Bundle up Iron and Calcium!

Recipe for Palak Paneer

Palak, also known as Spinach is seriously a wonder green. Loaded with iron, it is said that 100g of spinach leaves can fulfill 25% of daily iron requirement. Palak is also loaded with vitamins - A, C and K primarily and there are amounts of folate and pyridoxine B vitamins too. 

It is quite ironical that I have written the above lines given that I used to run away from spinach and greens of all sorts when I was a kid. There's a traditional South Indian dish called Keerai Masiyal (a gravy made by grinding greens adorned with a tadka) from which I used to run away at super speeds. Basically, this dish changed the color of my snow white curd rice and I hated it for that. I hated beet root curry too for the same reason. 

But there is no more running !! I make palak parathas and am a big fan of Palak Paneer. 

Yes, this blog post is on a quick and simple recipe for Palak Paneer. 

Now, Paneer is another wonder ingredient, I tasted it for the first time in my class 7 when I went with my family, to eat out in Chennai. Eating out had not sunk in as a trend then as much as it is nowadays. A huge element of suspense was in store for me as I was about to relish Paneer Butter Masala with Naan at Sangeetha hotel, Mylapore, Chennai, back then. The exposure to Paneer was only minimal during school days and it got just as much a big routine during my college days at BITS, Pilani; there began a fondness for paneer which saw no abatement thereafter.

Paneer can be made at home by boiling milk, curdling it with lemon juice or vinegar, straining the curdled milk through a muslin cloth, squeezing excess water and leaving contents in muslin cloth undisturbed for say  an hour. The remains in muslin cloth gets solid and this is paneer, ready to be rinsed and used in gravies and dishes, also known as cottage cheese. Fresh paneer is available in most sweet shops and these have a shelf life of 1-2 days. Once opened, they should be stored in a bowl of water in refrigerator. Paneer is available in all stores under many brands, these have longer shelf life of 15-20 days; must be stored in cool case in refrigerator.

Paneer is a rich source of calcium and phosphorus. There is reasonable amount of cholesterol and fats in it, the usual stuff that tugs along with any dairy product. However, paneer is a very rich source of protein, matters a lot for pure vegetarians and should be included in one's diet in right preparations.   

Now after that brief introduction, let us get down to the recipe of Palak Paneer, a dish that kicks in enough calcium and iron into us in one go :) 

Ingredients (for two) 

Paneer 175 g cut into small cubes ( I used Milky Mist Paneer, available in most Bangalore retail stores, this one is super soft) 

Spinach/Palak leaves (2 medium bundles) 

1 medium sized tomato (roughly chopped) 

2 green chillies (roughly chopped) 

1 medium sized onion (finely chopped) 

1 garlic clove (finely chopped) 

1/2 inch ginger (finely chopped) 

Few sprigs of fresh coriander leaves (finely chopped for garnish) 

1 tsp turmeric powder

1-2 tsp red chilli powder (2 if you like it spicy) 

1/2  tsp cumin powder

1 tsp coriander powder 

1 tsp jeera (cumin seeds) 

1 tsp aamchur powder (used MDH brand, optional) 

1/2 tsp sugar 

salt to taste 

1/2 tsp garam masala powder (used home ground, pretty strong and so 1/2 tsp) 

2 tsp oil 

1 tsp ghee

Milk (5 tbsp) (along with it if you 1 tbsp cream , if you desire) 

Water required for gravy and grinding 

Method 

1. Saute the spinach leaves in a non stick pan after washing them thoroughly in tap water. 

2. Roughly chop tomato and green chillies and transfer (step 1 and step 2 stuff) them to a mixer. Grind using little water to nice gravy consistency

3. In the non stick pan, add oil and ghee, when warm , add jeera and let it splutter. 

4. Now add finely chopped onion, garlic and ginger and fry well with turmeric powder, chilli powder, cumin powder and coriander powder, salt and sugar. 

5. When fried well, transfer contents of the mixer, add little water and combine well. Let the gravy boil and begin to leave oil, reduce in volume. 

6. When the gravy shrinks, add paneer cubes and give a gentle mix. 

7. Add freshly chopped coriander, aamchur powder and garam masala and combine them well on strong flame. 

8. Now add milk and cream (no need for thick store bought cream, the one on top of boiled milk at home will suffice) and do not overheat as it leads to curdling and a sour taste to gravy. Combine well on medium flame and switch off the gas. Steps 7 and 8 are to be done on medium heat, totally towards the end of the process, should not take too long as masalas would lose flavor and curdling of milk/cream is not desired. 

Yummy Palak Paneer is ready to be served with phulkas or naans.