Palak Paneer

I’ve tried palak panner many times from many websites, but nothing came close to the ones available in the restaurants. With my daughter’s growing taste buds, I wanted her to try out various Indian delicacies. This girl who wouldn’t even touch the tip of the spoon which touched palak paneer for its green color(it’s a different story that I still force-feed her a few teaspoons), started showing interest in various Indian curries, including palak paneer, in restaurants. That gave me an incentive to try out this dish at home again. 

Vahrevah is a trusted website for these kind of dishes. Any dish from this blog has never disappointed me. I like all the tips and tricks Vah-chef gives. His palak paneer was no exception, it turned out very good. 

The only drawback is, to make a small quantity(a little over what is seen in the pic below), I used the whole box of spinach from Costco. So this is not exactly something you should consider when cooking for a crowd. 

Do try!

Ingredients

Palak(Spinach) - 1 big box from Costco

Paneer cubes

Onion - 1 finely chopped

Tomato - 2 to 3 finely chopped

Green chilli - 2-3 finely chopped

Ginger-garlic paste - 1 tbsp

Extra garlic - 3-4 pods(optional)

a pinch of Nutmeg(I didn’t add this)

Cream - 1 tbsp(optional)

powders

Coriander powder - 1 tsp

Cumin powder - 1 tsp

Red chilli powder - 1/2 tsp(mild)

Turmeric

Kasoori methi - 1 tbsp

for tadka

Cinnamon - 2 inch peice

Cloves - 4-5

Cardamom - 3-4

Jeera - 1 tsp 

Method

Blanch spinach - Boil some water in a pot. Add spinach. Don’t cover it. Let it boil till the spinach wilts(around 2min). Take out the spinach from water. Save this water(See notes). Let it cool a little bit. Grind to a smooth paste.   

In a pot add oil. Add cinnamon, cloves, cardamom. Add jeera. After it sizzles, add onion. Sauté till onion is really transparent. Add ginger-garlic paste, turmeric. Add tomatoes. Sauté till tomatoes become completely mushy. Add all the powders - cumin, coriander powder, red chilli powder, crushed kasoori methi. Add finely chopped green chillies(see notes below). Add spinach puree. Boil till oil oozes out. Add panner cubes(you can roast it in a pan before adding, but it’s not necessary. I did that). Boil for couple more minutes till paneer is nicely incorporated in the gravy. Add cream now if adding any. Bring it to a boil and switch off the flame. 

Serve with naan/roti/chapathi/poori/some fried rice. 

Notes -

• Instead of ginger-garlic paste, I used finely chopped ginger-garlic. 
• I use very little water to blanch spinach and I use this water while grinding. And I use it later to add to the gravy. 
• Tomatoes shouldn’t be chunky. Make sure it completely comes together to a paste while cooking. Or add tomato paste.
• I added green chillies while blanching and then ground both together to a smooth paste. 

Recipe Source - “https://www.vahrehvah.com/palak-paneer”