Palak Paneer (Spinach and Cottage Cheese)

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by jagritikumar

One of the most commonly eaten dishes in Delhi is Palak Paneer. This simple yet hearty and delicious dish makes it easy for fussy eaters like me to have our much needed dose of greens 🙂

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This wasn’t made too often at our house, but I used to eat a lot of it at my friends’. Served with piping hot chapatis, this made for a lovely meal in the cold Delhi winters.

It is key to blanch the spinach for a couple of minutes to remove any germs, cleanses the leaves and helps to brighten the colour, thus resulting in a nice green paste when pureed.

The dish is packed with nutrients from the palak while bursting with flavour as well, so win win! The only pain point in this recipe is chopping all the palak, a time consuming affair for the slightly lazy people like me. But apart from that, it is a super easy recipe and comes together really fast. I now cook this at least once a month 🙂 Try it and I am sure you will add it your dinner repertoire!

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Palak Paneer

  • Difficulty: easy
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Ingredients

400g spinach (palak)

400g paneer – cubed

1 tbsp mustard oil

1 tsp cumin (jeera) seeds

1/8 tsp asafoetida (hing)

1 bay leaf (tej patta)

3 large tomatoes – pureed

2 large onions – pureed

1.5 tsp ginger garlic paste

2 green chillies

1/4 tsp turmeric (haldi) powder

1 tsp garam masala

2 tbsp kasuri methi leaves (dried)

1/4 cup water

salt to taste

1 tbsp cream – optional

Directions

  1. Wash the spinach and remove the large stalks. Chop the leaves and blanch them in boiling water for 1-2 minutes. Put the leaves in a bowl of ice water so refresh them and stop further cooking. Drain and place in the mixie/food processor.
  2. To the blanched spinach, add green chillies and ginger garlic paste. Make a smooth puree, without adding any water.
  3. Heat oil in a wok/kadhai. Add the cumin seeds, bay leaf. Once the seeds splutter, add the asafoetida.
  4. Add the onion with a pinch of salt. Cook on low-medium heat till golden brown.
  5. Add the turmeric powder and cook for 30s.
  6. Pour in the tomato puree. Add a pinch of salt and cook for 4-5 minutes till the oil releases and the colour darkens.
  7. Now add the spinach puree and mix well till the onions and tomatoes are incorporated into the puree. Add the water and cook for 7-10 minutes till the spinach is cooked.
  8. Gently add the cubed paneer to the pan and mix well. Check and adjust the salt. Cook for 3-4 minutes.
  9. Add the garam masala and kasuri methi, cook for another minute. Take it off the heat.
  10. If you want to add cream (I skip this), drizzle it over the curry now. Serve with hot chapatis or rice.

 

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jagritikumar

A baker, a dancer, a marketeer. Sometimes lazy. Always up to try new food, read interesting books and meet amazing people :)

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