“Don’t knock it till you try it.”
I know it’s no surprise when children don’t like vegetables, especially the green ones, but I was a kid who pretty much ate everything yet didn’t like this specific curry at all. For some reason, maybe because of the bad ways in which I had it or the lack of good ones, I never could come around the dish of palak paneer. Fortunately, through the virtue of flipping through numerous recipes and my father’s persistent need to bring palak home, I finally bowed to it and tried my hand at making the curry, which to be quite smugly frank was a success wrapped in velvet. Of course, I didn’t want to keep this recipe all to myself and wanted to share the joy. So, I wrote to Tasty, from Buzzfeed, to see if it can be included in their site and they were lovely enough to put it up. Find it here.
You can make it as healthy as you want by substituting some of the ingredients or make it totally indulgent as you please. But one thing is for sure, you will be left licking the bowl.
RECIPE
Feeds four hungry people.
INGREDIENTS
- 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
- 2 small bay leaves, fresh or dried
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/4 teaspoon garam masala powder
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg powder
- 1/4 teaspoon asafetida powder
- 1 teaspoon of dried fenugreek leaves (or powder)
- 1 1/2 tablespoon of double cream
- 1/4 cup cashews, roughly chopped
- 2 tablespoon of ghee (clarified butter) or unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup of water, or as required
- 1/2 teaspoon of salt, or as per taste
Cooking Paneer
- 2 cups of paneer (100g), cut into cubes
- 3 cups of water, boiling
- 1/4 teaspoon of salt
Spinach Puree
- 6 cups of spinach (palak) leaves (250g)
- 1/4 teaspoon of salt
- 3 cups of water, boiling
- 3 cups of water, cold
Gravy
- 1 cup onions (2 small or 1 large), roughly chopped
- 1 cup tomato (2 small or 1 large), roughly chopped
- 2 green chilies, roughly chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
- 1 inch cube sized ginger, roughly chopped
- 1 teaspoon of ginger, cut into matchsticks
- 1 teaspoon of coriander (cilantro), roughly chopped
- 1 teaspoon of cream
METHOD
- Blanch the spinach in salted, boiling water for one minute, then drain and transfer to a bowl with cold water.
- Once cooled, puree in a blender until smooth and remove.
- Heat some salted water and once it comes to the boil, switch off the gas and add the cubed paneer. Let it soak in the water till the time to be added to the gravy.
- Add all the ingredients of the gravy base to a blender and mix until smooth.
- Add the butter to a hot pan with some oil (optional) to stop it from burning. Once foaming, add the cashews, cumin seeds, finely chopped garlic, and bay leaves. Fry for a minute till aromatic.
- Add the blended gravy, along with all the powders and stir well. Simmer on low heat for 15 minutes till you see oil seeping from the sides. The onion-tomato gravy must smell fragrant by this point without any raw smell.
- Add the spinach puree and stir well to combine along with salt. Simmer on low heat for another 15 minutes until the rawness of the puree goes away and there is an intense gravy left.
- Add the cream and water as required to make it velvety along with the drained paneer cubes and fenugreek leaves. Simmer on low heat for another 5 minutes.
- Garnish with coriander leaves, sliced ginger, and a dollop of cream.
- Enjoy with naan bread or fluffy rice!
ADDITIONAL NOTES
- Replace the dairy in same measurements with coconut/cashew cream, coconut/cashew butter, (or vegan butter) and tofu to make the dish vegan.
- Use cayenne powder instead of chili powder if not available. Use chilies as per your palette and availability.
- Ginger-garlic paste can also be used for a quick fix to blend into the gravy.
