Creamy Potato and Spinach Soup with an Indian Twist

I have a bunch of really good soup recipes up my sleeves, and was excited to post them until I realized it’s May.  Who eats soup in May?  At least I have a few excuses.

1- I had no food in my pantry except for the following ingredients.

2- Finals week is looming and I have no time for Fancy Things.

3- Soup is good, so let’s just pretend this isn’t strange.

Palak Paneer

Indian spinach and homemade cheese

The key to a green palak paneer is to not overcook the spinach.  Or, you can blanch the spinach before adding it to the recipe.

For the paneer:

• 1 gallon whole or 2% milk
• 1/3-1/4 cup lemon juice or vinegar

Pour the milk into a large pot on the stove and stir it until it’s about to boil. Remove from heat and slowly stir in the acid of your choice. You will probably not need to use all 1/3 cups of the vinegar/lemon juice. Stir until the curds separate from the whey, then drain slowly into a strainer lined with cheese cloth. (most clean dish-drying cloths should work for this) Run cool water over the paneer and then squeeze the cheese cloth as much as you can. Carefully place the paneer on a large piece of plastic wrap and form into a sort of square shape. Pile as many books on top of it as you can, then start on the palak.