Hi everyone, it's been a long time since I have added anything here. Basically I am adding the recipes which I have perfected. Being a young working women, I am not always able to make my recipes perfect.
Ingredients : (for 2 people)
One Spinach (Palak) bunch
2 medium sized tomatoes / 1 big tomato
2 medium sized Onions / 1 big Onion
3,4 garlic cloves
1/2 inch ginger piece.]
1-2 Green chillies (as per taste, but do use one at least)
Panner (according to preference, I have used 200 gms)
1 tbsp jeera for tampering
1-2 tbsp ghee or 3-4 tbsp oil
1/4 tbsp of red chilly powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder & garam masala
Salt to taste
Preparations
Thinly slice the onions & keep aside. Remember the thinner they are, the better the taste :)
Wash the tomatoes & keep aside. Basically we need to blanch the tomatoes.
This can be done in two ways, either we put them in boiling hot water or cook them for 2-3 mins in microwave. The important thing to remember here is, before we proceed with blanching, we need to remove the top green part & on the bottom side we need to make very thin cuts in a cross shape. This is to loosen the skin of the tomatoes so that they are easier to peel.
So once we have prepared our tomatoes we need to blanch them & then set them aside for at least 10 mins so that they get cooled.
Once the tomatoes have cooled down, take out the skin as much as you can.
Add the blanched tomatoes, garlic, ginger & green chillies to a blender or chopper & process till its a smooth paste.
Now for the spinach-
We need to cut off the roots & wash it properly.
Next we need to take about 100-150 ml (small cup) of water & heat it in a vessel.
Once the water is hot we add the washed spinach to it & cover with a lid.
The idea here is to partly steam & not exactly boil the spinach, boiling the spinach takes out most of the flavour so we should use as little water as we can.
Once the spinach is reduced to half & still looks green, we need to turn off the flame & let it cool.
Once cool, we need to grind it to a fine paste in the blender or chopper. If you need additional water, use the one in which we boiled the spinach.
Take the paneer out & dunk it in warm water if you have time.
Otherwise just cut into small cubes.
Some people like to fry the panner a little in ghee/butter/oil to. I avoid this part for some health reasons but it really enhances the taste :)
Cooking:
Take a kadhai & add the ghee/oil to it.
Once the ghee is hot, add the jeera, please ensure that the jeera floats up in the ghee otherwise it will taste a little raw.
Next add the thinly sliced onions & cook them till their edges start turning a little brown.
Next add the blanched tomato, garlic, chilly ginger mixture & Salt
Cook till the mixture starts to leave the ghee / oil.
Add the pureed spinach to the mixture & mix well. Cook for less then 1.5 mins & add the paneer cubes.
Mix everything and cook for less then 2 mins on medium flame.
Turn off the flame & cover the kadhai with a lid. (this helps keep the paneer soft & palak green & the curry is cooked in its own heat)
Open the lid after 10 mins & your yummy Palak Paneer is ready to be served!
Some people like to top it off with a spoon full of malai or lemon juice to :)
It's very simple & will not take more then 20 mins from start to finish.
Tastes excellent with roti or paratha.
Do let me know how this recipe worked out for you & Happy Cooking :)
