring to a boil. When the liquid starts to dry out, add another 1/2 cup buttermilk. Add 1 cinnamon stick, grated ginger, salt, red chili cut into flakes, and pinch of nutmeg. Continue cooking for 5 minutes; if the liquid starts to dry out add more buttermilk. Add spinach, and continue to add buttermilk until the entire quart has been added. Mix thoroughly. Cook for 30 minutes or so at a low simmer, until the flavors develop. Add 1 cup plain yogurt, and cheese cubes and let cook for 5 minutes or until the cheese is warm and slightly soft. Serve hot with rice.

Balsamic Baby Roast Peppers

This is one of my mother's recipes.

Preheat oven to 375. Place baby peppers in baking dish, and pour some balsamic vinegar over them. Lightly salt. Bake for about 45 minute or until soft, stirring halfway through. Stir immediately after removing from the oven, to coat the peppers with the reduced balsamic vinegar. This can be eaten warm, room temperature, or cold.

Pasta with Red Sauce

I made this entire dish in an hour. It was easy! As the pasta water was coming to a boil, I minced 3 garlic cloves and smashed 3 other cloves, and then sauteed them in olive oil. I poured the entire contents of one can of US-grown san marzano whole canned tomatoes in, half a cup of wine, some minced oregano leaves from my garden, salt, a sprinkle of Spanish smoked paprika, 1 dried red chili cut in half. I cooked this at a low boil until some of the tomatoes started to break apart (about 45 minutes). Since I was in a rush, I crushed the remaining tomatoes with a spatula. As this was cooking, I boiled the pasta until it was almost, but not fully cooked. I drained in and tossed it in a saute pan with olive oil, and then mixed in the sauce, and let it cook for a minute or two. Finally I ripped some fresh basil leaves, just before eating this. I was quite happy with this, for something that I made to eat in an hour, as I was rushing out of the apartment to meet some friends. Even though the tomatoes are US-grown, I thought the canned tomatoes had great quality--very sweet but also acidic, and they made the dish (the ones with the white label and a repeating pop arty graphic of a tomoate). I think this type of canned tomato would be great in a longer cooked sauce too!