Palak Paneer

Tring. Trriiinng.

"Hello!"

"Hello, Deepak! Palak hai tumhare pass?"

"KYA HAI?"

"Umm, palak." (Subdued tone). " Sorry, lagta hai galat number lag gaya."

"Aap kahan se bol rahi hain?"

"Ummm."

"Kaun bol rahin hain aap?"

" Sorry, hamare vegetable vendor ke naam se yeh number stored tha."

                                                                                                                                                                                                          Disconnect call before the namesake drags you to court for harassment.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                              I finally got through to the right Deepak at the third try. Apart from Deepak Trainer & Deepak Transport, there are three more Deepaks in my phone book. After the above fiasco, our saviour's name has been edited to Deepak Veggy. Saves the world some trouble. 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Minto Bhaiya was coming to dinner and spinach was a must-buy. The scorching summer has made saag a rarity. The small vendors do not keep it nowadays because they wither sooner than they can be sold. The supermarkets have some sad looking ones & the concept of frozen vegetables is still catching up in the East. Any day we'd like to buy it fresh from the local mandi. The flavour and texture of the fresh produce is simply unbeatable. And the swad, kya kehne!

The precious palak was finally found in the Monday mandi close by. Paanch rupye mein teen gaddi feels like heaven. And no conversions to be done now! A quick call to Lalo to refresh my memory and before long the palak leaves became palak paste. Read on for the Palak Paneer recipe friends. And in summers, don't leave your buying to the last day. There is a palak crunch in the market because of the intense heat.                                                                                                                                                                                              Ingredients:  

1.  Palak/Spinach - roughly chopped  

2.  1 cup paneer/cottage cheese cubes  

3.  1 medium onion- finely chopped

4.  1 cube ginger- roughly chopped

5.  7-8 small cloves of garlic  

6.  Chopped green chilli - as preferred  

7.  1 tomato- finely chopped/puree 

8.  1 tsp garam masala powder

9.  1-2 tsp ghee/butter (for garnish)   

10. Salt to taste

11.  Refined oil – to cook

                                                                                                                                                      Method:

1. Add salt & boil spinach, ginger, garlic & chillies in the pressure cooker for 7-8 minutes/two whistles.

2. When the mixture cools, grind to a smooth paste.    

                                                                                                                                 

   

    

    

                                                                                     3. Saute the chopped onion. Add the chopped tomato and fry well. 

4. Add the palak paste and let simmer on medium flame for at least 10 

mins.

5. Add the paneer cubes, simmer for 5-7 minutes. Add garam masala powder & ghee/butter and remove from flame. 

Serve hot with roti/naan/rice. 

Garnish with fresh cream for the dhaba taste. 

Go easy if on diet. 

And save numbers with titles. Abid Fish, Alok Dahi, 

Anil Pathlab, Acquasure Manoj, Asif Biryani....