Palak Paneer
It’s April 1st, 2020; and every day this month is 4/20. To kick it off, I prepared my favorite Indian dish, and the first one I learned to cook, palak paneer. Palak paneer is a spinach curry gravy with chunks of paneer cheese. You may have seen this dish at an Indian buffet. It is usually overcooked and greenish brown in color. There is no comparison to the homemade version. It takes a little time, but us well worth the results. You can also prepare this dish with chicken or lamb. Below is also a recipe for homemade paneer cheese.
Equipment
- Food processor or immersion blender
Ingredients
- 2 bunches spinach washed
- 1/4 cup water
- 3 tbsp vegetable oil
- 4 green cardamom pods
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 medium white onion finely chopped
- 2 tbsp ginger garlic paste
- 1 green bird’s eye chili finely chopped
- 1 small tomato finely chopped
- 1 tsp coriander powder
- salt to taste
- 1/2 tsp garam masala powder
- 12 oz paneer cheese cubed
Instructions
- Purée the spinach with a 1/4 cup of water in a food processor or immersion blender. Heat up the purée in a sauté pan over medium heat. Sauté for 10-12 minutes until it is thickened and the water has cooked out. Set aside.
- Heat up cooking oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Fry the cinnamon stick, bay leaves, and cardamom pods for 30 seconds.
- Add in the onions and cook for 15 minutes.
- Add in the ginger garlic paste and green chilies. Cook for 2 minutes.
- Add in the tomato. Cook for 6-8 minutes.
- Stir in the coriander powder.
- Pour in the spinach purée in the pan. Season with salt and garam masala. Simmer for 5 minutes.
- Add in the paneer. Simmer for 2 more minutes.
- Turn off the heat and let rest for 5 minutes before serving.
