Creamy Spinach and Paneer

Spinach being highly nutritious and low in calories, I always try to find ways to incorporate it into my meals. Palak( Spinach) Paneer is one of the most favorite dishes among lots of people. Spinach is rich in nutrients like iron, magnesium, potassium, Vit A, Iron, Fiber, Protein, and Folate. Paneer is an important part of Indian cuisine, is nourishing and healthy when taken in the right amounts. It is high in protein and low in carbs. It contains all nine essential amino acids. Amino acids are the building blocks of our cells; they are also essential for maintaining growth, repairing tissue, keeping our immunity in top shape, maintaining our blood volume and are an essential part of almost every hormone, and enzyme. Paneer has 20% fat and it also has healthy Monounsaturated fats (MUFA). MUFA is associated with lowering the LDL (bad cholesterol) in the blood. It also has Oleic acid, and alpha-linoleic acid, an omega-3  polyunsaturated fat, associated with a moderate lowering of risk of cardiac diseases. At the same time, it has a high amount of sat fat so consume it in small portions.

Ingredients:

  • 8-9 cups of organic spinach

  • 200 gms or 8 oz of fresh paneer

  • 1 medium onion

  • 3 cloves of garlic

  • 3 green chillies

  • 1 small piece of ginger

  • 1 tbsp of sesame oil or organic cow ghee

  • cumin seeds

  • 1 tsp of turmeric powder

  • 1-2 pinches of garam masala

  • 1-2 pinches of salt

Steps:

  1. Take fresh organic spinach and dip it in boiling water for 2 minutes. Immediately remove and soak it in ice water to cool down. When we take 8-9 cups of raw spinach, it will reduce to half once it is dipped in boiling water.
    Spinach cooks rapidly so please make sure that you remove it after 2 minutes. You don’t want to overcook it nor you want to lose the nutrients. Also, this will help you maintain the green vibrant colour of spinach.

  2. Remove all the excess water and blend the blanched spinach in a blender until it becomes a fine paste/puree and put it aside. Do not throw away the water. You can use the hot water to cook another curry or soup or knead the dough for roti. This water has some great nutrients from the spinach.

  3. Take the paneer, chop it into small cubes, and set them aside.

  4. Take 1 medium onion, 3 cloves of garlic, 3 green chillies, 1 small piece of ginger. In a chopper, finely chop all this and keep them aside.

  5. In a deep pan, take 1 tbsp of sesame oil or organic cow ghee and heat it on a slow flame.

  6. Add cumin seeds to it and once the seeds start to crackle, add chopped onion, garlic, green chillies and ginger to it. Saute all this on low-medium flame until it turns a bit brown.

  7. Now add 1 tsp of turmeric powder, 1-2 pinch of garam masala and salt to taste.

  8. Add pureed spinach and chopped paneer to the pan now. If needed add 2-3 spoons from the leftover water in which we had cooked our spinach.

  9. Let it cook on a medium flame for 4-5 minutes.

  10. Turn off the gas, drizzle 1 tbs of light cream to garnish and enjoy with rice or paratha or roti.

food, recipesKruti Thakorefoodie, healthy mealComment