One of the recipes that I had bookmarked to try that used paneer was this one for a palak paneer . Palak paneer is a dish that consists of the paneer which is cooked in a spinach, tomato and onion gravy with Indian spices. Now that I had my own home made paneer I was ready to try making the palak paneer. In this dish the paneer is fried until golden brown on all sides before being added to the spinach gravy to simmer and absorb all of the curries flavours. The palak paneer recipe is pretty easy to follow though I did end up running into one problem. My mini chop ‘food processor’ was not up to the task of truly pureeing the spinach and my spinach gravy ended up being a bit chunkier than I had been hoping for but it was still really tasty. The homemade paneer worked really well in the curry having absorbed all of the tasty flavours of the gravy and it added a great texture to the dish. I served the palak paneer with some freshly made still warm naan which was also addictively good! One thing that I noticed about the palak paneer was that the leftovers tasted even better the next day as the flavours had a chance to mingle and develop a bit more.
Palak Paneer
ingredients
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 2 cups paneer (cut into bite sized cubes)
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1 onion (pureed)
- 2 jalapenos (chopped)
- 1 teaspoon garlic (grated)
- 1 teaspoon ginger (grated)
- 1/2 teaspoon red chili powder
- 1 teaspoon coriander powder
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1 cup tomato (blanched, pealed and pureed or canned)
- 3 bunches spinach (trimmed, blanched and pureed or 1 10 ounce package frozen spinach, thawed and pureed)
- 1 teaspoon garam masala
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 cup water
directions
- Melt the butter in a pan.
- Add the paneer and fry until golden brown on all sides.
- Let the paneer soak in warm water for 30 minutes.
- Melt the butter in a pan.
- Add the cumin, onion and chillies and saute until brown.
- Add the garlic and ginger and saute until fragrant, about a minute.
- Add the chili powder, coriander, turmeric and tomato puree and simmer for 5 minutes.
- Add the spinach and simmer for 5 minutes.
- Add the garam masala, paneer and water and simmer for 15 minutes.
Great use for your homemade paneer! I'm so impressed with this dish and the effort you put into it.
Indian food always tastes better the next day. This is a classic paneer dish.
This dish has many flavors! thanks for sharing 🙂
Looks delicious!!!! Now I've really got to try making my own paneer.
This is one of my favorite foods of all time! I could eat it every day.
Kevin, you are amazing with all the different, interesting foods you make. A lot of which I've never even heard of–but everything always looks great!
ooh, i don't think i've had this version, but the extra goodies (besides spinach) sound great!
Looks amazing! Paneer with spinach is my favorite Indian dish and I like all the extra layers of flavor in this dish. I'm so impressed you made your own paneer!
Even if didn't end up as expected it still looked pretty and yummy!
I was expecting something from you with Paneer..palak paneer looks delicious and one of my fav
It is quite a feeling of achievement that comes with making your own paneer!!! I enjoyed it so much, but I am trying this recipe for sure, next time!!!
I like that this recipe isn't weighed down by 1/2 a cup of ghee, like some restaurant variations. I actually prefer the spinach more chunky and less pureed, so I would be happy with this!
I looooove palak paneer. This looks great!
Missed you this week! But it is not too late to link up:
http://momtrends.blogspot.com/2009/07/friday-feasts-couscous.html
A mouthwatering dish! Very appetizing!
Cheers,
Rosa
Yum. One of my faves. And homemade paneer too. I'm very impressed.
One of my favourite Indian dishes! 🙂
Oh wow…looks drool worthy…..
I was just reading about paneer again yesterday! I've really got to try making that!
Hi Chef;
I trule luv your blog and recipes.
I'm from India and this very recipe Palak-Paneer is from India.
However, we never add Tomatoes in Palak-Paneer authentic recipe. Although we might garnish with the cream over the top!
Cheers!
Rachana Shakyawar
http://rachanashakyawar.blogspot.com/Humming Today
Hi Chef;
I trule luv your blog and recipes.
I'm from India and this very recipe Palak-Paneer is from India.
However, we never add Tomatoes in Palak-Paneer authentic recipe. Although we might garnish with the cream over the top!
Cheers!
Rachana Shakyawar
Blog:Humming Today
Pureeing spinach is one of those things that actually calls for a blender. Awesome use of paneer!
Not even kidding, the site of that made my mouth water. Seriously.
beautiful colors and flavors!
Kevin this is my husband's favorite Indian dish! I am so happy you posted this!
Laura
I just knew you are were going to do something awesome with your homemade paneer. This is one of my favorites!
Ingenious.
Kevin, Palak Paneer looks sooo delicious! Well done. The clicks are great!
hmmm I still have yet to challenge Indian cooking. This looks great.
Gorgeous just gorgeous!
One of my favorite dishes! And the homemade paneer puts it over the top!
I make this very differently, but this looks lovely and I love the way you experiment with all cuisines..Wonderful Kevin
Palek Paneer is BY FAR my favorite Indian dish… I've got to learn to make my own Paneer!!
I've been wanting to make saag paneer for a while. This looks like a lovely variation on the spinach theme. And I see your homemade paneer held together just fine. Must go buy some muslin.
I wondered about soaking the paneer in warm water after cooking it? I"ve never done that before… I wonder why you did and would be willing to try it if it was remarkable… also I"ve made paneer in the past and it has melted upon frying… any hints?
Paneer dishes and even all non vegetarian dishes taste great the next day…you palak paneer is fabulous, so tempting.
Looks amazingly good!
vantiganloos: Paneer gets a bit hard when it is fried so I soaked it in the water to help keep it a bit softer. If you were going to be simmering it for a long time in a curry then you could probably skip it but I wanted the spinach to retain as much of it bright green colour as possible so I did not want to cook it for a long time.
Making our own paneer seems the only way to enjoy this delicacy here. Good job kevin:D
Great job… this looks delicious… I'm glad to see you making some yummy Indian food 🙂
This is one of our favourite dish.
I always boil the spinach a day before I make the dish. this way it tastes better and does not have that "grassy smell".
I puree the roma tomatoes and also add thinly sliced green chillies. I am impressed with your home-made paneer. I use the store bought Nanak Paneer, cube it and add it to the spinach. I never fry it. I think this way the paneer takes up the spinach flavour and also soaks up the extra liquid.
Anonymous: Thanks for the tips!
You have a fanstastic blog!! I, too, cook in an itty-bitty kitchen. I love your recipe here for palek paneer, I used one one time from epicurious and though it tasted spectacular, it didn't feel as straightforward as your recipe. I am eager to try it soon—and attempt my first homemade naan.
I think you have a fantastic blog, and I'm eager to visit again. I hope you don't mind if I make your blog a cooking resource for my readers?
truly,
Lindsey
http://theadventuresofculinarylin.wordpress.com/2010/02/12/basmati/ here is my palak paneer–smoother than yours from my food processor, I like the authentic chunky look of yours!!
Always best to use homemade paneer for the best texture. Yours is an interesting version of palak paneer.
Do check mine.
http://enrichingyourkid.blogspot.com/2009/11/cottage-cheese-in-spinach-currypalak.html
I've always wondered how to make my own paneer, and this dish has so many flavors! Thanks for the recipe suggestion.
Palak Paneer is so healthy recipe. I simply love both spinach and cottage cheese.
Very well explained recipes and paneer is my best choice of all time but i do have one question,, can pregnent eat palak paneer recipes?? please rely me i searched in google there are so many confused answer i hope you will give me correct answer