Mustard Greens & Spinach with Panir

I’ve made better Indian green recipes than this one. I’ll make another sometime soon and put that up. This was fine, but it didn’t change my life. I would like to do some experimenting and come up with one I really like, one that reminds me of the wonderful ones I’ve had in restaurants – but I think the reason I really like the ones I have in restaurants is because they have a massive amount of clarified butter and cream in them.

a 1-in. cube of fresh ginger, peeled and coarsely chopped
4 cloves garlic, peeled

4 oz. panir
salt
¼ t. garam masala
1/8 t. cayenne pepper
2 T. vegetable oil

2 bunches mustard greens, washed thoroughly and removed from stems
5 oz. fresh spinach

3 T. heavy cream

Put the ginger, garlic, and into the container of an electric blender or food processor along with ¼ c. water. Blend until you have a smooth paste. You may need to push down with a rubber spatula once or twice.

Heat the oil in a large, wide, preferably nonstick sauté pan over a medium flame. Put in all the pieces of panir and fry them, turning them over gently with a slotted spatula, until they are golden brown on all sides. Remove panir and place on a plate in a single layer. Sprinkle panir quickly with the 1/8 t. salt, the garam masala, and the cayenne pepper. Set aside.

Put the paste from the blender into the hot oil in your pan (keep face averted) and fry it, stirring constantly, for about 30 seconds. Now put in the mustard greens, spinach, and ½ t. salt. Stir the greens around for 1 minute. Cover the pan, lower the heat, and let the spinach cook gently with the ginger-garlic paste for 15 minutes. There should be enough water clinging to the leaves to cook them. If all the water evaporates, add 1 to 2 T. and continue cooking. When the greens are finished, place them in the blender and blend briefly, not enough to puree, just enough to chop them. Return them to the pan.

Now put in the panir and cream, stir gently, and bring to a simmer. Cover, and continue cooking on low heat for another 10 minutes, stirring once or twice during this period.