Meena's Taste Mantra

Makai Palak Paneer - a healthy and lip smacking delight with the goodness of Spinach, Sweet Corn and Fresh Cheese!

Winters the local market is a lovely sight to behold as we get lovely winter greens. This time we got lovely Methi, Palak and our vendor had fresh and juicy Sweet Corn which was too hard to resist! After a small break Amma was all ready to get into her favourite zone of cooking a healthy weekend lunch. Added to it was the fact that we had guests who are Amma's numero uno fans and will willingly gobble even water boiled by her!

This recipe is Amma's creation by perfectly balancing the taste profile and the result is a finger licking yummy side dish that goes superbly with any Rice or Roti preparation!

INGREDIENTS

300 gm Palak | Spinach

100 gm Paneer

1/2 cup Fresh Makai | Sweet Corn, boiled

1 Onion, medium sized, finely chopped

2 Green Chillies

1 tsp Adrak | Ginger, finely chopped

1/2 tsp Sugar

1/8 tsp Kali Miri | Black Pepper Powder

1/4 tsp Haldi | Turmeric Powder

1/2 tsp Jeera | Cumin Seeds

1/4 tsp Dhaniya | Coriander Powder

1/2 tsp Jeera | Cumin Powder

1/4 tsp Garam Masala Powder

1 tsp Oil

1 tsp Curd, thick

To taste Salt

METHOD

Wash the palak leaves thoroughly. In a vessel add the palak leaves and sprinkle very little water and blanch them for about 2 minutes.
Once palak is cool, grind along with green chillies and ginger to make a fine paste. Keep aside.
Cut the panner to 3/4 " cubes.
In a kadhai, heat oil and add jeera. When jeera splutters add finely chopped onion and saute for 2 minutes till the onion becomes translucent.
Add boiled makai and add all the spice powders - dhaniya, jeera, kali miri and garam masala - and mix well.
Saute for about 2 minutes. We have added very little oil hence the oil will not separate even when the paste is cooked!
Add the palak paste, sugar and salt. Mix well.
Add the paneer cubes and mix gently.
Add water to adjust the gravy consistency as per your taste.
Cook for about 2 minutes so that all the flavour steeps inside the panner cubes.
After 2 minutes, switch off the flame.
Transfer to a serving bowl and garnish with thick curd. if you want to make this richer, you can also add cream|malai instead of the curd.
Makai Palak Paneer can be relished with Steamed Rice, Biryani | Pulav, Roti and Paratha.

We had Makai Palak Panner with Phulka Roti and Basmati Rice along with Moong Masoor Dal, Alu Methi Sabzi and Roasted Papad. Hope you will love this and we will really appreciate if you share your experience of making Makai Palak Paneer with us!

Eat Healty..Stay Blessed...

We have used:
1. Mother Dairy Paneer
2. Borges Olive Oil - Light
3. Everest Royal Garam Masala
4. Tata Salt Lite

About C R Meena

(c) 2014 - 2016, Meena's Taste Mantra is the result of my ardent desire to share my recipes, with all who appreciate and celebrate food. These recipes are as a result of 60 years of cooking experience, influenced by tradition and exposure to various concepts, new recipes/ingredients and a passion for cooking - adapting to healthier alternatives.