Palak Paneer – A Guest Post by Sowmya of Messy Kitchen Stories

This space has been quiet for some time now. A lot of travelling, family, friends kept me busy. Finally we are back from our long vacation. We ve packed in so many memories in the last 2 months that I am struggling to get beyond my holiday inertia. While I take my time to get back to my old routine, my sweet friend Sowmya of Messy Kitchen Stories happily agreed to share a recipe on my space.



Sowmya was my first friend in the blogoshpere. When I discovered her blog, I was smitten. We got to know each other(virtually of course) and we shared similar interests in food and photography. So it was great to chat about our experiences, doubts.
I am grateful to her for doing this post for me. Over to Sowmya now!
 
Hello all..
Shruti was the first person who emailed me and shared her experiences with me and fascinated  me with her warmth and talks. Always full of curiosity and energy, she was my first friend in blogging world. Her character and personality reflects on her pictures,words and recipes .. so colourful , lively and mouth-watering. I was honoured when she asked to guest post on her blog while she is on vacation .Thank you so much Shruti !!
Now coming to the recipe, Palak Paneer is an indian classical dish comprising of soft paneer cheese in a spinach gravy. It needs no introduction - the quintessential north Indian dish that everyone loves.
 

 

Palak Paneer

Ingredients: (Serves 2)

• 2-3 tbsp of Oil
• 10-15 cloves of Garlic
• 1 tsp of Cumin seeds
• 4-5 Green Chillies, finely chopped
• 2 Medium sized onions, sliced
• 1 Cup of Fresh yogurt
• 1 tbsp of coriander powder
• 1/2 tsp of turmeric powder
• 1/4 tsp of black salt
• salt to taste
• 200gms of cottage cheese (paneer)
• 2 Cups of Spinach (Blanched,boiled and pureed)
• 1 tbsp of freshly ground coriander paste
• 1/2 lemon, squeezed and juiced

Method :

• Wash the spinach leaves thoroughly under running water to remove dirt and stones. Fill a large pot with water and bring to boil. Add spinach leaves to boiling water and allow them to cook for 30 secs,until the leaves turn bright green.Remove the spinach leaves from pot with strainer ,draining the excess liquid. Place the leaves immediately in a large bowl of ice water to stop the cooking process. Drain the excess water and squeeze the excess water out of spinach and puree in a blender and set aside
• Heat oil in a pan on medium high. Once heated, add cumin seeds and finely chopped garlic till slightly light brown.
• Next, Add sliced onions and finely chopped green chillies ,cook until it turns translucent
• Reduce the heat to low, Add a cup of yogurt , coriander powder, turmeric powder and black salt and salt required . Heat on low flame for 3 mins.
• Cut the paneer into cubes and set aside. Always place the cottage cheese in hot water for 10 mins before adding to the gravy. It always helps in softening of cheese.
• Add the pureed spinach to the yogurt mixture and some fresh coriander paste for fresh taste. Check for spices and salt and cook well for 3-4 mins on low flame.
• Add paneer cubes to the gravy and cook for another 1 min and switch off the heat.
• Squeeze some lemon juice over it before serving.

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