A delicious way to add some healthy leafy greens to your diet, palak paneer is a flavorful Indian dish that combines a creamy, spice-infused spinach puree with fresh paneer.Recipe courtesy of Ligia of The Daring Kitchen.
Discard the water of the boiled spinach and puree the leaves until smooth and lump-free. Set aside for later use.
Heat the oil in a pan and sauté the chopped onion in the oil until it softens.
Stir in the ginger and garlic, and cook for 2 minutes.
Add the spinach puree and the cream to the pan. Cook it until almost all of the water evaporates and you get a thick mixture.
Add turmeric, red chili powder, coriander powder, garam masala, and salt.
Stir in paneer cubes and cook it all for a minute.
Serve hot and enjoy!
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Notes
Tips
To get the smoothest spinach paste for this recipe, use a good quality blender or immersion blender.
To prevent bitterness in the spinach, use young leaves and/or try removing the stems and large leaves.
Adding the minced garlic and ginger towards the end of the cooking process will give a more pungent flavor. Cooking the garlic and/or ginger for longer, along with the onions, will result in a milder flavor.
Paneer can be used either raw or cooked. I've tried it both ways by now and enjoyed it equally both ways.
Substitutions
If you don't have coriander, try using dried oregano or cumin, or a mix of cumin and oregano.
Garam masala can be subbed with curry powder or a combination of curry and allspice.
Depending on how spicy you like your food, you can adjust the amount of cayenne pepper or chili peppers, or not use them at all. Fresh chili peppers can also be minced and cooked with the onions.
Fresh turmeric root can also be grated and added with the ginger.