Quick & Easy Palak (Saag) Paneer

We make this Palak Paneer often, and I have to say my husband makes it a teeny bit better than mine:) I recently received a request from Patricia, one of my readers to post this recipe; I emailed her the recipe, and as she lives in an area where its hard to find Paneer, she made this recipe with Tofu instead, and they still loved it!

Here’s the verdict in her own words: ” Dear Mansi, Thank you so much to the palak paneer recipe. I tried it right away and it is just perfect. Now that I have found you I will look forward to checking your blog often. Thanks for sharing such easy and yummy recipes.“

Well Patricia, thanks for acknowledging our work, and I am glad your family enjoyed it!

Ingredients
Serves 3-4 adults

2 big bunches of fresh spinach leaves
10-12 cubes of Paneer
1 medium-sized tomato
3 green chillies
2 tsp ghee or oil
1 medium-sized onion – chopped very finely
1/2 tsp of garlic-ginger paste
1 tsp of dhania-jeera (coriander-cumin) powder
1/2 tsp garam masala powder
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1/4 cup cashews – soaked for a couple hours
1 tsp milk
water or skimmed milk – as needed to thicken the curry
salt – to taste
a pinch of sugar

Method
Wash the spinach leaves and chop them into big pieces. Heat a teaspoon of oil in a wide skillet. First add green chillies to hot oil, then spinach. Saute until the leaves are wilted. Turn off the heat. Wait a few minutes to cool. Add them to a blender, with a pinch of salt to retain the green color, and blend to make a smooth paste.

Meanwhile, boil the tomato in hot water till the skin breaks down, remove the skin, and mash the tomato to a pulp. Alternately, you can use tomato puree to make it quick.

Blend the soaked cashews separately with a teaspoon of milk to form a smooth paste.

Lightly saute the paneer cubes in one teaspoon of ghee till they are golden brown, and set them aside to drain on a paper towel.

Now take a wok, add one teaspoon of ghee or oil to a wide skillet. When it is hot, fry the onions till translucent. Add ginger-garlic paste, garam masala powder, turmeric powder and dhania-jeera powder, mix them and saute for 2 to 3 minutes.

Now add pureed spinach, tomato and cashew paste along with a pinch of sugar and salt to taste. Mix thoroughly and add water or skimmed milk if needed. Do not dilute the curry too much.

Cook it covered on low flame for about 5 to 10 minutes. Just before turning off the heat, add the paneer cubes. Mix them with the spinach. Let it simmer for 2 or 3 minutes and then turn off the heat.

Serve the curry hot with chapatis or with rice, for a healthy satisfying meal.

Related Recipes
Restaurant-Style Paneer Butter Masala
Easy Breezy Kadai Paneer
How To Make Paneer At Home