Palak Paneer is a popular Indian vegetarian dish made with spinach and Indian cottage cheese. Palak is Spinach and Paneer stands for cottage cheese. This spinach dish paired with cottage cheese or paneer is a popular dish in India.
Spinach is a rich source of calcium, vitamins, fibre and iron. This is a quick and easy recipe as spinach takes very less time to cook. Spinach, onion and tomato along with flaked almonds make the base for this dish.
Paneer has a mild flavour and because it does not melt easily is commonly used in many Indian dishes. It is made from full fat buffalo or cow’s milk. You can easily make paneer at home by adding a little lemon juice to boiling milk. As the milk curdles, the whey water is separated with a sieve. The cheese is then tightly bound in a muslin cloth and drained of water completely. Paneer is also commonly available in Indian grocery chains. It is a favourite with vegetarians as it is a rich source of protein and calcium. Although, moderation is the key to consume this dish as it is also rich in calories.
Palak Paneer is often served with Indian breads such as Parathas https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5oFPX8OoKM , rice dishes or even with Palak Roti https://relishdelish.ca/recipes/palak-roti-spinach-flatbread/
Ingredients
Instructions
- Wash and chop spinach. Chop onions and tomato.
- Cut paneer into cubes and fry in a little ghee until light brown. Remove onto a plate and keep aside.
- Melt remaining ghee in a pan and add cumin seeds. Then add finely chopped onions, green chillies and ginger garlic paste. Fry until golden brown. Add in seasonings (turmeric, cumin pd. and salt). Mix well and then add the chopped tomatoes. Cook for a few minutes until tomatoes are fully cooked.
- Now add in the chopped spinach and cover the pan for about one minute until the spinach leaves wilt. Cool completely, transfer this into a blender and grind all the contents of the pan into a puree.
- Add the puree back into the same pan and simmer covered about 5 minutes.
- Finally add in the fired paneer cubes and mix well. Let it simmer a couple of minutes and turn off the gas.Transfer to a serving dish and add a tbsp. of fresh cream on top. Serve with rotis or phulkas or any Indian bread.