Palak Paneer or Cottage Cheese in Spinach is a winter special dish.It is a very tasty and healthy dish very popular in North India.
Ingredients
Spinach – 1/2 kilogram
cottage cheese – 250 grams
Tomato – 2 piece
Ginger – 1 inch
Green chili – 1 piece
Asafoetida – ¼ teaspoon
Cumin seeds – ¼ teaspoon
Whole red chili – 1 piece
Cumin Powder – 1/2 teaspoon
Red chili Powder – 1/4 teaspoon
Turmeric Powder- ¼ teaspoon
Chat Masala – 1/2 teaspoon
Garam Masala – 1/2 teaspoon
Kasuri Methi – 1/4teaspoon
Salt – To taste
Ghee – 2 teaspoon
Oil – 2 teaspoon
Procedure
Cut palak into medium sized pieces and do not skip the shoots. Wash the cut palak very carefully till it is absolutely clean. This is a very important step and not to be missed.
Boil water in a open large vessel and put the cut palak into it and cover and cook for 15 minutes and remove from flame.
Spread the palak after taking it out from water into a large plate so that it cools down quickly. Make a smooth paste of it when it eventually cools down after 10-15 minutes.
Make a paste of tomatoes and ginger and green chili and keep aside.
Cut the paneer into small cubes and put it into a kadhai. Let the water seep out of it when you add salt to it.
Slowly tumble it around softly so that it does not break. To it add ghee, chat masala and red chili powder. Take it out of kadhai and keep aside.
Now add oil to the kadhai and temper with asafetida, cumin seeds and whole red chili. Add the tomato, ginger and green chili paste.
Sauté till oil seeps out. Now add coriander powder, turmeric powder and red chili powder. Cook well. Add Kasuri methi.
To this mixture well cooked add palak paste. Cook it well for 10 minutes. Now add the fried paneer cubes.Mix well and adjust the water and salt content.
Continue cooking and add chat masala and Garam masala on top. Switch off the flame after cooking it covered for 5- 10 more minute.
This allows the flavour to enter the paneer cubes.
Palak Paneer is ready to eat with Roti, Parantha, Puri or Rice.
Happy Cooking!!