We absolutely adore spicy foods and any dish with lots of flavor. Since embarking on our diet journey, our focus has been on using spices rather than excessive oils and fats. Indian cuisine is one of my favorites because of its use of peppers and a wide range of spices. Whenever we eat out at an Indian restaurant, I always order Palak Paneer as my first choice. It's a deliciously creamy dish that incorporates spicy spinach in a wonderful way.
Spicy Spinach
Palak Paneer
We have never attempted to make any Indian dishes at home before. I always thought the flavors were too complicated and intense for me to recreate. However, the other day we decided to give it a try and make a couple of our favorite dishes. The first dish we wanted to try was Palak Paneer, and the second one was going to be a lamb dish. We had grilled a lamb shoulder for Christmas and had some leftovers in the freezer, so we thought we should make a Lamb Vindaloo with it.
Easier than we thought
Making Palak Paneer was so much easier to make than we thought. The only thing I will change the next time with this recipe is to use frozen spinach instead of fresh spinach.
This is a cheat meal
Palak Paneer is a delicious dish but it is not low in calories. We had it on Meatless Monday with Naan and rice. The next day, we had it as a side dish with Lamb Vindaloo. However, the dish is high in calories, so it cannot be consumed every day. To manage our calorie intake, we reduced the amount of oil used in the recipe. It is important to measure our food portions and be mindful of the ingredients we use in our cooking.
Palak Paneer Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon Ground Turmeric
- 2 teaspoon Cayenne
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 3 Tablespoon Olive Oil Or vegetable oil
- 12 Ounces Paneer Cheese Or Tofu
- 1 Pound Cooked Spinach
- 1 Medium Onion
- 1 Tablespoon Ginger 1 Inch piece
- 4 Cloves Garlic
- 1 Hot Pepper We used Thai pepper
- 1 teaspoon Cumin
- 2 teaspoon Coriander
- ½ teaspoon Masala
- ½ Cups Plain Greek Yogurt
Instructions
- Cook the spinach with ¼ cup of water, add one teaspoon of salt and one teaspoon of pepper to a pan and place it over medium heat. Once the pan is heated, add the spinach and cook until it has wilted and turned bright green.
- Cut Paneer or Tofu into small cubes. Measure Cayenne and Turmeric
- Mix together cayenne, turmeric, salt, and oil.
- Toss the Paneer or Tofu in the oil mixture, stirring to coat. Set aside.
- Drain the liquid from the spinach. Then, use a food processor to puree the spinach until it's smooth. If you prefer a coarser texture, coarsely chop the spinach instead. Next, finely chop the onion, garlic, and ginger. Personally, I find that the flavors are more intense when the garlic and ginger are simply chopped, rather than minced.
- To prepare the dish, take a pan and add the paneer (or tofu), along with spices and oil. Heat the pan over medium heat. After a couple of minutes, flip the paneer and repeat the process with each piece until they are browned on one side. Fry for another minute or so until the cheese has browned on all sides.
- Set the Cheese aside
- Add the Onion, ginger, garlic, and pepper along with a pinch of salt to the pan. Using the same pan and oil from the cheese mixture.
- THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT PART: Sauté the mixture until it is toffee-colored. This will take about 15 minutes. Do NOT skip this step. This step is what gives the majority of the flavor. If the mixture is drying out add a couple tablespoons of water. Add the coriander, cumin, and garam masala. Add a couple of tablespoons of water to keep the spices from burning. Cook until the spices are lightly toasted. Should take about 3 to 5 minutes
- Add the Spinach to the onion mixture. Stir in a little salt (½ teaspoon) and ½ cup water. Cook for 5 minutes
- Turn off the heat and add a couple of large spoonfuls of the hot Spinach to a small bowl of yogurt. Mix well to prevent curdling.
- Then stir this mixture into the rest of the spinach
- Once the spinach and yogurt are well combined, add the paneer. Turn the heat back on to medium, cover, and cook until warmed through, about 2 minutes
- Serve as a main course or side dish. Enjoy!!!!
Please let us know what you think