Palak Paneer (Spinach with Indian Cottage Cheese)
I love palak paneer! If you haven’t had paneer before, it’s essentially Indian cottage cheese and makes for an amazing vegetarian dish. This dish is lighter than most curries, packed with greens and goes so nicely with rice or naan.
Let’s go shopping.
350g package of spinach
1 large on the vine tomato, cut in half
2 inch ginger
5 garlic cloves (3 whole and 2 minced)
1/2 jalapeno
2 tbsp ghee (or oil)
1 large onion, finely diced
1/2 cup water
1 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/4 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp salt (more to taste)
225g package of paneer cheese
3 tbsp heavy cream
1 tbsp kasuri methi (optional - also known as dried fenugreek)
For serving
1/4 lemon, sliced
Cook the spinach
To a large pot of boiling water, add the spinach and blanch for 3 minutes. Remove the spinach leaves and add to an ice bath (this helps retain the bright green hue).
Make the Spinach Puree
To a blender, add the blanched spinach, the tomato, ginger and the three garlic cloves. Blend until smooth.
Such a gorgeous colour!
Soak the Paneer
Add the whole block of paneer to a bowl of hot water and let it soak for about 15 minutes. This is optional, but it helps to make the paneer such a soft texture.
Build the curry
To a large pan over medium high heat, add the finely diced onion and the minced garlic. Cook until fragrant and the onion begins to get translucent.
Add the spinach puree and 1/2 cup water to the onion and garlic. Cover and cook over medium heat for 10 minutes. The mixture will bubble, so stir it often to avoid it sticking to the bottom of the pot.
Once the spinach puree is cooked, add the turmeric, chilli powder, garam masala and salt to taste. Mix and cook for about two minutes.
Add heavy cream, stir to combine, and cook for another 3 minutes.
Turn the heat off, add the lemon juice and kasuri methi.
Serve hot with rice, naan or roti. This can be made as far as two days in advance.
