Palak Paneer – Jiwan Malai Paneer
Palak Paneer is one of the most popular paneer dishes. Jiwan Malai Paneer (Indian cottage cheese) is cooked with spinach and spices in this creamy and flavorful curry. It pairs well with naan, paratha or jeera rice.
What is Palak Paneer ?
Palak= Spinach (in hindi)
Paneer= Indian cottage cheese
So, this curry is made with spinach and Indian cottage cheese.
The spinach is blanched and then pureed. It’s then cooked with spices and simmered on low heat with paneer.
Cream is added to cut down on the bitterness of the spinach leaves and also make it rich.
If you don’t want to add cream, you can also use yogurt (Jiwan’s Malai Yoghurt) or milk in place.
Method
1- To a pot of boiling water, add little salt and then spinach leaves to it. Blanch the spinach leaves for 2 to 3 minutes until wilted.
2- Take them out and put them in ice cold water. This helps the leaves in retaining their green color.
3- To a blender, add the blanched spinach along with tomato, 3 cloves of garlic, ginger and green chili.
4- Puree to a smooth paste and set aside.
5- Heat a pan on medium heat. Once hot, add the oil and then add the remaining 2 cloves of chopped garlic. Sauté for few minutes until it starts changing color.
6- Then add the chopped onions.
7- Cook the onion for 2 to 3 minutes until soft and translucent.
8- Add in the prepared spinach puree and mix. Also add around 1/2 cup water at the point.
Cover the pan and let it cook for 10 minutes on medium heat. The spinach will bubble a lot. Stir at regular intervals to avoid sticking at the bottom.
9- Once the spinach is cooked, add the garam masala, turmeric powder, red chilli powder and salt. Mix and cook for 1 minute.
You may also add ½ teaspoon of sugar at this point if you like.
10- Then add the heavy cream and mix.
11- Stir in the paneer and mix. Let the curry simmer for 3 to 4 minutes.
12- Switch off the flame, add lemon juice and kasuri methi and mix.
Serve palak paneer hot with naan or roti or rice.
Recipe Credits – Cook with Manali
