Palak paneer
Local name : पालक पनीर
A deep green spinach purée scented with ginger and garam masala, holding cubes of softly browned paneer.
Photo : Lopanayak · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Prep
- 15 min
- Cook
- 25 min
- Total
- 40 min
- Serves
- 4
- Difficulty
- Easy
Method
- Blanch the spinach for 90 seconds in boiling salted water, drain and plunge straight into iced water to hold the colour.
- Squeeze it firmly dry and blend with one green chilli and two tablespoons of water into a not-quite-smooth purée.
- Brown the paneer cubes for 2 minutes a side in a tablespoon of ghee, then rest them in a bowl of warm salted water.
- In the same pan, heat the remaining ghee and crackle the cumin seeds for 20 seconds.
- Add the onion and let it turn golden over 6 minutes, then the chopped garlic, ginger and second chilli for 2 minutes more.
- Stir in the turmeric, garam masala and spinach purée, season, and simmer for just 5 minutes, partly covered.
- Add the cream and the drained paneer, warm through for 2 minutes without boiling, and serve with rice or flatbread.
Don’t cook the spinach long after blending: past five minutes the green turns khaki. Resting the paneer in warm salted water keeps it tender rather than rubbery.
