Palak Paneer - Paint your menu green

The palak paneer  is a traditional Indian dish where paneer(cottage cheese) is cooked in a spinach (palak) puree and mildly seasoned with Indian spices. A healthy and nutritious combination, the palak paneer goes very well with the Indian breads like Naan and rotis. It can also be served as an accompaniment along with pulao or other rice recipes.

The palak paneer is a good choice when it comes to combining taste and health. It was a clear winner at home and so here I am sharing my tried and tested version of the palak paneer or cottage cheese in a spinach based sauce.

Ingredients for Palak paneer
Palak - 2 cups (or 1 bunch - blanched and pureed)
Paneer - 250 gms
Green chillies - 2 (or as per your taste)
Onion - 1 (finely chopped)
Ginger garlic paste - 1 tsp
Yogurt - 3 to 4 tbsp (well beaten)
Red chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
Coriander powder - 1 /2 tsp
Garam masala powder - 1/2 tsp
Whole cummin seeds(jeera) - 1/2 tsp
Hing or asafoetida - 1/4 tsp
Oil - 2 tsp
Salt- to taste
Water - 1 cup

Method for making Palak Paneer
1- Rinse and clean the palak leaves.
2 - Boil water in a vessel. Switch off gas and add the palak(spinach) leaves(roughly chopped). Blanch for 2 to 3 minutes.
3- Take out fromt the hot water and show under running water to stop the cooking process. Run in the blender alongwith the green chillies and 1/2 a cup of water to get a smooth puree.
4- Take a pan. Add the oil. Now add the cummin seeds and hing. When it begins to splutter add the finely chopped onions and saute till the onions turn soft and translucent. Now add the ginger garlic paste and saute till te raw smell disappears.
5-Add the spinach puree and cook for 3-4 minutes(in an open pan on slow fire). Add the red chilli powder, coriander powder, salt and garam masala powder and stir. Add the paneer and water. Cover and cook for 3-4 minutes till the paneer is well-cooked.
4- Add the beaten yogurt, stir and switch off gas(you need to be careful and keep stirring while adding the yogurt so that you get a smooth texture and the yogurt blends in perfectly with the spinach sauce or gravy). Let it sit for 5 minutes.
5- Transfer into a serving dish and serve with rotis, naan or chapati.

Check out the other paneer recipes from my paneer event
Paneer Makhani Recipe