Palak Paneer

Palak Paneer Recipe / Spinach Paneer Recipe with step by step pictures / Cottage cheese cooked in spinach puree.

During my childhood days I hate eating keerai (Greens/Spinach) and avoided it simply without knowing its significance. When I grew up my food habits changed and as all of us, focused on health related stuffs. I still hate to eat greens but for healthy intake, I started to have them with other ingredients like dal, paneer, potato and more. Palak Paneer is one such gravy I usually have which is the combination of Spinach and Paneer.

This rich creamy healthy gravy is prepared using Paneer (Indian cottage cheese) cooked in Palak (Spinach) of pureed form. It pairs well with roti but I enjoy this gravy with steamed rice too. There are many ways to cook palak paneer and this is one of the methods I follow for rich creamy consistency without using the cream. If the spinach is blanched perfectly, then it is easy to get the bright green colour for the gravy.

Other Spinach Recipes you may Like:

Spinach Egg Bhurji

Spinach Channa Dal Vadai

Corn and Spinach Quiche

Pasala Keerai Masiyal

Spinach Paneer Kofta Gravy

Mexican Green Rice

Fingermillet Spianch Pakoda

Spinach Poori

Spinach Paratha

Spinach Raita

Spinach Paneer Canapes

Spinach and Cheese Muffins

Spinach Pasta

Dal Spinach

Spinach Cheese sandwich

Basic Information:

Preparation Time: 15 minutes

Cooking Time: 40 minutes

Serves: 4 to 5

Ingredients:

3 cups baby spinach

4 cups hot water to blanch the spinach

1 tbsp oil

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 cup onion, finely chopped

1 tbsp ginger garlic paste

little less than 1 cup tomato, finely chopped

1 tsp red chilli powder

1 tsp coriander powder

1/4 tsp turmeric powder

1 tsp garam masala

salt to taste

1 cup water or as required

200 grams paneer, cubed

Video Recipe:

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Method with step by step pictures:

1. Heat 4 cups of water in a sauce pan.

2. Once it starts boiling, add 3 cups of baby spinach leaves in batches.

3. Keep immersed in water for 1 to 2 minutes or until it gets wilted. I just kept it in a hot water exactly for a minute.

4. Drain the water and transfer the leaves to an ice cold water and keep immersed for a minute.

5. After a minute, drain the water and add the cooled down leaves to mixie jar.

6. Grind it to a smooth puree without adding water. Keep it aside.

7. Heat a tbsp oil in a wide pan.

8. When it is hot, add the cumin seeds and allow it to crackle.

9. Add 1 cup of onion and saute till it becomes soft and reduced in its quantity.

10. Add 1 tbsp ginger garlic paste. Mix well for few seconds.

11. Add little less than 1 cup of tomato. Mix well and cook till the tomato becomes mushy.

12. Once the tomato onion mixture cooked well, add 1 tsp red chilli powder, 1 tsp coriander powder, 1/4 tsp turmeric powder and 1 tsp garam masala. Adjust the red chilli powder according to the spice level needed.

13. Mix well and cook till the oil started oozing out.

14. Add the ground spinach puree. Rinse the mixie jar with 1 cup of water and add it to the pan. Mix well. Allow it to boil.

15. Once the gravy started to boil, add the paneer cubes.

16. Gently mix the paneer cubes without breaking it. Simmer the gravy until the paneer becomes soft and you get the desired gravy consistency.

17. Mix well in between for uniform cooking.

18. Once the desired consistency is reached, turn off the flame and serve hot with roti.

Serving Suggestion:

1. Serve it as a side dish for roti or naan or plain rice or pulao.

2. Serve it for lunch or dinner.

Notes:

1. Adjust the spinach quantity according to the spinach leaves you use. If you are using big spianch leaves, chop it finely and measure,

2. You can add cream to the gravy to get rich creamy texture.

3. The paneer I used is very soft and doesn’t need any roasting or soaking in water. If you use store bought paneer, you can slightly shallow fry till the edges are golden brown or soak it in warm water till you use it in the gravy. Alternatively you can follow the package instructions of the paneer.