Healthy Palak Paneer : The Spinach Recipe

Hi All,

Today's blog post is about my favorite recipe. Its is my favorite because...

1) Its very easy to prepare.

2) Its very healthy (as the title suggests) - no spices at all.

3) I love fresh cottage cheese (Paneer) a lot. I dont like the frozen or fried paneer cubes.

4) The same recipe can be easily converted into a soup with only two alterations.

Spinach leaves

So lets begin. 

Ingredients:

-Spinach                     : roughly chopped 2-3 cups full

-Onions                      : 2 medium size

-Green peas                : 100 gms

-Oil                           : 1 teaspoon

-Fresh Cottage Cheese : 150-200 grams

-Sugar and salt to taste

You can change the quantity of the ingredients as per your taste.

Pre Cooking Prep:

-Soak the Spinach leaves in salt water for 20-30 minutes to get rid of mud and impurities. Drain the leaves and then chop them roughly. 

-Wash and large dice cottage cheese.

-Large dice onions.

Large diced onions

Method:

1) Boil or pressure cook chopped Spinach leaves + diced Onions + green Peas (S O P) till its wilted.

Boiled till wilted

2) Drain the S O P and don't throw away the stock. We will use it later.

3) Cool the S O P and blend it to a paste/puree. While blending use the stock (not all of it, but as per the consistency you desire).  

4) In a wok heat oil. And then add this S O P puree. 

Simmering pureed Spinach+Onions+Peas

5) Let the puree simmer and cook it well. Add a pinch of sugar, let it simmer some more and then add salt as per your taste. Simmer it again. 

6) If you feel the gravy has become too thick you can add the remaining stock (again as per the required consistency) and simmer it or bring the mixture to a boil.  

7) Add some cubes of fresh cottage cheese.

ITS READY...

HEALTHY PALAK PANEER    

Serve it HOT...

TIP

-For a change: Instead of adding cubed cottage cheese, add loose/fragmented cottage cheese. The gravy tastes yummy this way too. Fragmented cottage cheese tends to thicken the gravy. 

-The soup can be made in the same way with two alteration which are:

 1)Just don't add any cottage cheese in the end. 

 2)Add lots of stock after the puree has simmered well. Bring the simmered puree + stock to a bubbling boil. Serve it hot.