Palak Paneer

This Indian dish combines fresh spinach and paneer (cottage cheese) in a creamy sauce. I have tried many variations of Palak Paneer and the one below is one of my best. It is a vegetarian dish cooked in an onion-tomato-spinach based green sauce moderately spiced. It is a great accompaniment with rotis, naan or hot steamed rice. This is the healthy recipe for Palak Paneer since the Paneer is not fried but is still soft & tastes good.

No. of Servings: 3-4 persons
Preparation time: 25 mins



Ingredients:
2 bunches of fresh Spinach
300 gms of Paneer (Cottage Cheese)

1 onion
2 tomatoes
1 tsp cumin seeds
2 tsp Garlic paste
1 tsp ginger paste
3 green chillies
1 tsp garam masala
½ tsp turmeric
1 tsp coriander powder
½ tsp Kasuri Methi (dry fenugreek leaves)
2 tbsp butter or oil
Method :
Wash Spinach, & boil it in a pan without adding water (i.e. allow it to boil in its own water).

Once spinach is boiled, drain the excess water (don’t throw it) and grind it.
In a pan take ½ tsp butter or oil, add cumin seeds & let them splutter.

Add onion followed by green chillies & tomatoes.

Saute for 2 mins.

Let the mixture cool & grind it.
In a pan add the remaining butter or oil.

Saute the onion-tomato mixture till fully cooked.
Add garlic & ginger paste, followed by garam masala, coriander powder and turmeric. Saute for additional 5 mins.
Now add the pureed Spinach, let it boil (if required add water) followed by Kasuri Methi
Finally add paneer and simmer for additional 5 mins.
One can also garnish it with more butter. Serve hot with Paratha.

Tips / Variations:
One can add more chilli paste as per taste & one’s liking.
To make paneer soft, place paneer cubes in warm water for approx 15 -20 mins.