Tasty Palak Paneer Masala Recipe

Palak paneer is a vegetarian dish originating from the Indian subcontinent, Palak, in Hindi, means spinach and paneer means cottage cheese, so ‘Palak Paneer’ is a spinach curry with sautéed paneer. This dish originated in the Punjabi region but different variations are popular all over India. Palak paneer may be called green paneer in some restaurants. (Courtesy: Wikipedia, Google)

This recipe requires the green leaves to be blanched. Blanching your vegetables, which is when you quickly cook vegetables in boiling water, and remove them when they’re still very crisp, to help preserve the colour and nutrients. It stops enzyme actions which can cause loss of flavour, colour and texture. Blanching cleanses the surface of dirt and organisms, brightens the colour and helps retard loss of vitamins.

Don’t forget to check my tips after the recipe. Lets get cooking!!!

INGREDIANTS:

Palak or spinach – big bunch (only leaves removed)
Paneer or cottage cheese – 200 grams (Cubed)
Ghee – 2 tablespoons
Tomato – 1 medium size
Onion – 1 big one
Green chillies – 2
Ginger – 1 inch long
Garlic – 4 to 5 pods
Jeera seeds – 1/2 teaspoon
Coriander leaves – Few leaves
Sugar – 1 teaspoon
Water as required
Salt as per taste

PREPARATION:

Blanching the Spinach:

Bring 1 litre of water to boil in a vessel. Switch off the flame and bring the vessel down. Now we need to blanch the spinach in this hot water for 5 to 10 minutes, until the spinach changes colour. Strain the spinach and let it cool completely. Do not cook the spinach at this point.

Frying the Paneer:

Meanwhile, take a pan and add 1 tablespoon of ghee or oil. Now fry the cubed paneers in it. Keep stirring and do not allow it to burn. Once it turns light brown, turn off the flame and keep it aside.

Assembling the gravy:

Take the cooled spinach in a mixer grinder. To this add half tomato, half onion, jeera, ginger, garlic, green chillies, coriander leaves and half cup water. Grind to a smooth paste. Keep it aside.

Meanwhile, in a pan, take 1 tablespoon of oil. Once its hot, add half of chopped onion and fry to golden brown. To this, add half of tomatoes and cook until it turns soft or mushy. Once done, add the grinded spinach gravy from the mixer. Mix well and let it cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Now add sugar and mix well. Add salt and cover it and cook for 5 more minutes. Once cooked, add paneer and mix well. Bring it to boil and switch off the flame.

Serve it hot with Roti or Chapathi and curd.

TIPS:

– Blanching helps to return the vitamins, so its important not to cook the spinach leaves directly.
– frying the paneer cutes with ghee or oil will help in retaining the shape of the paneer and it wont crumble while mixing.
– adding sugar will enhance the flavour and mainly retain the colour of the spinach.
– adjust the gravy consistency by adding more or less of water. additionally you can add fresh cream at the end and mix well for a thick gravy.
– spiciness and salt with differ from person to person, so please adjust to your taste.

Remember, the key is to taste the dish at every stage and experiment with it. Let me know in the comments below about your experiment with this recipe.

Please do like and share this recipe. Happy Cooking!!!