Palak Paneer
As Shweta Galway from Umreth, Gujarat State, India, taught Lindsay Sterling in Freeport, Maine.
Notes: Palak paneer is a spinach dish cooked with paneer cheese and spices. She served it with a kind of flatbread called roti. This is her quick weeknight recipe. For a more involved recipe, I enjoyed this one: www.vegrecipesofindia.com/palak-paneer.
Click here to find Indian markets in your area. In Maine, I go to Masala Mahal, 798 Main St., South Portland, ME, 207-699-5555.
Makes: 6 servings
Cooking time: 30 minutes (it's helpful to thaw the frozen spinach the night before)
Ingredients
- 8-10 oz. store bought or homemade paneer
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 large yellow onion, medium dice
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 boxes frozen creamed spinach, thawed
- 2 tsp garam masala powder
- 1/2 tsp chili powder (optional)
- 2 pounds frozen chopped spinach
- 1 tomato (optional)
- 1 inch ginger (optional), peeled
- 1/2 tsp salt
- flatbread (for gluten-free meal, serve with rice)
Instructions
1. Cut paneer cheese into 1/2-inch cubes. Fry paneer pieces in 1 Tbsp oil on medium heat in a saute pan. Turn cubes every so often. You want them to turn golden brown on many sides of the cubes. Dry the fried cheese on paper towels.
2. Add another Tbsp oil to pan and fry onions and garlic until soft. Mix in creamed spinach and chopped spinach. Mix in garam masala, chili powder, and salt. If you like you can blend a tomato and the ginger in a blender and mix that into the spinach. Mix in the fried paneer pieces to the spinach and simmer for 10-20 minutes.
3. Eat palak paneer by breaking off a piece of flatbread and scooping up a bite of spinach and cheese with it. Repeat.