Palak Paneer is a North Indian vegetarian dish consisting of Palak (spinach) and Paneer (cottage cheese). It is a magnificent appealing sight to see the sautéed white paneer peeping out of the curry. Yum!!!
Palak Paneer ( Spinach Cottage cheese)
Course: MainCuisine: North IndianDifficulty: MediumServings
6
servingsTotal time
1
hourSpinach is sautéed and ground into a puree cooked with cottage cheese and along with other ground spices which gives an aromatic bottle green color to the dish.
Ingredients
Spinach – 300gm / 10.6 Oz.
Paneer – 340gm / 12 0z
Oil – 5 tbsps.
Onion finely chopped – 1medium
Tomato finely chopped – 1 medium
Coriander powder – 1 tsp
Cumin powder – 1tsp
Green chilis – 6-8
Turmeric – ¼ tsp
Cinnamon – 4 – (1 inch stick)
Bay leaves – 2
Cloves – 10 – 12
Garam masala – 1 tsp
Cashew nuts – ¼ cup
Whipped cream – 2 tbsps.
Water – as required
Salt – to taste
Directions
- Heat 1 tsp of oil in a pan and roast cashews, cloves, cinnamon, and bay leaves.
- Cool to room temperature and grind it to smooth paste.
- Heat another 1 tsp of oil and fry spinach till it shrinks. Allow to cool and grind to a fine paste.
- Next heat rest of the oil in a saucepan and sauté the paneer cubes. Scoop out the paneer cubes leaving the oil in the pan.
- Now add onions in the saucepan and sauté until translucent. Add ginger garlic paste and chopped tomato.
- Then add turmeric, coriander powder, cumin powder and garam masala.
- Add about 2 cups of water and let it simmer with lid covered until it becomes a soft masala.
- Once it is soft, add the cashew paste and mix well.
- Then add the ground paste of spinach. Adjust the consistency by adding water and mix well and let it simmer until it starts bubbling.
- Finally add paneer and pour sufficient water to attain a thick consistency and cook for a couple of minutes.
- Garnish with little cream on top and serve with Indian bread or rice.
Notes
- Vegan- (use tofu instead of paneer and omit using the cream as a garnish).
