Palak Paneer is undoubtedly one of the most popular paneer recipes, palak a.k.a spinach is pureed and blended into the curry and cottage cheese a.k.a paneer is added to the spinach gravy.....making it healthy and full of protein.
Lent, is the period ... I cook paneer mostly as we abstain from meat and fish until Easter. Palak paneer is frequently made at home and, again the thought of posting it here, did not cross my mind until a reader asked for Lent Friendly Vegetarian Recipes.
I have mentioned that my mother -in-law lived in Nainital for a long time, and paneer dishes was something which was cooked a lot by her, since Homey loves paneer so much, I started making them also. My MIL cooks the spinach leaves in a cooker with little water and puree it along with the water ....I guess for her it was the taste which was important rather than the color of the dish....she also will saute the pureed palak in the masala for a long time....as she says this intensifies the flavor as the water in the puree is evaporated. In those days, she says ghee or butter or dalda (vegetable shortening) is used to make traditional Punjabi dishes...and thus her curries were rich....the first time, I tasted palak paneer soon after our marriage, I thought this curry was yum....but being born and raised in Kerala....I had no clue of what Palak was!! and later I was astonished to know that a green leafy vegetable was transformed into this tasty dish....and thus started my little affair with palak :)
Serves: 4.
Cooking Time: 25-30 min.
Ingredients:
Paneer: 250 gms, cubed.
Fresh Palak/Spinach: 1 large bunch, cleaned and without stems.
Onion: 2, chopped finely or minced.
Jeera: 1/2 tsp.
Bay Leaf: 1
Ginger: 1 inch, finely chopped.
Garlic: 6 to 7 cloves, finely chopped.
Tomato: 1, finely chopped or pureed
Kashmiri Chilly Powder: 1 tsp.
Coriander Powder: 1 tsp
Turmeric Powder: 1/4 tsp.
Garam Masala Powder: 1 tsp.
Kasuri Methi: 1 large pinch (dried fenugreek leaves).
Curd/plain yogurt: 2-3 tbsp.
Water or Milk: 1 to 1 1/2 cups.
Refined Oil: 3 tbsp.
Salt: 1 tsp or as needed.
Method:
The star cast :) make sure you remove the think stem of the leaves.
Lets blanch the palak, just bring a pot of water to boil, add salt, add the cleaned spinach leaves in it for 1-2 min, remove and when cooled, puree. OR you can do as my MIL does, just cook the leaves with little water in a pan or pressure cooker and then when cooled grind to a paste....along with the water. Though I have to admit that the first step retain the color of the green leaves.
I minced the onions, ginger and garlic in my food processor....you can do it with a knife too.
Heat a kadai or pan with 3 tbsp oil, add in jeera and the bay leaf.
Add in the minced onion mix into the hot oil, after a minute, simmer the fire and add in salt.
Once the onion starts to brown, add in kashmiri chilly powder, coriander powder, and turmeric powder. Mix all the powders for a min, so that the raw flavor diminishes....remember the fire is on low.
Add in the finely chopped tomato (you can also puree them) and a little water (about 2 tbsp) so that it blends well into the masala....put the heat to medium and mix and stir till oil starts to separate (it took about 3-5 min)....then again simmer the fire.
You can see that the oil has started to come out, at this stage add the pureed palak. I always follow my MIL's advise to saute the pureed palak for 2-3 min in the masala (though doing so, the color tends to change a bit...but the taste is commendable).
Add 2-3 tbsp curd/yogurt or if you like the curry to be little rich add cream. Then add in 1 tsp garam masala and a fat pinch of kasuri methi......and some water or milk to thin out the gravy a bit
Add the cubed paneer, simmer for a minute (if you prefer, you can lightly fry the paneer in oil, but here I did not do that)....serve hot with phulka/Indian flatbread or Tandoori Roti.
Notes:
I blanched the palak leaves in hot water, so as to preserve some colour, and I also sauted them in the masala for 2-3 min (as my MIL sticked to this method for taste), I used refined oil and curd/yogurt instead of cream....to make it as healthy as possible. You can use ghee, dalda, or even butter if you are in the mood for a total indulgence and use thick cream instead of curd/yogurt. I like my gravy to be a bit thick, if you would like to thin it out....you can use milk, water, or cream.
You can garnish with some cream or yogurt swirled or fresh ginger strips; like I have here.
This has got to be my most favorite Indian dish!!! Thanks for sharing your recipe Nisa!
ReplyDeleteThe gravy looks sensational!
ReplyDeletepalak paneer looks yumm.. Just saw your program. I was thinking that she looks just l like you. Then saw your name.. Very nice program.. Keep rocking.
ReplyDeleteHa Ha Nandoos, thank you :)
Deletehmm never used to like palak paneer. but recipe being from my dearest blogger. shall try it hands down
ReplyDelete