Citizens, your beloved incarnation of gustatory glory, the omniscient TFD, has this very day decided to share an ancient and delicious recipe from the far-distant shores of India with you!
Archaeologists believe that in approximately 3000 BC, Cardamom, Black Peppercorn, Turmeric and Mustard were harvested for the first time in the Indus Valley region of India.
As early as 2000 BC, the Mohenjdodaro and Harappan civilizations are believed to have made a Saag of Mustard greens in clay pots. It is possible that the Mustard greens were cooked in Yak’s milk.
Paneer came much later. Paneer was an accidental invention by Mongols riding their horses carrying milk in Mushki (Bags made from a dried animal stomach). The heat of their Gobi desert home and the rennet in the stomach turned the milk into Paneer, one of the first cheeses and surviving across the centuries to remain on our tables today.
That said, it was not in fact until the Akbar period in the late 1500s that Paneer was at last introduced to Indian cuisine!
Saag paneer and palak paneer are frequently (and wrongly) used interchangeably, as noted on the fantastic blog monsoonspice.com:
Saag is a generic name for cooked and pureed green leafy vegetables like mustard greens, spinach, fenugreek leaves, kale, spring greens, coriander and even mint leaves and Palak is just palak, ahem, spinach!
Unlike the spinach leaves which takes just few minutes to wilt and cook, Saag takes much longer time as the greens usually have thick leaves and veins and takes long time to break when cooking.
Although many Indian restaurants and takeaways feature Saag Paneer on their menu, most often it is rather confusing for the customer as the base gravy has just spinach! Most often, Saag Paneer and Palak Paneer are used interchangeably, sometimes to mislead and most the times due to lack of knowledge!
Citizens, my bona fide version of this ancient dish is one that I am very confident you will enjoy! 🙂
Battle on – The Generalissimo
PrintThe Hirshon Indian Palak Paneer – पालक पनीर
- Total Time: 0 hours
Ingredients
- 4 1/2 packed cups baby Spinach
- 1 cup Paneer, cut into 1 inch triangles
- 2 jalapeños, minced, seeds removed
- 1 medium Onion, very finely chopped or grated
- 1 small heirloom Tomato, finely chopped
- 1 tsp Ginger-Garlic Paste
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 1 tsp Sugar
- Juice of 1/2 fresh Lime (Adjust acc to taste)
- 2 tbsp Ghee
- Salt to taste
- Spices:
- 1 inch stick of Cinnamon
- 3 Cloves
- 1/2 tsp freshly-ground black pepper
- 4 Green Cardamoms, lightly crushed
- 1 tsp Dhania/Coriander Powder
- 1 tsp Jeera/Cumin Powder
- 1/2 tsp Garam Masala
- 1/2 tsp Turmeric
- 1 tbsp Kasuri Methi/Dried Fenugreek Leaves, crushed
- 2 bay leaves
- A pinch of Hing/Asafœtida
Instructions
- Bring a pot of water to the boil and add about a tsp of sugar.
- Switch off the flame and add washed spinach leaves. Let it rest for one minute and drain all the water through colander. Bring the colander under running cold water to stop the spinach from cooking further.
- Next, grind the spinach leaves into a rough paste with a food processor. Keep it aside until needed.
- Heat ghee in a pan on medium flame and arrange paneer pieces in a single layer. Once they turn golden, about 1-2 mins, flip them over and cook the other side for another minute.
- Remove them from pan and either place them on a plate lined with kitchen towel or in a bowl of warm water which will help in keeping the paneer soft.
- In a same oil/ghee, add cinnamon, cloves, bay leaves and cardamom. Fry these for ½ a minute over medium heat.
- Next add hing and finely-chopped onions and sauté till they turn golden, about 3-5 minutes.
- Add ginger-garlic paste, minced jalapeños, crushed kasuri methi and fry for 3-4 mins until the raw smell of ginger-garlic paste disappears.
- Add garam masala, turmeric, pepper, coriander powder and cumin powder and stir about 1 minute. Add about 1 tablespoon of water if you think the spices are burning and sticking to the pan.
- Mix in chopped tomatoes and cook till they are pulpy and release their juice, about 2 minutes.
- Add the spinach, sugar and milk, plus a scant ½ cup of water and mix well. Let this cook covered for about 5-6 minutes on a medium flame. Add salt to taste and let it cook uncovered for another 3-5 minutes.
- Add paneer pieces and gently mix them so that the spices are evenly coated and let it simmer for 3 minutes before you switch off the flame.
- Drizzle with freshly squeezed lime juice and serve with any Indian flat bread or plain/flavored Basmati rice.
- Prep Time: 0 hours
- Cook Time: 0 hours
- Category: Recipes
Nutrition
- Calories: 208.05 kcal
- Sugar: 5.27 g
- Sodium: 377.58 mg
- Fat: 14.94 g
- Saturated Fat: 8.48 g
- Trans Fat: 0.0 g
- Carbohydrates: 12.46 g
- Fiber: 3.12 g
- Protein: 8.49 g
- Cholesterol: 46.33 mg
, nice
Apply
Very nice