PALAK PANEER

PALAK PANEER

For vegetarians, paneer (cottage cheese) is often standard fare when we eat out or entertain at home. Among the many varieties of paneer dishes, Palak Paneer has to be one of the most popular. This combination of cottage cheese and spinach (palak) goes best with rotis.

This is adapted from a YouTube video "Delhiwala Palak Paneer"  featuring one of my favourite Chefs, Harpal Singh Sokhi who brings so much life into his demonstrations. You can feel his enthusiasm which I am sure will make anyone like cooking!

Ingredients:

Palak (Spinach), boiled and pureed, 2 cups

Paneer, (Cottage Cheese), cubed, 200 gms

Garlic Flakes, 20-30

Oil, 2-3 tbsp

Cumin Seeds, 1 tsp

Green Chillies, chopped, 4-5, or more as per taste

Onions, medium-sized, sliced, 2

Yogurt, 1 cup

Coriander Powder, 1 tbsp

Turmeric Powder, 1/2 tsp

Black Salt, (Kala Namak), 1/4 tsp

Salt, to taste

Coriander Paste, 1 tbsp

Juice of 1 Lemon

Method:

Wash and boil the spinach. To retain the colour of the spinach, refresh it immediately in cold water

Next grind it to form a fine puree. Keep aside.

Cut the paneer into roughly equal sized cubes and keep aside.

Finely chop the garlic flakes without crushing them and keep aside.
Prepare 1 tbsp paste of fresh coriander leaves. Keep aside.

In a pan, take 2-3 tbsp of oil and when it gets heated add the cumin seeds

Add the garlic flakes and cook till they become light brown

Add the chopped green chillies and take off the flame

Add the sliced onions and saute for 3-4 minutes on medium flame till they become translucent

Add the yogurt, coriander powder, turmeric powder, black salt, and salt to taste

Let it boil for some time

Now add the pureed spinach and then add fresh coriander paste 

Next, add the paneer cubes, mix properly and bring it to a boil

Lastly add the juice of one lemon

Serve with rotis or rice.