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Palak
Paneer
Spinach
Curry with home-made cheese cubes
Go
to any Indian restaurant and you will find this recipe on their menu.
A mildly flavored spinach curry with delicious pieces of home made
cheese. Many a times fried potatoes are substituted for the Paneer.
Make this for your next party or for your folks at home.
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Spinach
chopped 1 big bunch or 2 frozen spinach boxes (10 oz box) |
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Paneer
(*see recipe below) 1 cup cubed |
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Onions,
finely chopped 3/4 th cup |
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Ginger,
finely chopped 1 teaspoon |
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Garlic,
finely chopped 2 teaspoons |
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Green
chili, chopped 1 number |
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Garam
Masala 1 teaspoon |
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Oil
3 to 4 tablespoons |
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Salt
to taste |
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Oil
for frying |
1. Heat the oil (oil
for frying) and fry the cubed paneer until light brown. Keep aside.
2. Boil the spinach
with ginger and garlic. Drain and puree.
3. Heat the oil in a
pan and add the green chili and onions. Sauté till light brown. Add
the garam masala, spinach puree and salt to taste and cook for 5 to 6
minutes.
4. Finally add the
fried cheese cubes. Garnish with heavy cream and garam masala.
5. Serve with Paratha.
Paneer
- Home
made cheese
There is no western
equivalent of Paneer. It is called "cottage cheese" in
India. Paneer is an extraordinary source of protein in a vegetarian
diet. It is what meat is to non-vegetarians. It is one of the easiest
cheeses to make at home. Make this a day
ahead.
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8
cups of whole milk |
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6
tablespoons of plain yogurt |
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4
tablespoons of freshly squeezed lime juice |
Whisk the yogurt and
lime juice together. Bring the milk to a
boil over high heat in a large heavy saucepan. Stir frequently. As
soon as the foam begins to rise, remove the pan from the heat and
thoroughly but gently stir in the yogurt and limejuice. The milk will
start to separate into the cheese and the whey. Boil till you can see
that all the milk has finished curdling.
Set a fine cheese
cloth over a colander in a clean sink. Strain the curdled
milk through cheesecloth, allowing the whey to drain out. Let the
cheese drain undisturbed until the cloth is cool enough to handle.
Then wrap the cloth tightly around the cheese and wring it to squeeze
out all the excess liquid. Place a weight on top for 2 to 3 hours. It
is now ready to be cut into cubes for use.
Shelf
life : 48 hours in the refrigerator. This cheese cn be made a day
ahead. This way the cheese has a day to settle. If it crumbles when
you cut, then you have not removed enough whey from it. So the next
time let it drain for a little longer.
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