Palak Paneer

I’m back! And I’m better than ever with an all new recipe! If you somehow missed the title of this post I am going to be making some Palak Paneer for y’all. You may be asking yourself–“What is Palak Paneer, Sana?” Well, let me tell you! It is literally translated to “Spinach Paneer”, Paneer being a desi cheese that does not melt. I know, what is this sorcery?!! I honestly have no idea. You may have heard of Paneer in one of my other recipes containing it, Paneer Makhani. If you haven’t seen it, why don’t you go ahead and take a gander. Then you can mosey on back to this recipe. Go on, you! I’ll be here when you’re done…

Oh! Oh good, you have returned! It’s wonderful to have you back. Now, why don’t we get started with this new and exciting recipe! This spicy spinach curry mixed with savory, salty paneer cubes is absolutely delicious. Did I mention it’s healthy and vegetarian! Oooh, have I sold you on it? I think so! So, let’s get started, shall we?

Ingredients:

• 1 lb Chopped Frozen Spinach* (or 1 pound Fresh Spinach-Look in recipe Notes for instructions on how to cook)
• 7 oz. Paneer
• 1/2 tbsp Olive oil or Vegetable Oil
• 1/2 tsp Cayenne Powder
• 1 tbsp Cumin Powder
• 1/2 tsp Coriander Powder
• 1 tsp minced Garlic
• Salt, to taste
• 1 medium tomato, chopped

Directions:

Now, onto the exciting part…staring at all your ingredients until POP the Palak Paneer has made itself. Oh me, Oh my!

Hahahaha, no. I’m sorry to be the one to inform you, but that’s not how cooking works. I know, it was a big shock to me too! But guess what? Cooking is just as fun as magic! So, let’s do this 😁. First things first, let’s get our spinach cooking, why don’t we? Now, you can absolutely use fresh spinach here, we just happen to always have frozen spinach on hand because it stores so well and you don’t have to use it as quickly as fresh.

If you are using (1 pound) fresh spinach I recommend roughly chopping it first. Let it cook down completely in a sauce-pan on medium heat with oil. Start with as much spinach as can fit in your saucepan and allow it to wilt completely, this will take 2-3 minutes. Add in any remaining spinach and allow that to wilt down, as well. Keep watch and stir the spinach as needed to help it cook down evenly.

And now, back to if you are using frozen spinach: Get yourself a medium sized sauce pan and first put in your oil. Let it heat up for 1 or 2 minutes on medium-high heat and then add your spinach. Since I used frozen I let it thaw for a couple of minutes and if you use fresh give it some time to wilt. Once thawed (or wilted) go ahead and add all the spices, salt, and garlic. I know I said salt, to taste, and that’s because everyone seems to have a different idea of how much salt they like. I, myself, started with around 1/2 or 1 tsp then as it cooked I continued to check the level of saltiness and added a little more as I went. ESSENTIALLY, add salt at your own discretion!

Mix up all the ingredients and cover the pan. Let everything just get to know each other a bit, while you busy yourself chopping your tomato. What’s that? You already chopped your tomato.

No, that’s fine. I totally get it, you wanted to get ahead and be prepared. I’m proud and I don’t mind at all. It’s just that I haven’t even shown you how I chopped my tomatoes so how did you know how to chop them?

There you go! I’m sure yours looks just like this, but now you know. In all seriousness, chop your tomatoes how you like, they’re all gonna cook down anyways. After you chopped the tomatoes just add it to the spinach mixture and mix it all up. Cover and let it all simmer on medium-low as you direct your attention to the star of the show…!!! You do know the star of the show, right? Right?! YOU! You are the star of the show!

Hahaha, weren’t expected that were you? You thought I was going to say the paneer, didn’t you? What have I always said, expect the unexpected! Also, remember, the chef is the star of the show and the ingredients are your associates and the Paneer can be your co-star, I suppose. Did I go too far with this analogy? Yeah, probably. Moving right along. A standard pack of paneer is 14 oz. and you want to use around half. I just eyeballed this measurement and then cut it into bite sized pieces.

Now onto the most dangerous part of this recipe. Yeah, I said “dangerous”. It’s been known to happen in the world of cooking. You will be pan frying your paneer before you put it into the spinach. But don’t worry, I’ll share some hot tips to get you through this moment. Hehehe, get it? “Hot” tips…because you’re frying something. I’ll stop while I’m ahead. Now, Paneer is a pretty volatile ingredient when it comes to frying, it really likes popping randomly and spraying oil all around. First, heat up a teaspoon or so of oil in a medium sized, non stick frying pan and once it’s heated up place as many paneer pieces as can fit in the pan. Cook on medium to low heat (depending on how its browning). So here is tip number one! Tilt your frying pan away from you so random splattering is less likely to reach you and just swish the pan around a little so all the paneer gets cooked. Hot tip number dos: I actually use long, plastic chopsticks to flip the paneer chunks over once they brown (about 3 minutes). They keep me far away from the splattering and its easier to pick them up than a spatula for some reason. It takes a little time but it works. You’re welcome to use some rubber tongs (I just don’t have any).

Last Hot Tip: Don’t press your paneer down onto the pan. Just let the browning process happen, DON’T PRESS! It won’t speed it up, it will just make your paneer freak out and want to splatter more oil everywhere. As you can see in the pictures above once one piece became slightly browned I started flipping all of them because by the time I got to the last ones they were well onto golden-brown. Let the other side cook and now it’s time to bring all the pieces together. Make this dish worthy of the name Palak Paneer! Your spinach should be fully cooked and the tomatoes should have softened down so you can go ahead and transfer the fried paneer to the spinach pot. I actually fried my paneer in two batches so while I did the other batch I added a little water to my spinach and then put the lid on to let the paneer soak up all the flavors in the dish. Paneer kind of reminds me of tofu in that it really has no prominent taste and basically picks up the flavor of whatever you cook it in. The texture is much firmer than tofu though, so don’t be fooled! Once all the Paneer is fried and added to the spinach let it simmer away, covered on low heat for at least 10-15 minutes so the flavors can really infuse.

Some basic tips when frying, just monitor your heat. If things are browning too quickly lower it a little or take it off the heat for a bit then continue on. For spinach, if it ever seems a little dry add some water while it cooks. Just eyeball it. To each their own, really. You are the Popeye to your Palak Paneer. And guess what, guys? It’s done! You did it! You made Palak Paneer and it looks delicious. Well, okay, it’s a little difficult to make spinach look aesthetic/appetizing but I think the paneer helps and trust me, it is delicious. Feel free to serve your Palak Paneer up with some rice, naan, or fresh roti! (Yeah, ahem, I have a roti recipe–first post everrr, go ahead and check it out!)

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