Palak paneer (Cottage cheese in spinach gravy)

palak paneer

Palak paneer is really yumm…I like the subtle hint of sweetness in the dish. When I was a kid, I never liked spinach. My mom always used to tell me “Eat it, it’s good for you”. Later in adult life when I realized its goodness, I began liking spinach. I now try to have it in various forms like Palak paratha, Dal palak and aloo palak.

Palak paneer is very popular dish from North Indian cuisine. Its popularity reaches North America where it is known as Saag paneer. Indian cottage cheese in a rich, creamy spinach curry makes this dish, a gastronomical delight.

Recipe of palak paneer

200 gm Paneer (cottage cheese)

500 gm Palak (spinach)

5 cloves garlic

2 medium onions

1 inch ginger piece

3-4 green chillies

2 tomatoes- pureed

4 tsp oil

½ tsp cumin seeds

½ tsp garam masala

½ tsp coriander powder

¼ cup malai (cream of milk)

Salt to taste

1. Cut stems of palak and wash thoroughly in running water. Blanch palak leaves in salted, boiling water for 2 minutes. Refresh them in cold water.
2. Puree the palak leaves along with green chillies.
3. Grind onions, ginger and garlic in a blender.
4. Cut paneer into pieces and shallow fry them in 2 tsp oil in a non- stick pan till golden. Drain.
5. Heat 2 tsp oil in a separate pan and add cumin seeds. When they change color, add onion paste. Sauté till light brown.
6. Add coriander powder. After 2 seconds, add tomato puree. Stir in salt and garam masala. Cook for 3-4 minutes on medium heat.
7. Add palak and a little hot water (you can use the water in which palak was blanched keeping in mind that it contains salt). Cook covered on medium heat for 10 minutes.
8. Add paneer pieces and cook covered for 2-3 minutes.
9. Stir in malai and cook further on low heat for 2 minutes. Serve palak paneer hot.