Absolutely Perfect Palak Paneer

SUBMITTED BY: MCFALONE PHOTO BY: SunFlower

"This Indian dish combines fresh spinach and ricotta in a creamy curry. Use paneer if you can find it! It is absolutely wonderful with basmati rice or naan (Indian flat bread). The key is in the spices, which you can find at an Indian grocery."

PREP TIME	15 Min
COOK TIME	30 Min
READY IN	45 Min

SERVINGS & SCALING

Original recipe yield: 4 servings

USMETRIC

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INGREDIENTS

6 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger root
2 dried red chile peppers
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
3/4 cup sour cream
3 pounds fresh spinach, torn
1 large tomato, quartered
4 sprigs fresh cilantro leaves
8 ounces ricotta cheese
coarse sea salt to taste

READ REVIEWS (100)

DIRECTIONS

In a large saucepan heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil and saute garlic, 1/2 tablespoon of ginger, red chilies (optional ingredient) and onion until brown. Mix in the cumin, coriander, turmeric and sour cream (add more or less to achieve desired creaminess). Add the spinach, handfuls at a time until it is cooked down, about 15 minutes total. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly.
Pour spinach mixture into a blender or food processor and add the tomato, the remaining 1/2 tablespoon of ginger, and cilantro (add more or less according to taste). Blend for 15 to 30 seconds, or until the spinach is finely chopped. Pour back into the saucepan and keep warm over low heat.
In a medium frying pan heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat, and fry cheese until browned; drain and add to spinach. Cook for 10 minutes on low heat. Season with salt to taste.

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REVIEWS

MORE MEMBER REVIEWS

Reviewed on Aug. 29, 2003 by Surprising Woman

This recipe is amazing. I did use a bit more of the spices than called for but I usually do! I used some tomato paste instead of a whole tomato and I used chopped frozen spinach instead of fresh. Since the spinach was already chopped I didn't process this in a blender. I had to use Ricotta instead of Paneer but it wasn't difficult to cook. You put it in a skillet on a very low heat, leave it alone until it browns on the bottom and has cooked out a lot of the liquid. The liquid will dissipate faster if you score the cheese in lines so there is a place for the liquid to bubble up through. Once it is browned on the bottom cut between the scores and carefully flip over. It will brown more quickly on the second side. Remove from heat and let it cool completely then cut into cubes. I use a good quality non-stick skillet without using any oil. It worked out well. This recipe is so good. It is going to be one of my staples. Thank you for submitting this!

23 users found this review helpful

Reviewed on Jun. 8, 2007 by JohnMT

I have always enjoyed Palak Panner however a word on Paneer - Paneer is simple enough tom ake. to a couple of pints of fill cream milk, add the juice of one lemon and heat slowly. The resultant curds can then be lifted and squeezed/pressed to form a cheese. This is in fact the Indian home method of making the paneer.

13 users found this review helpful

Reviewed on Jan. 25, 2004 by ZEKEBULLSEYE

I had some problems with this recipe. When spinach cooks, it gives off water, so the mixture turned out really watery. I needed to cook the mixture down because of the wateriness, but this decreased the potency of the spices, so I had to add more. Next time, I will either use frozen spinach or precook and drain the spinach. The final product turned out delicious, though, and better the next day.

9 users found this review helpful

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