Palak Paneer

Have I told you about my organizing skills? I guess apart from a few ramblings here, I haven't said much. There is a reason for that… I have zero organizing skills! I blame my Amma for that ;)

Amma is the least organized person I know and because of that she is always “searching” or “looking out” for things that she has misplaced. It can be anything from keys to papers to aluminium foil to her sarees, so you got the pic right? (It always makes me feel better when I can put all the blame on someone else, for me lacking anything ;)

Anyway… the thing is I lack organizing skills. I’ll share the screenshot of my desktop for you to get an idea about it’s extent. It drives Jose bat crazy, he just can't figure out why I can't just arrange everything and keep it clean… Men!

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Though I’m very bad in organizing things, the only area where I have some semblance of order is this space called MariasMenu or so I thought until recently.

Sometime ago, one of my readers messaged me and asked for Palak Paneer recipe. She said she couldn’t find it on the site anymore. I was like…whaaat? Because I knew for sure I had posted Palak Paneer recipe in the earlier years, it didn't have any picture, but the recipe was there. So I told her I’ll check it out and send her the link.

The thing is… the recipe isn't there. I still don't know how it disappeared from the site. It’s like one fine day, palak paneer recipe decided that it had enough from the blog and decided to walk out. Well that’s the only explanation I can come up for this “missing” act. See, that’s not my fault or lack of “organizing skills”, what can I do if recipes decide to have minds of their own?

So… here I’m posting Palak Paneer recipe, AGAIN! This time with a nice photo, step-by-step pictures and the whole package, just to be sure.

Now that I’m posting it again, I made some changes from the first recipe. In the earlier recipe, I boiled the palak with onion, tomatoes, ginger, garlic etc… In this one, I saute it first and puree and I think this is a better version.

It’s a very good veg recipe that goes well with rice and roti. It’s healthy too and the spices and ghee adds flavor to the dish. I do hope you’ll also enjoy this new and improved version of Palak Paneer (before it disappears again).

Btw, if Amma’s wrath falls upon me for mentioning her organizing skills (or lack of it), I’ll put the blame on you. You’re the one who wants a story with every recipe and me being an honest person told you an honest story, so it’s on you ;)

Here is the recipe…

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Palak Paneer

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Author: Maria Jose Martin

Ingredients

• ▢ 200 gms Paneer (refer notes)
• ▢ 125 gms Palak (Spinach) (i used baby spinach (5-6 cups))
• ▢ 6 -8 Cashew nuts (soaked 2 tbsp hot water for 15 mins and grind to a smooth paste)
• ▢ 2 medium Onion (chopped)
• ▢ 2 tsp each Chopped ginger & garlic
• ▢ 1 Chopped green chilli
• ▢ 2 medium Tomatoes (pureed)
• ▢ 1/2 tsp Turmeric powder
• ▢ 2 tsp Chilli powder
• ▢ 2.5 tsp Corainder powder
• ▢ 1/4 tsp Cumin powder
• ▢ 1/4 tsp Garam masala
• ▢ 1/2 - 1 tsp Kasuri Methi (dried fenugreek leaves)
• ▢ Salt
• ▢ 1 -2 tbsp Ghee / Oil (I used ghee)

Instructions

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  Heat ghee / oil in a deep and wide pan. Add chopped onion and cook till it begins to brown.
  

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  Add chopped ginger, garlic and green chilli. Cook for 3-4 mins, till the raw smell goes.
  

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  Add washed spinach leaves and mix well. Cook for 2-3 mins, till the leaves are wilted. Let it cool and grind to a smooth paste, no need to add water.
  

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  In the same pan, add more ghee/oil if required. Add the ground paste and fry for 2-3 mins. Add turmeric, chilli, coriander, cumin and garam masala powder. Fry the masala for 2-4 mins, till the raw smell goes and oil starts appearing.
  

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  Add tomato puree, salt and cook for 5-6 mins, till the gravy is reduced a bit. Crush the kasuri methi between your palms and add to the masala. 
  

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  Add paneer pieces to the masala and mix gently. 
  

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  Add 3/4 - 1 cup water to the curry and bring it to boil. Reduce the flame to lowest and cover and cook for 7-8 mins. 
  

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  Remove the pan from the fire and gradually add the cashew paste. Slowly stir the curry, so that the cashew paste is incorporated to the curry. Bring back the curry to the stove and cook for 3-4 mins on lowest flame. 
  

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Notes

I use Kohinoor brand Frozen Paneer and it works well for me. I thaw the frozen Paneer at room temp for 1 hour or so.

Let the curry rest for half an hour or so for the flavors to settle in. Though you can use oil for cooking, I find ghee adds more flavor to the curry. 

Tried this recipe? Let others know by...mentioning @mariasmenu or tagging #mariasmenu

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