Today’s meal is inspired by menu from Indian Bread Co. of New York. Rectangular shaped store-bought, whole-wheat naans are stuffed with spinach curry and crumbled paneer. Grilled in oven and served hot with split pea~spinach stew.
We like paneer naaninis for three reasons. One, they are quick and easy to prepare, two, they taste really good – all the great ruchi(flavor) of grilled naan with spinach and paneer goodness and three, just by changing the toppings, we can customize them to our mood/taste. Stuffed parathas in a new avatar, needless to say good food!
Naan layered with spinach curry and crumbled paneer – ready for grilling
Recipe:
2 naans
½ cup crumbled paneer or scrambled eggs/tofu
Spinach curry stuffing:
1 small bunch of spinach – finely chopped
1 big red onion and tomato – finely sliced
¼ cup of fresh peas
1 teaspoon – red chilli flakes
¼ teaspoon each – turmeric and salt
Heat a teaspoon of peanut oil in a wide skillet. Add onion, tomato and peas. Cook them stirring occasionally until onions are soft. Add spinach, sauté until the leaves wilt on high heat. Sprinkle red chilli flakes, turmeric and salt. Mix and cook for few more minutes and remove from heat.
Slice each naan lengthwise (like shown above) in the middle into two layers. (Sharp knife and skilled hand are essential to slice the naan). Top with spinach curry and sprinkle crumbled paneer. Cover the naan with second half. Broil for about 4 to 5 minutes. Keep a watchful eye and remove as soon as brown spots start to appear. Cut into two or three pieces and serve hot with a cup of dal soup or stew.
Paneer Naanini with Split Pea-Spinach Stew and Spicy-Sweet Dried Mango Pieces (Maamidi Tandra Coated with Chilli Powder) ~ Our Meal Today
Source:
Paneer and Naans – from Indian grocery shop
Spicy-sweet dried mango pieces – from Trader Joe’s grocery shop
They look delicious.
Comment by Sunitha — January 18, 2007 @ 2:56 pm
yummy! that looks and tastes really tasty Indira….i just simply adore your passion for food….keep it coming@
Comment by IBH — January 18, 2007 @ 3:54 pm
What a colorful, healthy panini that makes, Indira! Love it!
Comment by Vani — January 18, 2007 @ 4:09 pm
Hi Indira,
Wow! Looks so yumm! I hope I can find these naan’s here. I would love to try this recipe. It looks wholesome and delicious!
We had a good time in India Indira. I brought back a bunch of sweets for friends here. I lost one suitcase that had most of the khaaram stuff (like khaaram snacks) and whole bunch of other things 🙁 More than the money value of it all, I feel terrible for having lost all the stuff that I hand picked wiht so much care! Of course mom and mil sent me back with all kinds of podis and pickles and other stuff! Did not do a whole lot of shopping this time – just concentrated more on spending time with family!
Wish u were closeby and I could show/share some of the goodies with u 😉 thats the fun of having friends!
Cheers
Latha
Comment by Latha — January 18, 2007 @ 4:12 pm
You are very creative and have great aesthetic presentation skill. Nice idea and great presentation.
Comment by Madhavi — January 18, 2007 @ 4:27 pm
Indira, I love your naanini, and even like this name! Something strange in these weeks, I just couldn’t see “post you comment” followed by each of your post… except today. Hope it’s only a temporary problem from my Blogger.
Comment by gattina — January 18, 2007 @ 6:33 pm
Hi Indira- Happy new year, although I am the last person wishing you, probably…
I had turned into a lurker and checking your blog from India, east coast etc. Your Sankranthi celebration looks grand. This recipe looks so easy and tasty with the not mushy spinach and fresh looking paneer.
Comment by mika — January 18, 2007 @ 6:46 pm
Thats a super way of eating NAAN!!!!! Rather stuffed naan!!!!! And the stuffings can be of 100’s of varieties!!! What a lovely idea Indira. 🙂
Comment by Coffee — January 18, 2007 @ 9:24 pm
looks fantastic! i’m sure it tastes great too.
Comment by jacob — January 19, 2007 @ 2:32 am
What a delicious idea! Wow…I have to find a way of making this, I must order some Naans from Toronto!
-Trupti
P.S: I Will be mailing you soon. 🙂
Comment by Trupti — January 19, 2007 @ 7:39 am
One worry – with the recent spinach outbreaks, does the spinach get sufficiently cooked?
Comment by shalini — January 19, 2007 @ 8:46 am
Hey Indira… looks like a neat recipe. Would love to give it a try. One question though – did you use the frozen naan and thaw it before you cut it up? Also, was it easy to cut the naan lengthwise into two layers – was it not soggy to work with if you used the frozen naan?
Hope you are having a great day!
Comment by Sonia — January 19, 2007 @ 9:30 am
Looks delish Indira. Healthy and nutritious.
Comment by Pavani — January 19, 2007 @ 9:34 am
Hi Indira, great and easy recipe. One question, does the paneer melt when you broil the naanini to make a panini kind of sandwich? Thanks.
Comment by ash — January 19, 2007 @ 12:17 pm
Hi Indira…
This is Anu…a long time visitor first time writer. I was happily surprised to see your mention “The Indian Bread Company”. This place opened as a little hole in the wall, a few years ago by a close friend. We ofcourse, had the honor of visiting and dining. Your recipe brought back sweet n delicious memories of our trip to NYC & TIBC. I just wanted to share my thoughts with you…..and keep up your great work as always 🙂
Comment by Anu — January 19, 2007 @ 12:42 pm
Oh, Indira–I want to come to your house for lunch! That looks fantastic–I can almost smell it.
BTW–I made a dish of mixed greens last night that made me think of you. I’ll be blogging about it soon.
Hugs!
Comment by Barbara — January 19, 2007 @ 4:41 pm
Hi Sunitha, IBH and Vani: Thanks and glad to see fellow fans of naanini.
Hi Latha: Sorry to hear about the suitcase loss. No wonder you were in sulking mood last week. I can understand how much care went in to the picking and packing the stuff. Glad to hear that your mom and mil shipped some of the goodies again.
If you were near to me, I would be hanging around your place for sweets. I am a total sweets addict, particularly for Pulla Reddy sweets.:)
Dhanyawad for your nice words, Madhavi.
Hi Gattina: Happy New Year!
Comment section was closed for the last two weeks. To reduce the spam and the number. I’ve opened them again since this Monday.
I like the name too.:) and I love how it tastes.
Hi Mika: Thanks for the wishes and Happy New Year to you.
Hope you had a wonderful time in India. Missed your posts!
That’s exactly right, can be made into 100 different types.
Good luck with your event, Coffee. I’ve missed the announcement, but I will participate in next month.
Thanks Jacob.
I like the food illustrations on your blog. I’m also learning to draw but I am not talented like you are. Please keep it up.
Trupti: Your thought is enough for me, please don’t take any trouble. Really, please.:)
Hi Shalini: Spinach scare still on? Usually any scary thing will get killed if we stir- fry them on high heat.
I have used already cooked naans for this recipe, Sonia.
Thanks Pavani.
Ash: Yes, Paneer melted somewhat but not like cheese, no total gooey kind of meltdown.
Hi Anu: My friend from Manhattan talks about this restaurant always. She likes the food there. Naanini is inspired by her praise of your friend’s restaurant.:) I also read good things about the owner in newspapers. Your friend is not only a talented visionary and also has great foodsense. Wonderful, healthy menu. Please convey my regards to her. Thanks!
Oh Barbara:)
So happy to see you back in the action. I’ve missed you!
Comment by Indira — January 19, 2007 @ 7:14 pm
yummy, never thought of using naan, I have a paneer panini on my blog using plsin old bread. Yours is definitely innovative.
Comment by sheela — January 20, 2007 @ 10:14 am
Hi Indira,
Made this for dinner last night was so easy and tasty. Keep up the good work love all your recipes.
Comment by aarcm — January 20, 2007 @ 11:54 am
Looks interesting, will try sometime
Comment by Padmaja — January 20, 2007 @ 8:42 pm
Hi Indira,
What was the white thing you have applied on naan?
Thanks and waiting for yr answer.
Comment by Rama — January 28, 2007 @ 6:23 am
Hi indira
i am roopa before i mailed for asking the recipe for malyisian partha i think now u remember me ,i want to say i came back to us when we go to india this time we decide to see andhrapradesh so that we toured all A.P and also u r’s mahanandhi temple there i remebered u that was so nice temple and i liked that place very much i never seen lotous(kamala flowers )before in river like there.i seen that place was very traditional so that u r. u r’s recipies are wonderful,delicious.
Hi Roopa, it’s very nice to hear from you again.
I am glad to hear that you visited Andhra Pradesh and also my beloved “Mahanandi”. It is a tiny temple village but spectacular in beauty. Hope you had a wonderful time there.
Thanks very much for taking time to write this comment and letting me know about your visit to Mahanandi.
– Best regards, Indira
Comment by Roopa — February 1, 2007 @ 10:03 am
Hi Indira,
Hope you are doing great!!I am Shalini and live in the United States. I am a big ‘fan’ of yours.Its too small a word to describe what a source of inspiration you have been for my cooking. I have your blog bookmarked and visit it every single day.
Family and friends call me a good cook, but I must say I owe it all to you. I have suggested your blog to a lot of people and they find it great too.
I am from Andhra Pradesh, and the authentic telugu vanta that I have learnt is all from you.
Your wonderful recipes, mouth-watering photographs and the goodness behind all of this..would definitely stir the laziest hand.
Great job!!!!! Keep it going.
Best Wishes,
Shalini
Comment by Shalini — February 3, 2007 @ 8:28 am
How funny! Until I read your post, I’d never even heard of the Indian Bread Company of New York.
Now, I’ll have to find a way to get over there for lunch … as soon as the city gets a little warmer (today it was -13 C).
Comment by annulla — February 5, 2007 @ 12:35 pm
Looks like a very interesting recipe…infact I have a bag of baby spinach in my fridge right now. I am gonna try this one as a filling for Tortillas for now since I don’t have naan at home.
Comment by Sonali — April 29, 2008 @ 6:19 pm
Thanks Indra for the cool recipie. I cannot wait to try it out.
Comment by Ganga — July 15, 2010 @ 4:50 am
It Looks so delicious……….. and i am going to try this!!
Comment by Poonam — August 17, 2010 @ 4:24 am