Palak Paneer

What would you do on a saturday afternoon, when you have tons of laundry to do and get the house in order, and it's almost time for lunch. I had already made chapati last night, so I decided to make palak paneer. This is my version of it. It’s spinach gravy with Indian cottage cheese in it. Since my kids love paneer, I make this way, so I can add many vegetables along with spinach and they won’t notice. :o).

Serves: 5 | Prep Time: 10 min. | Cooking Time: 15 min

Ingredients:

·         Palak / Spinach – 1 big bunch (can use baby spinach too)

·         Onion – 1 large ( ¾ cut into big chunks, ¼ cup finely chopped)

·         Tomato – 1 large (cut into big chunks)

·         Green Chili – 4

·         Garlic – 6 Cloves

·         Ginger – small lime size

·         Baby Carrots – 4 (Optional)

·         Mixed frozen veggies – ½ cup(Optional)

·         Paneer – 20/ 25 cubes

·         Coriander powder – ½ tsp.

·         Cumin powder – 1 tsp.

·         Garam masala powder – ½ tsp.

·         Lime juice – 1 tbsp.

·         Salt to taste

·         Oil – 1 tsp.

Method of Preparation:

~  Trim and wash spinach. Drain the excess water. Coarsely chop them. If you are using baby spinach, there is no need to cut them.

~  In a pot add all the vegetables (spinach, big chunks of onion, tomato, green chilies, ginger, garlic, carrots and veggie mix) and place it on medium heat. DO NOT add any water or DO NOT close the lid. Let all the vegetables cook in its own water. Keep flipping the vegetables once or twice to make sure all of them are cooked.

~  Turn off the heat. Once cooled make a paste in a mixer and keep it aside. DO NOT add any extra water if possible.

~  In a pan add a tsp. of oil and add finely chopped onion.

~  After they are transparent, add all three powders and continue to fry for another ½ minute.

~  Add the spinach paste and bring it to first boil.

~  Now add lime juice and salt to taste. Add Paneer cubes, gently mixing for a minute and switch off the heat. 

~  Serve it hot with Roti, chapatti or with cumin rice.

Tips:

·    Paneer – I usually use store bought. Thaw it a little before putting into spinach paste. To thaw, place the Paneer block in a microwavable bowl and microwave in 2 intervals of 30 seconds. Then cut them into small cubes.

·    You can substitute with firm tofu instead of paneer it turns out as delicious as this.

Sending this to Shilpa's Life is green event