Indian Cooking Recipe: Palak Paneer
The following are the instructions on how to cook delicious Indian food: Palak Paneer
Ingredients:
1. 200 g paneer (bought from an Indian sweet shop)
2. or
3. To make paneer:
4. 3/4 litre milk
5. lemon juice or vinegar
6. salt
7. 1 green chilli, chopped
8. 1 onion, grated
9. 2 tsp ginger garlic paste
10. 2 tomatoes, pureed
11. 1/2 tsp cumin powder
12. 1 tsp coriander powder
13. oil
14. 250 g fresh spinach, washed thoroughly, stalks removed
15. 1 tsp chopped fresh ginger for garnish
16. little butter
17. little cream for garnish (optional)
Method of Preparation:
If you have not bought the paneer then make it at home as follows: Bring milk to a boil. Add lemon juice or vinegar. Add salt. Boil for 5 minutes. Milk will curdle. Milk solids (cottage cheese or paneer) will float over the whey. Using a fine strainer, drain the whey. Put the cottage cheese in a muslin cloth, squeeze out excess liquid and put a heavy weight over it. Leave for 1-2 hrs till a solid cheese block is formed. Cut this into cottage cheese cubes.
Cook spinach in an open pan with chillis and a little salt till it wilts. Do not cover spinach at all to retain its bright green color. Cool and puree in a blender.
Heat oil in a pan. Saute onions till brown. Add ginger garlic paste and fry. Add cumin and coriander powder and fry. Add a little water and fry till water dries up. Add tomatoes, little salt and fry till you see the oil on the sides (i.e. liquid from tomatoes has evaporated).
Add curd cheese cubes. Add spinach. Cook till spinach bubbles. Taste and adjust salt.
Add a little butter and swirl it lightly. Garnish with chopped ginger. Garnish with a swirl of cream, if desired.
Serve hot with Indian bread.
