Aloo Methi Paneer (Potato-Fenugreek Paneer)

The original plan for dinner tonight involved a chicken curry. I was going to place a grocery order, pick it up around lunchtime, and have delicious curry for dinner. Except that I couldn't pick up the groceries today. Because the grocery store is closed. Because it's Easter. That left me with no plan and missing a lot of key curry ingredients. No onions, no cilantro, no yogurt, no garlic... what am I supposed to cook if I don't even have the basics?!

But, it turns out that you can still make a pretty good curry without any of those! (I did end up running out to the Indian grocery store to get a bit more paneer and picked up some onions while I was there, but the point still stands.)

Aloo Methi Paneer

Slightly adapted from 660 Curries by Raghavan Iyer

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp. canola (or other neutral) oil
• 1 tsp. mustard seeds
• 1 tsp. cumin seeds
• 2 tsp. sugar
• 1/2 Tbsp. coarse sea salt
• 2 tsp. coriander seeds, ground
• 1 tsp. cumin seeds, ground
• 1/2 tsp. cayenne powder
• 1/2 tsp. ground turmeric
• 1/4 tsp. asafetida
• 450g russet (or other floury) potatoes, cut into 1cm cubes
• 1 c. chopped fresh or frozen fenugreek leaves (methi)
• 2 c. water
• 225g fried paneer cubes

Directions

1. Heat oil over medium-high heat.
2. Add mustard seeds, cover, and cook until they stop popping (30-60 seconds).
3. Add cumin seeds and sizzle for 5-10 seconds.
4. Remove from heat and add sugar, salt, coriander, cumin, cayenne, turmeric, and asafetida.
5. Stir the spices briefly, then add potatoes, fenugreek leaves, and water.
6. Return to heat and bring to a boil.
7. Reduce heat to low and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, for ~30 minutes.
8. Stir in fried paneer, cover, and cook for another 10 minutes.
9. Serve with your favourite pulao and/or flatbreads.