Spinach Paneer Kofta Gravy

Did you get a chance to see Tofu and pea curry from my blog which I had tried out from Anjum Anand’s I love curry? If yes, then you would be knowing about my craziness about that book. Almost all vegetarian recipes had been tried out by me from that book and all were success. Among all,  I have posted Spicy Andhra chicken curry, Tofu and Pea curry and Paneer bruschetta. Another recipe from her book is today’s recipe-Spinach Paneer Kofta Gravy.

It is a good and another way to eat spinach. The original recipe uses deep fried koftas and to make it more healthier, I used shallow fried koftas. Also, instead of grinding the spinach as said in the book, I chopped it very finely, squeezed out the extra juice after blanching it (I used this juice in gravy again) and then mixed it with paneer to make koftas. Try it out and say your opinion.

Basic Information:

Preparation Time: 15 minutes

Cooking Time: 30 minutes

Serves: 4 people

Ingredients:

For Spinach Paneer Koftas:

Spinach leaves – 200 grams, finely chopped

Cottage cheese / Paneer – 200 grams, crumbled or grated

Corn flour – 2 tablespoons

Salt – a pinch

Oil – for shallow frying or deep frying

For Gravy / For Tomato Sauce:

Tomatoes – 2 nos, large size, sliced

Ginger – 1 inch length

Garlic – 3 medium size cloves

Oil – 1 tablespoon

Onion – 1 no, large size, sliced

Cashew nuts – 50 grams

Turmeric – 1/2 teaspoon

Red chilli powder – 1 teaspoon

Coriander powder – 1 tablespoon

Cumin seeds – 1/2 teaspoon

Garam masala – 1/2 teaspoon

Salt -to taste

Water – 2 cups

Butter / Cream / Yogurt – 2 tablespoons (Optional)

Method:

For Spinach Paneer Koftas:

1) Wash Spinach leaves well and blanch it. Once it is cooled down, squeeze out the excess water from it.

2) Add paneer, corn flour and a pinch of salt. Mix well.

3) Make 1 and 1/2 inch round sized balls. Keep aside.

4) Heat 3 tablespoons of oil in a pan or kadai. Shallow fry all the koftas. You can also deep fry them.

5) When the koftas turn golden brown, transfer to a plate covered with kitchen towel. Keep it aside till the gravy is ready.

For the Gravy / For Tomato Sauce:

1) Heat oil in a pan. When it is hot, add cumin seeds. Allow it to splutter.

2) Add sliced onion. Saute it till it becomes soft and turned brown.

3) Add chopped ginger and garlic. Saute for 1 minute.

4) Add tomatoes and continue sauteing till the tomatoes turned soft and mushy.

5) Add red chilli powder, coriander powder, garam masala, turmeric powder and salt. Mix well. Cook till the raw smell of masala goes off.

6) Finally add roasted cashews and allow this mixture to cool for a while.

7) Once the mixture is  cooled down, put it in a mixer / food processor and make a fine paste. Add squeezed out the juice from spinach to help grinding.

8) Bring back this paste to the same pan along with 2 cups of water. Mix well and bring it to boil. Turn the flame to medium for 10 minutes once the gravy starts boiling

9) When the gravy comes to single cream consistency, add the koftas and cook again for 5-7 minutes.

10) Garnish with double cream/ yogurt/ butter and serve with rice or naan.

Notes:

1) Instead of koftas, you can also add cooked lima beans to the gravy.

2) I used baby spinach and I finely chopped them before blanching it. So, it was easy for me to make koftas with paneer. If you are not able to make koftas, add more corn flour. You can also microwave the spinach and mush it slightly before adding it to paneer.

3) You can also deep fry the koftas. But make sure the blot off the excess oil after deep frying. It tends to absorb more oil.

4) Original recipe called for ricotta cheese and I substituted it with paneer.