PALAK PANEER RECIPE/ SPINACH AND COTTAGE CHEESE RECIPE:

PALAK PANEER OR SPINACH COTTAGE CHEESE RECIPE is a popular North Indian recipe made with cottage cheese in smooth creamy delicious spinach gravy.

PALAK PANEER is a vegetarian dish from Indian subcontinent. It is a simple, easy and healthy recipe which serves paneer in a thick paste made from pureed spinach and seasoned with ginger, garlic, garam masala and other masalas.

PALAK and PANEER both are healthy in their own ways. Palak is a rich source of dietary fiber, which helps control your appetite. Spinach also contains antioxidants and may help to keep cholesterol level low. In other hand, PANEER is full of protein which helps in digestion.

To make palak paneer, always spinach is blanched prior to making a puree. In most Indian recipes spinach is not blanched and use directly. Blanching of spinach is done so that the dish has a nice green color and it is a healthy practice as well.

Blanching of spinach reduce some oxalic acids and releases some of calcium which is present in the leaves. It preserves the green color of the spinach in palak paneer. It also gets rid of harmful microorganisms and pesticides.

In this palak paneer recipe I have shown the method of blanching spinach. For blanching, put the palak leaves into boiling salted water for 2 minutes and after 2 minutes drain the leaves and put in cold water.

INGREDIENTS:

· Palak or spinach- 250 grams

· Paneer or cottage cheese-200 grams

· Tomatoes-2

· Onion-1(big)

· Ginger garlic paste-2 tbsp

· Green chilies-2

· Cumin seeds- ½ tsp

· Coriander powder-2 tsp

· Red chili powder-2 tsp

· Cumin powder-1 tsp

· Turmeric powder- ½ tsp

· Garam masala – ½ tsp

· Salt

· Oil

· Sugar- ½ tsp

· Cream and grated paneer for garnishing

METHODS FOR PREPARING PALAK PANEER:

1. Clean and wash palak leaves properly.

2. For blanching spinach leaves, boil 3 glasses water in a big pot and add 1 tsp salt in it. Add spinach leaves or palak ke patte init and let it cook for 2 minutes not more than that.

3. After 2 minutes immediately drain the leaves and add it into cold water to preserve the green colour of the palak.

4. Now drain the spinach and add it in a blender or grinder jar. Make a puree and keep aside. No need to add water while making puree.

FOR MAKING MASALA OF PALAK PANEER:

1. Chop onion, tomatoes and green chilies. Cut paneer into pieces.

2. Heat oil in a pan or kadhai and add cumin seeds. When the cumin seeds start spluttering, add chopped onion and saute till it become light brown.

3. Add ginger garlic paste and fry till the raw smell of ginger and garlic disappeared. Then add chopped tomatoes and green chilies and saute. Add salt and mix well.

4. Fry the tomatoes till it becomes soft and mushy. Add dry masalas like coriander powder, cumin powder, red chili powder and turmeric powder and fry the masaala till the mixture leaves the sides of the pan.

5. Add spinach or palak puree and mix well. Cook the puree with masala till it becomes cook properly. Add 1 cup water and let it boil. When the gravy became thick add paneer pieces in it and simmer for 5 minutes.

6. Add kasoori methi and garam masala and mix well.

7. Garnish with cream and grated paneer.