palak paneer
Growing up, my mom’s main goal was to ensure I ate enough green stuff. Boy oh boy was she excited when spinach is all Popeye the Sailorman ate!
300g spinach, roughly cut
100g paneer, bitesized pieces
100g red onion
5 cloves garlic
1 tbsp oil
pinch hing (asafoetida)
2 dried red chilies
1 tsp salt
¼ tsp kitchen king
2 tsp ginger chili paste
1 tbsp fresh cream (or heavy whipping cream)
squeeze of lemon
In a medium sized saucepan on low, cook down the spinach. You won’t need any water or oil on this step. The spinach will release some water on it’s own. Meanwhile, blitz the onion & garlic to a smooth purée in a food processor. Remove and reserve. In the same processor, purée the cooked spinach.
In the same saucepan, heat oil on medium low. Bloom hing and dried red chilies. Once fragrant, add the onion and garlic purée. Next, add in the salt and allow to cook for 3 to 5 minutes. Next, add in the kitchen king masala and ginger chili paste. Finally, add in the spinach purée, cream and squeeze of lemon. Cook uncovered for 5 to 10 minutes. Lastly, add in the paneer and stir gently.
Serve hot with a squeeze of lemon, thinly sliced onions and parathas/naan. For a complete meal, serve alongside daal makhani / daal tadka and jeera rice.