Palak
Paneer is one dish you woud have most surely had if you've ever visited
an Indian restaurant. This spinach and cottage cheese curry is very
popular, and as such great to add to your repertoire of restaurant
recipes for those special occasions. Spinach and cheese are healthful,
and the combination tastes great.
Servings: 4 Cooking Time: 45
minutes
Ingredients
1 1/2 bunches spinach, rinsed well and chopped fine
2 big onions, finely chopped
2 big tomatoes, chopped
1-inch piece ginger, finely chopped
4-5 garlic flakes, finely chopped (optional)
1-2 green chillies, chopped
1 cardamom pod
2 cloves
3-4 pepper corns
3/4 tsp garam masala
1 tbsp dhania powder (coriander)
1- 1 1/2 tsp red chilli powder (adjust to taste)
12-15 paneer pieces (cottage cheese), cut into 1-inch
cubes
4 tsp vegetable oil
Salt to taste
For Seasoning
1 tbsp ghee (clarified butter) butter or oil
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1 green chilli, slit lengthwise
Preparation
Heat the oil in a wide pan. Add the cardamom, cloves,
and pepper corns and fry until lightly browned and aromatic.
Add the onions and saute on medium heat until lightly
browned. Add the garlic, ginger, and green chillies and saute on low
heat for a minute.
Add the garam masala, dhania powder, red chilli
powder, and salt and saute for 1 minute.
Add the tomatoes and saute on medium heat until
cooked and well-blended (3-4 minutes).
Add the chopped spinach and cook uncovered for 10
minutes on low heat. Remove from heat and let cool.
In a blender, grind the cooked spinach, onion,
tomatoes with 1/2 cup water into a coarse paste.
In the same pan, add 1 cup water and let it come to a
boil; then add the spinach paste and cover and simmer for 4-5 minutes.
In the meantime, heat oil for deep-frying, and fry
the paneer pieces until golden and add to the spinach. Let the curry
come to a boil on medium heat. Reduce the heat to low and let the palak
paneer simmer for 2-3 minutes until the paneer pieces become soft.
Remove from heat.
In a small pan, heat the ghee for seasoning. Add
cumin seeds and fry for a few seconds. Add the green chilli and fry
until the cumin seeds turn golden and pour over the curry.
Serve the palak paneer with any Indian flatbread or
basmati rice.