Palak Paneer

A simple, but beautiful dish in terms of flavor. Quite rich in taste and creamy in texture... almost melts in your mouth :)


Wonderful side dish to have with either rotis or chapatis... goes well with rice too :)


Enough with the riddled sentences ?? Yes, the dish is palak paneer, made with pureed cooked spinach and cubed indian cottage cheese.


Serves 5
Preparation Time (10 - 15 min)
Thawing Time - If you are using frozen paneer - thaw it beforehand to room temperature
Cooking Time - 20 mins approx

Ingredients
 
Palak (Spinach) leaves - 4 to 5 bunches

Paneer (Indian cottage cheese) - 500 gm (cubed)
Onions - 3 large (finely chopped)
Tomatoes - 3 large (finely chopped)
Milk or cream - 1 cup
Coriander powder - 1 tbsp
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Garam Masala - 2 tbsp
Salt - as per taste


For grinding
Garlic - 1 pods (around 10 cloves)
Ginger - 2" piece
You can substitute this with 2 tbsp of ginger-garlic paste
Green chillies - 4 (optional)

For Tempering

Oil - 1 tbsp

Butter - 2 tbsp (optional - can replace with oil)

Jeera (Cumin) Seeds - 2 tsp

Method

Pluck and clean the spinach. Wash it well if you dont want a crunch in your dish - believe me, its not a pleasant crunch :). Bring around 3 cups of water to boil in a pan and add the washed spinach into it. After around 4-5 mins, the spinach should have cooked well. Drain the water, but dont throw it away. Save it to use it in the same gravy or as stock for any other dish.


Meanwhile, mince the ginger and garlic in a mixer. I added some of the onion to it just so I could have enough stuff in the mixer to grind the contents into a fine smooth paste. Heat a wide pan on medium flame. Add the oil and butter. When the oil is hot, add the cubed paneer to it and roast them until they are slightly golden in color. Drain the paneer and keep it aside.

To the still hot oil, add the cumin seeds. When the cumin seeds start spluttering, add the ginger-garlic paste and chopped onions to it. Fry these until the raw smell is gone. Then add the finely chopped tomato to it. Mix well.

Add a pinch of salt. This aids the tomatoes to cook quicker. Now add the turmeric powder and the coriander powder and mix it well. Blend the cooked spinach until its creamy and smooth. Add this mixture to the pan. Add the milk / cream and mix well. Add some water if you want the gravy to be of thinner consistency. You can use the drained water from the spinach. Add more salt if you think its necessary.

The gravy should be slightly saltier than normal, because once you add the paneer, the paneer absorbs some of the salt. Bring this mixture to a boil. Add the garam masala and cook it on a low flame for 2 - 3 mins. Add the fried paneer cubes and cook for another 2 - 3 mins. Remove from heat. Palak Paneer is now ready to serve.

Enjoy it with rotis, chapathis, naans or even rice.
- So