Palak Paneer

Palak or spinach, the power packed green leafy vegetable is one vegetable which has been given a thumbs up by the kids and hence I make sure that it is part of our menu every week. Getting the kids to have some vegetables has always been a tough task, as they become very choosy when it comes to vegetarian food.  The most frequently made dish with this nutritious leaf is the palak mashiyal which I had shared long before.

Palak when paired with the protein enriched paneer is a marvelous combination health wise as well as taste wise.  I know of many who love palak paneer, but sadly this dish was never liked by anyone at home, hence this has never been a part of food either cooked at home or ordered on a restaurant table.I have tried many recipes of palak paneer, but frankly speaking I was never fond of this dish much until I was introduced to this recipe by my friend Tasneem. Now, this recipe is so easy, that you may doubt about its taste. But, let me assure you, this is a lip smacking recipe of the famous palak paneer. Thanks a lot Tasneem for sharing this recipe. Now, palak paneer is a favorite dish at our home too, loved equally by all.

Ingredients

a bunch of fresh palak leaves, washed well and chopped roughly

200 gm paneer cubes

1 Tbsp oil

1 onion chopped roughly

1 tomato chopped roughly

2-3 green chillies

2-3 garlic cloves

1/2 tsp cumin seeds

10-15 cashewnuts

1/2 to 1 cup water

2 tbsp butter

salt to taste

Method

•  Heat oil in a pan and saute the roughly chopped palak on high flame just until it wilts. Keep aside.
• Once it cools, grind the wilted palak along with the onion, tomato, garlic, cumin, green chillies and salt into a fine paste.
• Heat butter in a non stick pan. Add the grinded paste and saute well until the oil starts to ooze from the sides and the gravy starts to turn thick (can be done on a high flame).
• Add the paneer cubes and mix well.
• Add water, according to the consistency you would like your curry to be in(for a semi thick gravy, I added approximately 1/2 cup of water).
• Bring this to a boil and  then remove from heat. Serve hot.

Delicious palak paneer is ready in a jiff!

* For added taste you can fry the paneer cubes and add. Here I have used frozen paneer cubes, which was soaked in hot water for a few minutes before adding to the curry.