Palak Paneer is a popular North Indian dish. It is prepared by simmering soft Paneer cubes in the Palak gravy.
This dish is rich, smooth and creamy. Also it is medium spicy and easy to make.
I have added the Paneer cubes without shallow frying, but if you like, you may shallow fry it till it becomes golden brown in colour before adding to the gravy.
Add green chillies according to the spicy taste you want.
INGREDIENTS :
(1) Spinach leaves / Palak (Washed) – 250 grams
(2) Paneer cubes – 200 grams
(3) 2 whole Green chilli, chopped
(4) 1 inch sized ginger, chopped
(5) 6 cloves of garlic – peeled
(6) 1 large tomato – finely chopped
(7) 2 medium sized Onions, chopped
(8) Half teaspoon of Cumin seeds / Jeera
(9) Half teaspoon of Turmeric / Haldi powder
(10) Half teaspoon of red chilli powder
(11) Half teaspoon of Cumin powder
(12) 1 teaspoon of Coriander powder
(13) Three fourth teaspoon of Garam masala powder
(14) Fresh milk cream (Optional)
(15) Cooking oil – 4 tablespoon
(16) Salt to taste
Cuisine : Indian
Serves – 5 persons
Time required : 15 minutes for preparation and 30 – 35 minutes for cooking = 50 minutes for preparing the Palak Paneer
PREPARATION :
(1) Cut the Paneer into bite sized cubes.
(2) Rinse the Palak / Spinach thoroughly in running water, cut the stalks and keep aside.
(3) Chop the Onion, Tomatoes, Chilli and ginger as shown in the figure.
METHOD :
(1) Heat about a litre of water in any utensil and allow it to boil.
Turn off the flame. Add spinach leaves to this boiled water and allow it to blanch for about a minute.
(2) Drain the water. Take out the boiled spinach and put it in ice cold water. Allow it in this cold water for a minute.
Take the spinach out and keep it aside in any bowl. This dipping of spinach in cold water helps to retain the green colour of the spinach.
(3) Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a Kadhai / wok.
Add Cumin seeds / Jeera to the warm oil and allow it to splutter and change colour. This will take few seconds on a low flame.
(4) Then add the Garlic cloves to it and sauté till it turn light golden in colour. Add chopped Ginger at this stage. Fry it till the raw smell of ginger goes away.
(5) Add chopped Onions and green chillies and sauté till the Onions turn light golden in colour. This takes 4-5 minutes on a low flame.
(6) Add chopped Tomato and sauté till the tomato becomes soft and mushy. This takes 3 minutes on a low flame.
(7) Turn off the gas flame and let the Onion Tomato mixture cool down. After cooling, take the fried ingredients into a blending jar. Add the blanched Spinach from the bowl to the blending jar with fried ingredients. Add a little water and grind it into a smooth thick paste and keep it aside.
(8) Now again in the same kadhai / wok, add 2 tablespoons of oil. Add the prepared palak – tomato onion paste and keep stirring.
(9) Add all the dry spice powders like Turmeric / Haldi powder, Red Chilli powder, Coriander / Dhania powder and Cumin / Jeera powder and Garam masala powder. Mix well.
(10) Add 2 cups of water of amount 200 ml and salt to taste. Mix well. Cover the lid and allow the palak to cook for 10 minutes. During this cooking, the spinach paste will bubble and jump a lot. So covering the lid will avoid it from splashing. Stir occasionally.
(11) After 10 minutes, open the lid and add Paneer cubes. Mix it well in gravy.
Mix well.
(12) Along with Paneer, you may also add Fresh Milk cream. I have not done so as it was not available with me.
(13) Again cover the lid and allow the Paneer to cook in the gravy for 3 minutes on a low flame.
When 3 minutes are over, turn off the flame.
(14) Transfer the prepared dish on to a serving bowl.
Garnish with fresh cream and grated paneer and serve hot with rice or chapatis.
As I did not have fresh cream, I have not garnished that way. But for my readers, I have mentioned this step that they can do.
The Palak Paneer is ready to be served with Chapatis / Phulkas or Steamed rice / Jeera rice.