Sculpin

This is not quite the recipe I used — it’s the one I’m going to use next time, with proportions tweaked from the original. (Even Josh agreed that it needed more tomatoes.) The version I made was, alas, only mostly local — I had some not-so-local yogurt to use up. Except for the ginger and dry spices, though, it’s eminently doable in a more purist local-eating form.

Matar Paneer

butter, oil, or ghee
8 oz paneer
1 small onion, chopped
scant 1.5 cups green peas
1/2 cup yogurt
1 1/2 cup chopped tomatoes

Spices:
cayenne pepper to taste
1 teaspoon chopped ginger
1 teaspoon chopped garlic
3/4 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon garam masala
salt to taste

Cube the paneer and fry it in a few tablespoons of ghee or oil until it’s golden brown. (I used a mixture of butter and oil.) Remove it, and fry the onions until they’ve started to brown. Add the spices and stir briefly. (I never have any ready-made garam masala hanging around, so I use cumin, coriander, black pepper, cloves, and cinnamon to taste.)

Add the tomatoes. To satisfy the prejudices of the household tomato-hater, cook until they are an indistinguishable mass. Stir in the yogurt, and simmer for about ten minutes. Add the peas and paneer.

A note about the paneer: it’s available from Appel Farms in the farmers markets, and it’s also easy to make your own with milk and lemon juice or vinegar. If you make it yourself, press it or twist the cheesecloth for a good firm paneer, or the cubes’ll fall apart on you.

A note about the ginger: I peel mine and preserve it with sherry in the fridge. Adding a little sherry to this dish with the tomatoes gives an extra shot of gingeriness and also brings out some flavor in the tomatoes.

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