A delicious and healthy dish with Indian cottage cheese (paneer) and pumpkin koftas in a smooth, fragrant creamy spinach sauce

Preparation: 20 mins Cook time: 45 mins  Serves: 4

Ingredients

Saag

• 80g butter, chopped
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 thumb-sized ginger, grated
• 2 tsp of garam marsala
• 1 tsp of mild Indian curry powder
• 2 tsp of dried fenugreek leaf
• 1 green chili, thinly sliced
• 2 bunches of spinach (about 500g), washed, trimmed and chopped
• 1 cup vegetable stock
• 1/4 cup cream

Kofta

• ½ butternut pumpkin, diced
• 200g paneer cheese
• 1 tsp mild Indian curry powder
• ¼ cup panko breadcrumbs
• 2 tbsp chopped coriander

Tempering

• 1 tbsp of yellow mustard seed
• 3 sprigs curry leaf
• 1 green chilli, thinly sliced

Method

1. Preheat oven to 200°C /180°C fan-forced
2. Roast pumpkin until soft.
3. When cool combine with other kofta ingredients, season with salt and pepper and mix well.
4. Form mixture into small kofta balls.
5. If the mix is too wet add extra panko until Koftas hold together easily.
6. Melt half the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat.
7. Add onion, season with salt and sweat till translucent and starts to brown.
8. Add ginger, garlic, spices and chilli then stir until fragrant.
9. Add spinach and stir till wilted (2-4 minutes).
10. Add stock and bring to a simmer, then remove from the heat.
11. Blend with a stick blender until smooth. Set aside and keep warm.
12. Meanwhile, fry kofta in a nonstick saucepan in two tablespoons of vegetable oil until browned. Do this in batches.
13. To make the garnish, gently heat the remaining butter in a non-stick saucepan, add chilli, curry leaf and mustard seeds and gently fry until crispy and popping.

Notes

1. Paneer can be found in the refrigerated section of major supermarkets or at your local Asian grocer. If you can’t find paneer use firm cottage cheese or ricotta salata; for vegans, substitute the cheese for firm tofu.
2. Elevate your dish by using ghee in place of butter when cooking the saag and koftas.

For more cooking inspiration, visit the Kleenheat Kitchen.