Thursday 1 December 2011

Palak Paneer

Well i would like you people to know that, on this Sunday i had celebrated my birthday, it was not much of an hush affair though just a little family gathering but being the foodie i am the food was obviously the star of the show , later this Thursday when i was lost , so as too what to post on my blog my son recommended this dish , as according to him this was the show stopper
.So i took his advice and have posted this dish , read on i hope you really enjoy it as well.





























Ingredients:
  • Spinach or palak
  • Coriander
  • mint
  • green chilies
  • paneer (south Asian unsalted white cheese)
  • Garam masala (an indian combination of spices)
  • oil or clarified butter
  • Red chili powder
  • salt to taste
  • Sajeera or caraway seeds
  • Tejpatha or bay leaf

Method:
Paneer is readily found in many Indian markets however for people who cannot find paneer in there locality , here how to make it:
The ingredients required would be

  • 2 ltr full fat milk
  • 200-250g plain yoghurt or 3-4 tbs. lemon juice
This would make about 250gms of paneer.The following is method to make the paneer.
Bring the milk to a boil in a heavy-based saucepan. Once the milk starts to boil and rise up, stir in 200ml of the yoghurt or 3 tbs. lemon juice. Stir the milk gently to help it curdle, it should only take a minute or so. If it does not separate add the rest of the yoghurt/lemon juice and keep stirring. The curds will coagulate and separate from the watery whey. Remove from the heat.
Line a large sieve with muslin or cheesecloth and place over a large bowl or saucepan. Strain the cheese into the sieve and run some cold water through it. Wrap the cheese in the cloth and hang it off the tap over the sink to allow the excess water to drain for 20 minutes. Then, keeping it fairly tight place on your work surface and place a heavy weight on top, we refill the same saucepan with the whey or water and place it on top for 30-40 minutes or until it is flattened into a firm block. Then cut into cubes or crumble, depending on how you want to use it.
Store any unused pieces in the refrigerator in water and cover. You can also freeze the paneer in an airtight container. Defrost thoroughly before use.


The Dish
Wash & chop the spinach , now add coriander ,mint , caraway seeds and green chilies to the spinach and put it in a pressure cooking for about 2-3 whistle's , the whole mixture should become a paste like substance and's that's only when you can proceed further .After the required consistency has been reached , take it off the flame and let it cool and then put it in a mixture grinder and make a even finer paste . Now take a frying pan and heat some oil or butter in it , while this is happening , cut the paneer or cheese into smaller pieces .Once the oil or butter is all heated up put the paneer into it and fry them until there color becomes golden brown. Once the all the paneer pieces have been fried put them all into Luke warm water , this is because it makes them smoother and also takes the oil off the pieces of paneer , now to the same oil or butter add Garam masala , bay leaf and now add the the green vegetable paste that we have made earlier . And keep cooking the paste until it reaches a boiling phase , once this phase is reached add the pieces of paneer to it , now add red chili powder and salt to taste as well now cook for about 2-5 minutes until the oil or fat is seen coming out from the sides of the dish . Now the dish is totally cooked and you can take it off the flame but before doing this i would recommend adding about a spoon full of butter to it , this will make it even more delicious .

The dish is ready to be served now.


Healthy Facts:

Spinach

The good

This food is low in Saturated Fat, and very low in Cholesterol. It is also a good source of Niacin and Zinc, and a very good source of Dietary Fiber, Protein, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin E (Alpha Tocopherol), Vitamin K, Thiamin, Riboflavin, Vitamin B6, Folate, Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Potassium, Copper and Manganese.

The bad
This food is high in Sodium hence the use of salt should be highly moderated.


Paneer

Energy
292 kcal
protein 13.4 g
Fat 23 g
minerals 1.6 g
carbohydrates 7.9 g
calcium 480 mg

phosphorous
277 mg