Recipe - Palak Paneer (saag paneer)

Spinach cooked with cottage cheese/tofu

Summary

Spinach can be cooked in many different forms with different ingredients. Palak paneer is a very popular dish in Indian cuisine. I use tofu in place of paneer to speed up the cooking process.

Spinach has lots of nutritional benefits including high level of iron, calcium, and vitamin A. Spinach is not only healthy but tastes very good if cooked properly. Spinach is also eaten as a salad. Knowing the benefits of the greens, I try to cook greens at least twice or thrice a week. Kids usually don't like to eat greens. I usually blend/grind some of the greens to save myself from all the fuss. I prefer to serve protein and vegetable in a single dish to feed the kids.

Ingredients:

• Palak (spinach) - 1 bunch (approximately 4 cups/10oz frozen spinach)washed and chopped
• Onion - 2 cups (1 big size) chopped finely
• Green chilies - 1 serrano pepper (1or 2 Indian green chilies)
• Dry red chili - 1
• Ginger - 1 tablespoon (chopped/minced)
• Coriander powder - 1 tablespoon
• Red chili powder - 1 teaspoon
• Cumin seeds - 1/2 teaspoon
• Cream/yogurt - 2 -3 tablespoons (optional)
• Paneer - 1 cup (cubes, fried)
• Salt - 3/4 teaspoon
• Oil - 2 teaspoons
• Hing - 1/4 teaspoon (optional)

Process:

Preheat wok with oil, add cumin seeds, let the seeds splutter at medium heat temperature. Add red chili, green chili and hing. After a minute, add onion and fry the onion till golden brown. This step takes about 5 minutes.

Add chopped spinach, remaining spices. Cover the dish with a lid, cook for 3 -4 minutes. Turn off the stove.

Blend the above spinach mixture to a coarse consistency. Pour the mixture back into wok, add yogurt (optional), add 1 or 2 cups of water to get the desired consistency.

Saute tofu in a teaspoon of butter.

Add fried paneer/tofu to spinach mixture. Cover the dish and simmer for five minutes. Garnish with lemon, onions and tomatoes.

Serve hot with roti.

Preparation time: 20 -30 minutes

Servings: 4