Has anyone had the Indian Pizza at Zante's in SF?

[Neecy]

One of the worst things about moving out of the Bay Area is leaving behind the terrific food there (and don't get me started on the garlic fries at SBC - pure manna).

I've been trying to recreate the Indian Pizza at Zante's with varying degrees of success (if you've never seen this tasty creation, here it is):



Anyway, I have the basic ingredients down, but I'm having a problem with the sauce. I know he uses sag paneer instead of a tomato-based sauce, but I'm screwing up the cheese. The Indian market I go to tells me to drain cottage cheese for the paneer, and it's okay, but it doesn't taste like Zante's. Does he sneak in a little mozzerella? Or is there another cheese I should use for sag paneer?

San Franciscans, please order one today and take it apart, lemme know (and enjoy it - I'd almost sacrifice my cat to the Zante's alter for one).

[The empressof all]

1. I've heard Paneer is easy to make

Granted, I've never done it but I think it's as simple as scalding milk, adding a little lemon juice and then separating the curds and whey in a cheesecloth bag hung over your faucet. I'm sure you can find a recipe.

Do they use Naan for the crust on this? It sounds divine.

[Neecy]

2. Not sure

I think he advertises that he does, but it tastes exactly like pizza crust - so I dunno.

I tried that for the pizza, but either I'm a very poor cheesemaker (very possible) or he uses another cheese on it as well. It's just missing something. I may have to beg him to open a franchise here, since I've spent the better part of two months failing repeatedly to replicate his pizza.

[The empressof all]

3. Hey, How do you make your saag?

Will you share your recipe? I love saag paneer and would love to try to make it. I've looked at Indian cooking sites-But if you have a tried and true recipe-I'd love to try it.

[Neecy]

4. here's the one I used

I found a few on the web, and I tried this one. For the pizza, I omitted the tomato and the puree, but for a side dish I'd include it. It turned out really well, other than the pizza mismatch. The garam masala at Penzey's spices is really excellent, and very fresh.

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 large onion, chopped
pinch of cumin seed
2 cardamom seeds
1 stick of cinnamon
2 or 3 bay leaves
2 whole cloves
1 teaspoon each fresh ginger and garlic
1 small fresh tomato, sliced
1 teaspoon black papper
1/2 pound fresh spinach, chopped
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon cumin powder
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon garam masala
1 cup whipping cream
1 teaspoon tomato puree
fresh cilantro leaves
Paneer

Heat oil in saucepan and saute chopped onion until light brown. Add cumin seed, cardamom, cinnamon stick, bay leaves, cloves, ginger, garlic, sliced tomato and black pepper and saute about 30 seconds. Add chopped spinach and saute, stirring until it begins to change color. When it goes dark green, it means it is about half cooked and still remains crunchy. Add salt, cumin, turmeric, coriander powder and garam masala. Mix well with spinach while it is sauteeing. Add cream, tomato puree, cilantro and cubes of cheese (paneer). Cook it well, stirring so it doesn't scorch. When cream boils, cook another 1 1/2 minutes over high heat. Serves 4.