Whenever we go to an Indian restaurant, you can be nearly certain that I will either order Butter Chicken or Palak Paneer. Not because I am unwilling to try anything, but rather because I once lost my heart to those two dishes and I never really got it back. This means, it was only a matter of time, until I would come up with the plan to make one of those tasty meals at home. So here is my take on Palak Paneer for starters. Palak is the Indian word for spinach, while paneer is an Indian cheese. This dish can also be done with chicken or tofu, but I personally prefer the cheese version.
Palak paneer is perfectly suitable for reheating, so it’s a good option to make double the amount and take the other half to work with you the next day. Moreover, it is pretty simple and quick to prepare, which is all you could ever ask for on a weekday, right?
Servings: 2 * Calories per serving: 586 kcal * Preparation time: 20 min
Ingredients
- 5.5 ounces (150 grams) of paneer cheese (no paneer cheese available: substitute with halloumi cheese, grill cheese or tofu)
- 2 tablespoons (1.5 ounces/40 grams) of Ghee (no ghee available: substitute with butter)
- 10.5 ounces (300 grams) of chopped spinach
- 2 medium-sized tomatos
- 3.5 ounces (100 ml) of cream
- 1 medium-sized onion, diced
- 1 garlic clove, diced
- 1/2 teaspoon of grated/chopped ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon of ground coriander/cilantro
- 1/2 teaspoon of turmeric/curcuma
- 1/2 teaspoon of chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon of curry powder
- 1/2 teaspoon of Garam Masala
- 1 pinch of nutmeg
Start by cutting the paneer (or whatever other substitute you use) into larger dices. Bring a pan to medium heat and melt one tablespoon of ghee/butter. Add the cheese and let it cook and get to a golden brown state. This should take between 3-5 minutes. Take the cheese out of the pan and set aside.
Next, add the second tablespoon of ghee/butter, let it melt. Then add the garlic, onion and ginger and let them simmer for a minute. Afterwards cook the chopped spinach with it for another 2-3 minutes. While the spinach is simmering, chop the tomatos into small-ish dices and then add them to the pan. Let everything cook for another 2-3 minutes. Now add the cream and the spices and paneer cheese from earlier and cook it together for another 5 minutes.