An Indian vegetarian dish made with Cubed paneer (cottage cheese) in a thick paste of puréed spinach
Serves 4-5 people
Ingredients:
500g Spinach leaves
250g Paneer (cottage cheese)
½ cup tomato (grated or pulverised)
3 tbsp butter*
2 tsp cumin seeds
2 green chillies (crushed)
1 tbsp ginger (finely chopped)
¾ tbsp garlic (finely chopped)
3 tbsp onion (finely chopped)
Salt to taste
2 tsp red chilli powder
½ tsp cumin powder
1 tbsp Cream
Method:
Wash the spinach leaves and put them in boiling water for about 10 minutes. They will now become soft, take them out and immediately dip them in cold water. This will help to maintain the green colour of the spinach. Just after a minute or two, take them out from the cold water, squeeze them gently and grind it into a puree in a blender. Make a fine, smooth puree of the blanched spinach leaves.
Cut the paneer into 1” cubes or a rectangular shape (as you prefer) and leave aside. Some people prefer to roast the cubes in a pan with a tbsp of oil. But I prefer the soft paneer pieces in the spinach gravy without roasting. You can do it either way.
In a Kadhai (round pan), warm butter and splatter cumin seeds. Now add chopped ginger, garlic, green chillies one after the other. Saute for a minute and add chopped onions. Saute until they turn pink. Do not brown the onions as they will spoil the colour of the dish. Add the pureed spinach with chilli powder and salt. Fry for about 8-10 minutes. As the spinach is already cooked, doesn’t need too much cooking at this stage, just to blend in the flavours of each ingredient together. Now add paneer pieces to the cooked puree and gently fold in. Keep the flame low medium at this stage. Finally add cream, taste and adjust the seasonings. It doesn’t need much cooking after adding cream. Finish off with a silky finish. Garnish with cream before serving.
Serve with naan or tandoori roti!
* Its preferable to use butter and not oil in this dish because it adds a good flavour to this recipe. Its a simple dish with very few ingredients.
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