Healthy Palak Paneer: Cottage Cheese cubes in Spinach sauce!



Cottage Cheese cubes in Spinach sauce is a Punjabi recipe popularly knows as Palak Paneer - A restaurant favorite which i make at home very often. Its my daughter's favorite way of eating spinach. The goodness of spinach and cottage cheese makes it a very healthy combination. The restaurant kind has oodles of cream added to it. I mimic the same texture and taste with beaten yogurt. It adds a nice creaminess and tang to the sauce minus the calories. Also i don't prefer making paste of onions, ginger or garlic. I just chop and saute all of them together and then puree. It taste better and its way faster bringing this meal together. Enjoy it with your favorite flat bread or flavored rice or even added to pasta.

 Ingredients:
1/2  medium red onion, chopped
5-6 cloves of garlic, chopped
1/2 inch ginger grated
1 large tomato, chopped
1 large bunch of spinach leaves, washed thoroughly
340 gms of paneer/cottage cheese (std size available in Indian grocery stores)
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1 - 2 green chilies, chopped
1/4 tsp turmeric pdr
1 tsp coriander pdr
1/2 tsp cumin pdr
1/2 tsp garam masala
1/2 cup yogurt, beaten till smooth
1 tsp sugar
1 tbsp of oil
salt to taste

Directions:
Put a large pot of water to boil.
Immerse the washed spinach leaves and blanch it for just 5 mins. 
Remove the leaves, cool and grind to a smooth paste.
This is done to maintain the dark green color of spinach.

 In a large saucepan, heat 1 tbsp of oil to medium heat.
Temper with cumin seeds and saute till they sizzle and let out a nice aroma.
Add in the chopped onions and saute till light brown.
Stir in ginger, garlic and green chilies.
Now add in the tomatoes and cook till pulp.
Add in all the spice pdr -turmeric pdr, cumin pdr and corainder pdr.
Saute this mixture well for about 5 mins.
Then Cool and blend to a smooth paste.
Add this blended paste back to the pan. Stir in the spinach paste.
Be careful while cooking now as the sauce can boil violently.
You can add 1/4 or 1/2 cup of water to thin out the gravy if needed.
Put a lid on it while it simmers and lower the heat.
Add in the beaten yogurt, garam masala, salt and sugar. 
Taste to balance the flavors.

In another flat pan, preferably nonstick, briefly saute the chopped pieces on paneer/cottage cheese in a teaspoon of oil till they get a nice brown spot on them.
Don't overcook the paneer as it would make it very tough.
You can also choose to avoid this step and add the paneer pieces directly into the sauce.

Add the sauteed paneer pieces into the gravy and simmer the sauce for at least 8-10 mins to let paneer absorb the flavors.

Serve hot with paratha(layered flatbread) or your favorite flavored rice.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Gluten Free Chapati/Sorghum Flatbread

Image
Chapati/ Roti/ Poli - Different names for a simple flat-bread made in most Indian homes on a daily basis. Its usually made up of whole wheat which is freshly milled at the local flour mill. The most common carbohydrates consumed in an Indian diet are rice and wheat. Interestingly potatoes and corn are considered more as vegetables than carbs. In fact you can segregate the Indian populations geographically with North India relying heavily on wheat as opposed to South Indians being rice eaters and a whole segment in between who need both rice and the wheat chapatis in each meal. My daughter grew up preferring to eat chapatis even though my husband and I were born rice eaters. All hell broke loose when she was diagnosed with gluten allergy. Meal times became a struggle as she pushed away every meal with rice. Desperately i searched the internet for help. I tried many different mixes with starches and gums added but I still wasn't getting the soft pliable texture of a chapa
Read more

Gluten Free Upma

Image
Upma is traditionally made for breakfast in South Indian homes . Its main component is Rava or Cream of wheat. To make this gluten free, i have swapped the Rava for cream of rice or Idli Rava which is easily available at Indian grocery stores. This is a mild tasting but very filling breakfast. You can add more vegetables if you like. Makes: 2 servings Ingredients: 1/2 cup Cream of Rice /Idli Rava 1 1/2 cup water 1/2 tsp. mustard seeds 1/2 cup chopped onions 1 green chili finely chopped 1/2 inch piece ginger finely grated 1/2 cup peas salt to taste 1 tsp. sugar handful of raisins and cashew nuts(optional) Chopped cilantro for garnish 1 tbsp. oil Directions: Heat oil in saucepan over medium heat. Temper with mustard seeds and let them pop. Add chopped onions and sauté till soft. Add grated ginger and chopped chilies. Add raisins and cashew nuts if using. Add peas and the water. Let it come to a boil. Flavor it with salt and sugar. Add the idli rava and stir
Read more

Pudina Ghosht: Goat meat in Mint curry!

Image
Chicken just like potatoes can be cooked and flavored in infinite ways. But every Sunday which is our goat meat /mutton feasting day, I am torn between the left creative side of my head and cautious practical right side. I usually pair the goat meat with strong spices which compliment it well. Today I took a detour and decided to try a refreshing herb mint/pudina. I supported the mint with some cilantro/coriander leaves and churned out a delicious Mint flavored Goat curry /Pudina Ghosht. The refreshing herbs balanced the spices and meat flavors perfectly. This recipe is a winner and will have many repeats. Ingredients: 2 lbs goat meat pieces on bone 1 large red onion, sliced 4-5 large cloves of garlic, chopped 1.5 inch ginger chopped 3-4 thai chilies chopped 1 packed cup of fresh mint leaves 3/4 cup of fresh cilantro (coriander leaves) 1 heaped teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper (can add more to increased heat and flavor) 1/2 cup thick yogurt 1/4 teaspoon
Read more