Shundal/Chickpea salad

Palak Paneer/Saag Paneer/Spinach Paneer

Palak Paneer/Saag Paneer/Spinach Paneer

This is basically soft paneer or cottage cheese cubes cooked in a smooth spinach curry. It's super easy to make and also very healthy. Sometimes, I also use tofu or mixed veggies and beans instead of the cheese. 

This recipe has been a long time coming; I promised MC and ST this recipe months ago!
Here you go, ladies!

Ingredients

- for the spinach puree:

• 1-2 bunches spinach OR one 32 oz box of baby spinach (I havent tried this recipe with frozen spinach)
• 1 or 2 (or more if you're daring or need more heat in your food) green chilies or any kind of chili peppers, roughly chopped
• 3-4 pods of garlic, roughly chopped (optional)
• 1 inch ginger, roughly chopped
• Water for blanching spinach
• Ice and water for ice bath

- for the base curry; all in order of appearance

• OIl - 1-2 tbs. You can use any oil you like
• Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
• Bay leaf - 1 leaf
• Cloves - 4-5
• Cardamom - 4-5
• Cinnamon - 1 inch stickNote: These are basically most of the ingredients of garam masala, so if you have them, use them WITH the garam masala. If you don't have any of these spices, then use just the garam masala, but add it with the turmeric and chilli powder.
• Onion - 1 large or two medium sized, finely chopped
• Tomato - 1 large or two medium sized, finely chopped
• Garlic - 4-5 pods (I use a whole bulb, so you can add this to your taste), finely choppedNote: You can also roughly cube these if you're going to puree the base curry too
• Garam Masala - 1-2 tsp. Note: If you don't have any raw spices, then double this amount.
• Turmeric powder - Half tsp
• Red chili powder - One tsp (optional; you can add more if you like spicy food)

Other ingredients:

• Tofu/paneer/veggies and beans - 1 lb
  Note: The paneer or tofu cubes can also be lightly fried/pan fried and then added to the curry; you don't need to cook the fried paneer or tofu in the gravy because it will already be cooked. But if you're going for healthy, or if you just like the tofu/cheese slightly squishy and springy, then add it to the curry to cook.  
• Cream/yogurt/sour cream - 1-2 tbsp  (optional) 
• Oil/Ghee (clarified butter)/Unsalted butter - 2 tbs 
• Kasuri methi/dry fenugreek leaves - 1 tsp (optional) 

Here's how you make it:

Spinach puree:

• Rinse the spinach leaves well. Remove any stringy stems.
• Boil water in deep pot and add some salt to it.
• Once the water had come to a rolling boil, add the spinach leaves. Close the lid and let the leaves sit in the water for 2-5 minutes
• Strain the leaves and immediately put them in an ice bath (10 cubes of ice in a bowl of water). Note: Shocking the spinach stops it from cooking further and also preserves the green colour of the spinach. 
• Strain the water and add the spinach to a blender with chopped ginger, garlic and green chilies.
• Make a smooth puree. Note: Don't add water while making the puree. 

Making the base curry:

• Heat oil/ghee/unsalted butter in a pan.
• Add the cumin, cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, and bay leaf till the cumin splutters. 
• Add the finely chopped/cubed onions and garlic, and sauté till the onions caramelize.
• Then add finely chopped/cubed tomatoes and sauté till they soften and you see the cooking fat along the sides of the pan. 
• Now add the turmeric powder, red chili powder, garam masala, and stir.Note: At this point, you will have to blend the base curry if you haven't finely chopped the onions, garlic, or tomato.
• Fold in the spinach puree and add more water if you want more gravy.
• Simmer for 6-7 minutes or more till the spinach is cooked. Add the cubed paneer/tofu/veggies if they haven't been fried.
• If the paneer/tofu/veggies have been fried, then add them now, after the base curry and spinach puree have simmered together. Reduce the flame to low for 1-2 minutes.
• Lastly, switch off the flame and add cream/yogurt/sour cream, and the kasuri methi/fenugreek leaves. Stir gently so that the cream gets incorporated in the gravy uniformly. 

Serve this hot with some rotis, naan or rice. You can also top the dish with some lemon juice, butter or cream while serving. I like the lemon because it brings out the flavour of the spinach and also cuts the fat a little.