We're here and have Palaak Paneer!

 

A bit of history

 

 

For me (Sandhya) and Mum (Raji), this blog marks an exciting step forward sharing our passion of Indian food through our little business Indian Made Easy (IME). 

Indulge me just for a minute, and let me explain about how all this started.

Bringing people together around food is what we’ve always done. We invite people over, Mum and I plan a menu and on the day we whiz around the kitchen preparing pakoras, koftas and biryanis, always thinking about how to share new tastes, textures and smells.

Our friends have always loved the food and insisted Mum do something more with her gift. They'd say “Raji go get a stall at the markets, get into catering or start a restaurant, just don’t let your talent go to waste!”

Mum was flattered by all the suggestions, but there was something missing for her. It didn’t get to the heart of what she was passionate about.

So Mum thought “what if I started a different kind of cooking school, where I teach people how to cook in their homes?” 

It was a great idea, it perfectly captured Mum’s genuine passion make it easy for people to cook real, authentic and tasty Indian food. And so Indian Made Easy came to be in the world!

Over the years things have evolved, so whether it’s through a cooking class, recipes or tools in the kitchen we hope to share the secrets and traditions we’ve inherited, so you too can enjoy the food and culture that we treasure.

 

 

Palaak Paneer

 

Palaak Paneer, sometimes also called Saag Paneer, is a common dish in north India. It’s based on a classic blend of north Indian spices, including garam masala, mixed with ground spinach and spiked with Paneer a traditional Indian cheese.

It’s a comforting warm dish great to eat with fluffy Jeera Pulao, cumin flavoured rice (recipe coming soon!), or any kind of Indian bread or store bought flat bread. 

 

A small note on Paneer:
Paneer is an Indian style cottage cheese that’s easy to make at home (recipe coming soon). You can also buy Paneer from most supermarkets, but Indian grocery stores generally sell better quality paneer. Some sell the frozen variety coming from India, but the best option are the locally made ones. In Sydney there are brands called “Sharma’s Kitchen Paneer” and “Try me Paneer” both are mild in flavour and creamy in texture and it’s what we prefer to use when we’re not making paneer from scratch.

 

Recipe

Ingredients

 

For the spinach
1 tbsp canola or sunflower oil
One large bunch of english spinach chopped in strips (you can also use silverbeet)
2 small green chillies chopped (leave this out if you prefer less spicy)

For the spicy garam masala base
3 tbsp canola or sunflower oil
1 medium red onion finely diced
1 tbsp freshly ground ginger
1 tbsp freshly ground garlic
4 medium ripe red tomatoes diced

Spices
2 tsp Garam masala
1 tsp Corriander powder
1 tsp Tumeric powder
1 tsp Chilli powder
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp Dried fenugreek Leaves (Also known as methi, has a pungent smell that adds an amazing flavour, available at Indian stores)

Paneer
250g Paneer freshly made or from a packet, cut into 2cm cubes
2 tbsp Ghee (store bought or home made)

 

Method

 

Equipment needed: 1 large saucepan, large bowl, hand held blender or blender

  1. Heat oil on a medium heat in large saucepan. Add the spinach and one chopped green chilli. If the spinach doesn't fit in the pan, add in batches as it wilts incorporating well each time. Cook the spinach until it’s cooked through and still bright green, if it's overcooked it will go brown, approx 5 minutes. Pour spinach in a large bowl and allow to cool.
  2. Quickly rinse out the pan, dry completely and put back on to a medium heat. Heat the rest of the oil in pan then add onion, ginger, garlic and the other green chilli. Stir for about 2 minutes until it’s fragrant and onions are soft.
  3. Add spices and rub the dried fenugreek leaves between your palms over the pan, stir for 1 minute.
  4. Add diced tomatoes, stir well and simmer for 10 minutes until well cooked. 
  5. While the tomatoes are cooking, blend the spinach with a hand held blender or pour into a blender. (NOTE: If the spinach is still hot make sure to angle the pot away from you so the hot spinach doesn’t splash up on you!)
  6. Once tomatoes are cooked mash up a bit with a fork or potato masher, to make a chunky paste.
  7. Pour in the pureed spinach, mix well and simmer for 2 minutes. 
  8. Gently place the paneer into the spinach mixture, allow the paneer to heat through gently for a few minutes.
  9. To finish add a few tablespoons of ghee and stir through.

 

Serve the Palaak Paneer with bread or rice. Enjoy! 

 

NOTE: The method used to make the tomato base in this dish is used to make lots of other north Indian dishes like Baigan Bhartha, Paneer Kofta curry and Cauliflower kurma. In the coming weeks we’ll share those recipes so you can start making north Indian dishes with ease.