Palak Paneer

13:15 Niloufer Riyaz 6 Comments

Winter is fast approaching here in Qatar.... and this is the time where we get luscious greens in the market. During winters there are yards put here and I love the fresh green Palak/ Spinach available there. Everytime I see them I remember Popeye The Sailor Man... whooot... whooot. Started to love spinach only after watching popeye cartoon. Even made my kids like Palak Paneer  telling them that they will become strong like Popeye if they eat Spinach.
Spinach/ palak is low in calories and it has good amount of dietary fibre rich in iron content and has several anti oxidant vitamins too.
  I would make Palak Paneer almost every week during winters. This recipe is almost 12 years old. Right from the time I started cooking I have been following the same recipe only..... no change in all these years.... This is the most easiest recipe of Palak Paneer
  To make it little healthy I don't fry the paneer... since I use frozen paneer I just  microwave the for three minutes and it turns absolutely soft. If you are using fresh paneer just give them a quick boil in hot water... to keep it soft.
So lets proceed making this phata-phat Palak Paneer.




You Need:

Palak Leaves              2 cups
Onion                         1 nos(large)
Tomato                       1 nos (large)
Green Chilli                2 nos
Oil                               2 tbsp
Shahi Jeera                  1 tsp
Kasuri Methi               1/2 tsp
Paneer                         1 1/2 cups
Ginger Garlic paste     1 tbsp
Jeera powder               1/2 tsp
Water                           1 cup (aprox)
Salt to taste



Preparation:

Clean and wash the palak
Boil water in  a pan .. add salt to it. Now put the cleaned palak leaves and boil for 2-3  minutes.
Remove them from hot water and put them in a bowl if ice cold water to prevent discoloring of the palak. You can also show them under running tap water too. Drain them well and grind to a paste.
Meanwhile grind onion+ ginger garlic paste + Green chilli  to a paste.
Puree the tomatoes seperately.
Heat a wide mouthed pan / Kadai . Put oil,,, when it heats up add shahi jeera and fry for 10 seconds.
Add the onion paste  and fry for about 10 minutes ( the raw smell should disappear) .
Add the tomato puree + jeera powder + salt  and cook for 10 min.
Keep the flame in sim now add the palak puree + kasuri methi  and add about a cup of water.
Adjust the amount of water in accordance  to thickness of the gravy you want.
Check for salt and cook for about 2-3 minutes only. Do not over cook .. the palak will loose its luscious color.
Add the Paneer and cook for two minutes.
Remove from heat and Serve with chappati or jeera rice.

If you want add a dollop of cream on top when you serve .. its completely optional.