Palak paneer has two main ingredients palak which is spinach and paneer which is the unaged non-melting farmer's cheese which is called chhena. Paneer is made with vegetarian or fruit juice like lemon juice for curdling.
Palak (spinach) paneer a very delicious saag dish originally from Punjab in India. It has a few variations that have been made by different regions depending on what kinds of saag is available in season and locally. Some call it saag paneer too but it's not necessarily a mixture or palak with other saags it might not have palak in at all, instead have a combination of other saags like fenugreek, Sarson and dill. Palak paneer over the years has become a very popular dish to be made in parties and even some wedding events especially in the Punjab regions of both Pakistan and India.
Since in India there are a lot of vegetarian people, they have a wide variety of rustic vegetable dishes that are delicious and have also health benefits to them. Palak paneer is a simple dish to prepare and literally takes minutes to get ready and plate it. It’s usually served with chapati, fresh butter and onion relish.
It’s so interesting to know some facts about the foods that we eat and where they originated from. Today we have everything so readily available in every part of the world and we have so little time to be bothered to know the roots of its origin but it’s important to know. Palak (spinach) originated from the Persian lands having a lot of health benefits, starting from being good for skin and eyes it's also a very good source of calcium for our bones. Yet we still don't use it enough because we don't know the benefits of it.
This recipe of palak paneer has been handed down to me by my mother. She made it the best like all mothers do I'm sure! I want to share this recipe more so because it's simple and easy to make and very healthy which can be used as filling to the wraps, samosas and rolls for pack lunches. You can also use it for pies and pasties fillings with a bit of variation which I will be showing you in future blogs. I hope you will like making palak paneer and enjoy it in good health.
The Recipe
Ingredients
1 kg spinach
200 g Methi or soya saag (optional)
1 tsp salt
¼ tsp bicarbonate soda
¼ tsp turmeric
½ tsp red chillies
½ whole roasted zeera
2-3 green chillies
2 cups milk
3 Tbsp vegetable oil or ghee
1 packet paneer ( can be found in any grocery shop)
½ cup water (if needed only)
5-6 small butter cubes or 1 Tbsp ghee for garnish
Method
Wash spinach with cold water thoroughly.
In a pan add oil, spinach, bicarbonate soda, salt, red chilli powder, turmeric, zeera and milk. Other optional Saags can be added now and green chillies if you want it to be spicy.
Let it cook for 5 min on high or until the milk starts to rise or boil.
Lower the heat and let it cook uncovered.
In a separate frying pan add oil about 2 Tbsp. While it’s warming up cut small pieces of paneer.
Fry the paneer until all sides are golden brown then drain them on paper towels and keep it aside for later.
When the spinach leaves have wilted and are submerged in the milk increase the heat and keep stirring continuously preventing it from burning.
Add green chillies at this stage if you haven't yet.
Cook spinach until the oil separates from the pan and you can see spinach has shrunk to half the size. Keep stirring for 3 to 4 minutes then add a little water to loosen the saag. This is to make sure when you add paneer it mixes properly.
Add fried paneer pieces to the saag, keeping a few pieces for the garnish.
Mix slightly serve hot, garnish with paneer pieces, coriander and butter cubes.
Serving Suggestions
White boiled Rice
Naan
Partha
Onion Salsa
Hope you will enjoy do send in your comments and feedback will look forward to them. Thank you
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