Funky Crunchy Mama’s Palak Paneer

I love Indian food. It’s so deliciously warming and so different from the bland, midwestern diet I grew up on. I can thank my dear friend, Sarah, for introducing me to it. Over the years, she’s invited me along to to several church dinners, fundraisers, and outings to the short-lived a local Indian restaurant in order to experience it. (Unfortunately, our community’s palate hasn’t taken to Indian cuisine enough to support a full-scale dine-in operation.) Each outing has offered something a little different and each has encouraged me to explore the spices and flavors of this cuisine a bit more.

This post contains affiliate links. Read more.

This dish was one of the first I ever ordered. Like most Indian food, it doesn’t look like much — a green sludge with cheese curds (appetizing, right?) — but the flavor was out of this world! Spicy and salty with a creamy texture; eaten with rice and buttery naan. Yum! So I set off to make it at home.

I found a delicious looking recipe on vegrecipesofindia.com and slightly modified  it to fit my pantry. It quickly became a go-to in our house, so I’ve started making large batches of it and freezing it as part of my meal planning. Bonus: Using frozen spinach also makes it super inexpensive to make!

The recipe below is for a triple batch. It feeds my husband and I for two nights, so about four serving sizes. This is too spicy for our two year old, so we usually just give her some rice, avocado, and cheese cubes instead, which somewhat resembles what we’re eating.

You’ll need a food processor or powerful blender for this. I bought this one by Ninja on recommendation from a co-worker and have not been disappointed. I’ve even taken up making an occasional smoothie ‘cause I like it so much and I’m not really a smoothie girl (more like margaritas!). Now that I think of it, a mango lahsi might go really well with this….

Funky Crunchy Mama’s Palak Paneer

4 – 10 oz. pkgs. frozen spinach, defrosted
6-8 serrano peppers, deseeded
10-12 cloves of garlic/1 head
2 inch piece of ginger
3 medium onions
1 – 14 oz can fire roasted tomatoes
2 t. cumin seeds
1 t. turmeric
2 t. chili powder
2 t. garam masala (I make this to keep on hand)
3 bay leaves
½ c. heavy cream
2 T. olive oil
Salt
8 oz. paneer, tofu, or lightly flavored cheese

Chop the onions and saute in oil until they start to become clear. Add in the cumin seeds and heat until they begin to sputter, then toss in the garlic, ginger, and peppers. Saute until the peppers begin to soften. Toss in the remaining spices, stir to coat, then add in the spinach. Cook the spinach until all the ingredients are well blended and the excess moisture has evaporated off. Add the can of tomatoes and simmer for approx. 20 minutes.

Let cool a bit and blend with the heavy cream until smooth. (I’m guilty of having used whole milk in ours, but the heavy cream really does wonders for the texture.)

At this point, feel free to store or freeze it. Add the paneer, tofu, or cheese when reheating before serving. We use approx. ½ lb. of farmers cheese in a batch. Farmers cheese melts, but it has a nice, light flavor. Mozzarella could be good, as well.

Serve with rice and hot, buttery naan.

I hope you enjoy!