Preparing Palak Paneer(Spinach with Cottage Cheese/Tofu)

Winter Time is the time to have warm or hot things, or as what we call in Ayurveda- the time for foods with “Warm” or “Hot” “taseer”- nature of foods.
In North India, it is time for food like Gajar Ka Halwa(A sweet prepared from carrots), Moong Dal Halwa, Methi Aloo(Fenugreek with Potatoes) and more.
One dish I am going to talk about is Palak Paneer(Spinach with Cottage Cheese/Tofu- in Europe).

This is a simple recipe which is used in our kitchen and may not be as intricate as Masterchef or an expert chef’s kitchen:

Ingredients to cook Palak Paneer(Spinach with Cottage Cheese/Tofu)

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-Approx. 1 Kg Spinach
-400g to 450g Cottage Cheese(or Tofu) (Paneer in Hindi)- pieces cut as per size.
-Gram Flour(Besan)- 2 tablespoons
-Salt to taste
-Asafoetida(Hing)
-1 teaspoon Cumin Seeds(Jeera)
-Red Chili Powder
-Garam Masala- 1/2 teaspoon

Preparing the dish

1)Finely chop off Spinach.
2)Thorughly wash in water, and put this Spinach in Pressure cooker.
3)Add 1 glass water in the cooker and salt to taste.
4)Boil the spinach in Cooker on flame, give 4 whistles.
5)In a separate bowl, add some water to the Gram Flour to make a smooth paste.
6)Add this paste to the boiled spinach.
7)Again close the Lid of the cooker tightly and give two whistles.
8)In a separate Kadahi, put 4 tablespoon of Ghee(Clarified Butter). Add Cumin seeds and Asafoetida to the Ghee.
Put the boiled spinach to this Kadahi plus cut pieces of the cottage cheese(Paneer/Tofu).
Add Garam Masala(a blended spice with various components that add flavor) and Red Chilli Powder.
9)Close the Lid and cook on a low flame with some stirring for 1 minute.

This makes for a delicious and mouth-watering Palak Paneer(Spinach with Tofu/Cottage Cheese) !

Source: From my post on Bubblews sometime between October and December 2013 and modified suitably.
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