Palak Paneer is an easy, healthy Indian dish in which cottage cheese or paneer is added to spiced palak. Palak is spinach. The combination of palak and paneer is a delicacy and can be eaten with Indian bread like roti, naan and chapati. It can also be eaten with rice like ghee rice and jeera rice.
Palak is nutrient-rich and paneer has high protein content. Paneer and palak along with spices make a rich delicacy. Vegans can use tofu instead of paneer. This is one of the most awesome gravy with spinach.
I have added paneer in this recipe without frying, but you can fry the paneer in oil for two minutes if you want. For a richer Palak Paneer, you can add cream.
Ingredients
4 teaspoon oil
1 teaspoon ghee
1 bunch palak (stem removed)
4 medium-sized onions (chopped)
3 green chillies
1 bay leaf
4 cloves
1-inch cinnamon
1 cardamom
5 cashew nuts
1/2 teaspoon chilli powder
1/2 teaspoon kasuri methi
1 and 1/2 teaspoon salt or salt to taste
Method
Blanching of Palak
Take around 500ml of water in a vessel and heat it till it starts to boil. Add green chillies to it. Then add half a teaspoon of salt and washed palak to it. Allow the palak to remain in the water for a minute and then drain the water. Wash again with cold water so that the green colour of spinach is retained.
Grinding the palak
Add the blanched and cooled palak and green chillies to a mixer. Without adding water grind the palak along with the green chilli. Then add a few drops of water to get a semisolid paste of palak puree.
Making of Onion masala
Keep the bay leaf, cloves, cinnamon and cardamom ready. Take a kadai or a heavy thick bottomed pan or a cast-iron skillet and heat it. Then add oil and heat it for 2 minutes. Now add bay leaf, cloves, cinnamon and cardamom to the heated oil.
After a minute add onions and stir. Add cashew and keep stirring till the onions turn golden brown.
Then add kasuri methi after crushing in the fingers and add ginger- garlic paste. Fry till the raw smell of the ginger -garlic paste goes.
Now add chilli powder and keep stirring for a few minutes. Then switch off the gas stove. Allow it to cool.
Grinding of the onion masala
Transfer the cooled onion masala to a mixie jar. Grind it without adding water. Then add a few drops of water to get a smooth paste.
Making of Palak Paneer
Take the kadai and heat it. Add ghee and heat it for less then a minute. Now add the ground onion masala into the kadai and fry until the raw smell of onions is not there. This usually takes 5-10 minutes.
Then add palak paste and mix thoroughly. Allow it to cook for another 5 minutes. Add salt and mix well. You can add cream if you want. I have not added it to this recipe.
Cook till the colour changes to a darker colour.
Finally, add the paneer and stir gently such that the paneer does not break. Cook for 2 minutes and switch of the gas stove.If you want your paneer to be crispier then fry them in oil and then add to the above palak.
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Your delicious and mouth-watering Palak Paneer is ready! Enjoy:)
