This Palak Paneer Recipe has a story behind it, I have this small tiny mini kitchen garden in my house because I always like organic and fresh stuff and trust me it gives an amazing vibe and positive feeling when you serve your loved ones those fresh plugged leaves.
My garden was overflowing with this green leafy saag and this is one veggie that during winters becomes a sudden favourite in all houses, it’s added to lentils, tossed in salads, made into fritters with evening Chai (tea) or simply stir fried with garlic & potatoes. But I thought to make a curry out of it because that’s the only way I can use a lot of amount in one go. So, I came up with Organic Palak Paneer Recipe. I gave it this name because it’s absolutely fresh and just plucked. Cooking with fresh produced from your house backyard and feeding family with nature’s vegetarian goodness gives such joy to the heart. Simple everyday Indian khana, be it old classics or contemporary / fusion – our delicate dals(pulses), spiced sabjis and vibrant curries bring colour to the thali, flavour to the palate and nutrition to the body.
Apart from my story about this creamy Palak Paneer recipe, it’s a north Indian vegetarian, iron-rich, vibrant green curry featuring puréed spinach and Indian cheese that are simmered in spices and flavoured with fresh cream. This juicy, fleshy short stems of Palak (spinach) reminds you how nourishing and giving our mother earth can be. Having eaten home grown for so many years, that fresh taste is something hard to match with anything I cook from stores. Let’s start cooking Palak Paneer Recipe.
| Tip: You can steam the spinach using your pressure cooker, steamer or blanch the spinach. |
Tip: To attain a rich green colour for the spinach, after you have steamed / sautéed / blanched the spinach, remove it from the heat and uncover the pan. Keeping the pan covered will trap heat and make it cook for longer and darken the colour. You can also choose to mash the spinach with a masher to give it a different texture as well. |
Ingredients for Palak Paneer Recipe
- 200 gms fresh Homemade Indian cheese
- Lots of organic Spinach, washed and chopped
- 1 tomato, chopped or puréed
- 2 inch piece of grated ginger
- 2 cloves of garlic, grated
- 2 green chillies slit
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin powder
- 1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1 teaspoon garam masala powder
- 2 tablespoons of fresh cream
- 1 tablespoon butter
- Salt to taste
Method for making Palak Paneer Recipe
- Wash the spinach leaves. Roughly chop the leaves if they are too big. Since I use baby spinach, the stems are tender; however you can pick the stems out if they are too hard. Take some water in a pan and put it for boiling, once it is water boiled, turn off the heat & immediately add spinach to it.Let the leaves soak for 2-3 minutes and then drain. Reserve the liquid and transfer the spinach to food processor. I do not like to make a smooth puree however you can blend the spinach to desired texture. If needed, the reserved liquid can be used while blending. Set the blended spinach aside.
- Melt the butter in a frying pan on medium heat; add cumin seeds, chopped ginger, garlic and green chillies. Saute the ingredients for a few seconds. Next stir in the tomatoes and turmeric powder and sauté for a few seconds until the tomatoes are soft and tender.
- Stir in the coarsely blended spinach, cumin powder, garam masala, cinnamon powder and salt. Allow it to simmer for 5 minutes.
- Stir in the cream and paneer cubes and give it a brisk boil. The Palak paneer is now ready Note: You can use tofu as well instead paneer if you really are diet cautions or can avoid cream if you are vegan eater.
- Transfer the Palak Paneer to a serving dish and serve hot along with roti or even rice.
