Palak Paneer brings me back the fresh memories of Dhaba Express restaurant of NB, Chennai. That was the place we haunted the most after our post-engagement days J since that restaurant was close to the place I stayed. Some of the dishes we loved there were Palak paneer, Sarson Ka Saag and Malai Kofta curry. Dhaba restaurants specialize in these types of dishes. We have funny memories on knowing what Sarson Ka Saag was! Later I knew it was Punjabi mustard greens.
Palak Paneer is an Indian and Pakistani dish consisting of pureed spinach and paneer. It was supposedly created in the kitchen of the Maharaja of Orchreal in 1899!
Apart from spinach Saag Paneer can be made with any type of greens. ‘Saag’ in Hindi means “Greens’. Mustard greens are the common substitute for spinach. Aloo/ Potato, Chole can be subtituents for paneer.
You can recreate this dish in your kitchen very easily. When I made it for the first time, I was amazed to see the way it came out perfect, tasty and flavorful.
Ingredients
2 bunches of spinach/ a packet of freshly packed spinach
1 cup of cubed paneer
1 medium sized onion
2-3 green chillies
4-5 garlic pods
2 bay leaf, pinch of kasuri methi (optional)
1 ts cumin seed, ¼ ts hing
¼ ts turmeric powder, ½ ts chilli powder, 1 ts coriander powder, ¼ ts garam masala
2 ts of thick yoghurt, ¼ cup warm milk
Preparation
- Take water in a wide pan. Once it starts to boil add chopped spinach in batches until everything wilts away. Add chopped green chilli and garlic. Close the pan and let it cook for a minute. Switch off the stove. After the mixture cools, put them in a blender and make a fine paste or a coarse paste as you prefer.
- In the same pan shallow fry paneer cubes until it becomes slightly golden on all sides. Keep aside
- In the same pan add enough oil. Once oil is heated add bay leaf and cumin seed.
- Add chopped onion and fry until it becomes slightly brownish.
- Add hing.
- Now add the chilli powder, coriander powder, garam masala and enough salt.
- Add yoghurt and keep frying in medium flame until water from yoghurt has evaporated.
- Add the pureed spinach and mix everything well.
- Add the warm milk. Mix well.
- Add paneer cubes. Mix well. Cover the container and let it simmer for about 5 minutes.
- Finally crush a pinch of kasuri methi with your palms and add to the dish. Mix and let it simmer for another one minute.
Delicious palak paneer is ready to be digged with hot roti/ naan.
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