Palak Paneer

Baby spinach: I use baby spinach for two reasons. I’ve already told you one..it saves time. The second reason is that baby spinach tastes better. Regular big leaved spinach with those tough stems is slightly bitter, especially if you neglect chopping off the stems. If you don’t want to use baby spinach, however, be sure to wash it and cut those stems to minimize the strong taste. 

Paneer: You have several options for paneer. Make your own, buy fresh from a local Indian grocery, or buy the frozen block from any big supermarket. Choose what works for you:) 

Ghee: Ah, ghee! Makes everything taste so much better! Of course, you can use any neutral oil if ghee is not up your alley, but ghee adds such a wonderful fragrance and aroma to the dish that I almost always make this dish with ghee now. Palak paneer is a hearty Punjabi dish from the heartlands of North India, and ghee (in addition to pure butter) is the preferred fat in that populace. An authentic palak paneer doesn’t skimp on the ghee! Besides, ghee has gained so much popularity recently as a health food, it’s a wonder people are still using vegetable oils. 

Cumin seeds: Cumin seeds add a warmth to the dish and are sizzled in the ghee before the onions go in. 

Onion: One medium sized red onion chopped finely and fried golden-brown is adequate.

Ginger and garlic: You don’t really need the pastes; finely chopped ginger and garlic will also do because everything’s going to be blitzed to a puree anyway. 

Thai green chillies: A couple of these (not too many) add a kick to the spinach curry. Palak paneer is not a very spicy dish, so use chillies with restraint. 

Tomato: Red, ripe Roma tomatoes or tomatoes on the vine are the best choice. Don’t go for the pale yellowish ones. 

Ground spices: Coriander, turmeric, red chilli powder, and garam masala are used sparingly. 

Cream: A dash of full-fat heavy cream smoothens the sharp edges and makes palak paneer taste delightfully rich and mild. Plus it makes the palak paneer look like it came straight from a restaurant!

Sea Salt: Spinach is salty on its own, so use in moderation. 

Chopped garlic and slit green chillies fried in a teaspoon of ghee adds a lovely shine and extra oomph. 

Chop the onion and tomato: If doing it by hand, you don’t have to be too particular about the fineness, they can be chopped slightly roughly since you’ll be pureeing them anyway. Just make sure they're not too rough!

Chop/mince the ginger, garlic and green chillies: Again, don’t be too particular.. you can also use some ginger-garlic paste if you have it and chop the green chillies by hand. 

If you have made some paneer of your own (more power to you!), great! You don’t need to do anything else except cut it into bite-sized cubes or fingers. Unless you want to fry it. (More on that below).

If you have bought a fresh block of paneer from a local Indian grocery or restaurant, again, same thing as #1. 

If you have opted for a frozen pre-packaged block of paneer (the kind I used in this recipe), you will need to thaw it first. Thawing the paneer in hot water softens the paneer so that it is ready to be added to the gravy. If you let the frozen paneer come to room temperature by letting it thaw naturally on the countertop, it won’t be as soft as you want it to be. You want soft paneer for your dish, not hard. 

Thaw the paneer (if using frozen) by the method outlined before. Dry it with paper towels. Heat a tablespoon of oil in a frypan on medium heat and add the paneer cubes. Fry on one side until golden-brown, then turn the pieces and fry on the other side.

Once the paneer is fried, keep it covered until you need it for the gravy so that it doesn’t lose more moisture.

If you want to soften this fried paneer, put it back in hot water for 5-20 minutes, then take it out and put it in the gravy. (I told you, it’s going to add a few extra steps!)

Saute the cumin and sliced onions in ghee until the onions turn reddish-brown. Don’t overdo it, however, and let the onions become too dark, because you don’t want the colour of the onions to turn the gravy dark-brown. Here’s a picture to help you gauge the frying level:

Add the minced/chopped ginger, garlic and green chillies and fry for just a bit to cook out the ‘rawness’ of the aromatics.

Add the tomatoes plus salt and powdered spices and cook until the tomatoes soften in the masala. Keep stirring frequently so the masala does not stick to the pan. 

Add the spinach and allow it to wilt in the masala. Add very little water (and only if needed) as spinach releases a lot of water when it is cooked. As soon as you see the spinach wilting, cover the pan and let it simmer for a bit. Once the curry is cooked, turn off the heat.

If using an immersion blender, all you need to do is insert it right into the pan in which you cooked the curry and blitz away. With this tool, you don’t need to wait until the curry cools down.

However, if you don’t have an immersion blender, wait for the curry to cool down a bit after you've turned off the heat (you can remove it from the hot hob), then transfer it to your regular stand blender and blend. Once blended, transfer the curry back to the pot you cooked it in for the next step. 

Tip in the paneer you prepped earlier and fold it into the curry so it can absorb the flavors. Stir in the cream as well and cook for a minute so the cream gets absorbed into the curry. 

Heat some ghee in a small frypan and add chopped garlic and one or two slit green chillies. Let the garlic turn slightly brown, then pour the ghee on top of the curry. This adds a wonderful garlicky aroma to the palak paneer! And with this step, your palak paneer is ready to be served with the Indian bread of your choice: naan, roti or paratha!