Palak Paneer

When I was in college, I was very lucky to have great friends and one of my friends was a North Indian who used to make this really amazing aloo paranthas and matar paneer.  Any time I wanted a recipe, I would ask her and she would start listing the ingredients immediately.."2 tamatar lele, 2 chamach adrak...bas itni si haldi..(demonstrating a pinch)..palak ko acche se dho lena" and so on.  I would make her go more slowly and write it down in any notebook which would be available at that time.  I still have torn sheets with recipes scribbled on them and some without a name to them.  This is one such recipe which i had glued to a cardboard and saved.

PALAK PANEER

Ingredients:

2 bunches of palak, washed and chopped
100 g paneer, cubed
1 medium onion, grated
1 medium tomato, deseeded and chopped finely
1 tsp green chilli paste
1 tsp ginger and garlic paste
2 tbsp oil
salt
A dollop of cream (optional)
oil for frying

Method:

• Pressure cook the palak for 2 whistles.  Drain and cool.  Grind to a smooth paste in a mixer.
• Heat oil in a kadai.  Fry the paneer cubes till light brown.
• Heat 2 tbsp of oil in a kadai.  Add the onions and fry till brown.
• Add the green chillies and ginger-garlic paste and fry for 2 minutes.
• Add the tomatoes and cook till done.
• Add the palak paste, the paneer, and salt as needed.
• Cook for five minutes.
• Serve garnished with a dollop of cream.