Saag Paneer Calzone/Spinach Paneer Curry Calzone (whole wheat)

love Italian food! Love eating it and love cooking it. Love the different layers, flavors complex yet simple, exotic yet rustic just like Indian food. You can sense the rich culture and the legacy from the food .
Our (indians) love for indo-chinese is well known but another cuisine that has come in from across the shores and become a part of the cuisine... is Italian. With its pastas and pizza and other goodies and use of herbs, five star restaurants as well as hole-in-the-wall stores near every street now have some kind of “pizza” on their menu! It keeps the essense of pizza that is a thick bread smothered in tomato ketchup topped with melty cheese, but almost always has a local (desi) touch to it whether it be use of paneer or chicken! Lots of fusion recipes have been born, you can easily find panner pizza even butter chicken pizza in any pizza hut franchise in india - I have few on my blog too. This time around I took my classic saag paneer recipe and tucked inside a calzone and the result was a beautiful marrige of two of my favorite cuisines - a fusion food heaven!

It is an easy and interesting one pot meal and is simply delicious. The idea struck me the other day when I made saag paneer for us over dinner. I went 'hey maybe I can use this as a stuffing in something'. The question was what that something would be. Well when I looked at the number of hits my posts get, I noticed the Paneer Calzone especially stood out. Calzone with saag paneer stuffing it was.
I know I am going to make this often.
 A calzone ("stocking" or "trouser" in Italian) is a sort of folded over pizza or turnover with filling. It is originally from Naples, Italy. It is made of ingredients similar to pizza, folded over and shaped like a crescent sealed on one edge, and baked. The typical calzone is stuffed with tomato and mozzarella and may include other ingredients usually associated with pizza toppings (sourced from Wikipedia).

Calzone may be filled with a variety of vegetable combinations, cheeses and meats of choice. It is typically served with marinara sauce on the side for dipping. 
The spicy saag paneer filling was definitely the highlight of this yummy calzone. It was a great dinner and made a yummy and filling lunch the next day. They can be fun to take on picnics too and great as an after school snack for kids. We had this as an evening snack, but it was quite filling and so yummy that we ate more than what you would typically call snack portion :D So much so that we skipped dinner altogether.

Ingredients: makes 4

Atta or whole wheat flour ....................... 1 1/2 cup

All purpose flour .................................. 1/2 cup

Lukewarm milk .................................... 3/4 cup

Rapid rise yeast ................................... 1 1/4 tsp

Olive oil ............................................ 4 tsp

Salt ................................................. 3/4 tsp

Sugar ............................................... 1/2 tsp

Garlic powder ..................................... 1 tsp

Method:

For the shell-
1. Dissolve yeast, salt and sugar in the milk. Mix and set aside for 10 -12 minutes or until it gets frothy.

2. Add oil in the above mixture.

3. In a medium size bowl, take whole wheat and all purpose flour. Mix in the garlic powder. Make a well in the middle. Pour the yeast mixture and knead to form a soft dough. If the dough is too soft, add a little flour to make it manageable. Knead for 5 - 6 minutes till the dough is smooth. Apply a little oil on your palms so the dough does not stick to your hands.

4. Apply oil over the dough, cover with a wet kitchen towel and keep aside in a warm place for 1 -1.5 hrs till it doubles in size.

For the filling-

Onion ..................................... 1 medium minced
Oil ......................................... 1 tbsp
Tomato ................................... 1 medium finely chopped
Spinach ................................... 10 oz or 1 bunch chopped fine
Paneer .................................... 2 cups small cubes
Ginger garlic paste ...................... 1 tsp
Tomato Ketchup ........................ 2 tbsp
Coriander powder ...................... 1 tsp
Garam masala ........................... 1/2 tsp
Red chilli powder ...................... 1/2 tsp or to taste
Tandoori Masala ......................... 1 tsp (optional)
Kasoori methi ............................ 2 tsp crushed 
Yogurt ....................................  2 tbsp
Cream or milk ........................... 2 tbsp
Salt ........................................ to taste

Method:
1. Heat the oil, add the onions and salt and sauté the onions till soft and light brown. Add , tomatoes, ginger garlic paste, red chilli and coriander and stir a couple of times. Add in spinach and cook till it mixes well. Add yogurt and stir for 2 minutes, till oil separates. Add the ketchup and paneer. Mix and cook for 4-5 minutes. Add in kasoori methi. Stir and add cream and keep aside. The mix should not be watery.

2. Preheat oven to 400ºF.

3. Take the dough, punch out the air. Line a non stick pizza pan or cookie pan with parchment paper. Divide the dough into 4 equal portions. On a lightly floured surface, roll each piece into a circle about 6” in diameter. Place the paneer filling on one half making sure the edges of the semi-circle are free.Moisten the edges with water and carefully fold the filling free half over to form a semi circle. Seal the edges and press down using a fork. Make slits on top to allow steam to escape.

4. Bake in the oven for 18 - 20 minutes or till they turn light golden brown. Take out and allow to cool for 10 - 15 minutes. Cut in half and serve. ENJOY!
Notes:
1. To skip making the dough, you can use store-bought pizza dough.

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