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> As a child I have grown up watching “Popeye -The Sailor Man” the unbeatable man who gets instant energy and builds up muscles just by eating one can of spinach.Though as a child I never took much interest in having it ,but after marriage my craving for this dish begun. It was then I decided to try it out and till now I have used several ways of making the same Spinach-Cottage Cheese.
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> Today, I have altered my conventional recipe to suit the available ingredients and circumstances. I have added Aalan (Tadka) with Besan(Chickpea Flour) in the beginning. For more, lets jump to the recipe :—

INGREDIENTS:
1. Spinach Leaves(Palak) – 1 bag or bundle
2. Chickpea Flour (Besan) – 2 tbsp
3. Cooking oil – 3 tbsp
4. Finely chopped or pureed onions (pyaz) – ¹⁄₄ cup
5. Finely pureed tomatoes – ¹⁄₂ cup
6. Finely chopped green chillies – 2
7. Finely grated ginger (Adrak) – 1 tbsp
8. Finely grated garlic (Lehsun) – 1 tsp
9. Salt – 1.5 tsp or to taste
10. Turmeric(haldi) – ¹⁄₄ tsp
11. Coriander powder(Dhania) – ¹⁄₂ tsp
12. Fennel powder(saunf) – ¹⁄₂ tsp
13. Kashmiri Red chilly powder(Lal mirch) – ¹⁄₂ tsp
14. Curry powder(Garam masala) – ¹⁄₃ tsp
15. Cumin seeds (jeera) – 1 tsp
16. Asafoetida (hing) – a pinch
17. Mustard leaves (sarso) – ¹⁄₂ bundle (optional)
18. Fenugreek leaves(methi) – 2-3 stems (optional)
19. Fresh Farmer’s cheese(paneer) – 170 gms or squared cut pieces 1 cup
20. Clarified butter (Desi ghee) – 2 tbsp (optional)

METHOD:
|Preparation time : 10 mins | Cooking time : 25-30 mins | Serves 3-4 persons at a time|

1. Wash the spinach , mustard and fenugreek leaves(if you wish to add them too) thoroughly under cold water after plucking only fresh leaves off their stems.

2. Now put them all together in a pressure cooker or a pan and boil them on high till one whistle blows or till you see them soften in the pan with a pinch of salt and 1 tsp lemon juice. Lemon juice helps to retain the color of spinach while boiling and prevents the reaction of spinach leaves with pan or cooker.

3. After the pressure is released drain the excess water or sieve it through a colander in a bowl to be used later.

4. Add the onions, tomatoes, ginger,garlic and green chillies in a food processor or mixer and puree them to a fine paste or puree.
   

5. Heat oil in a wok(kadhai). Add jeera and hing,let them sputter.
   

6. Now add the besan and stir it swiftly on medium heat. Once the oil is absorbed, add twice water (i.e. 4 tbsp) to it and keep stirring to avoid forming lumps. You may use a whisk to stir too.
   

7. Add the dry spices to it and stir them all well.
   

8. Now add the puree prepared in step 4 to it and stir it well. This puree could be made without onions and garlic too if you wish. But garlic and onion enhances its flavor and taste and in winters they help in burning excess fat and prevents the gastric trouble too. 😛
   Also add the remaining spices and stir.

9. Lower the heat to avoid splattering of gravy around the wok and partially cover it with a lid. In the meanwhile puree or blend the boiled leaves in a blender or food processor.
   

10. When you see the color of the gravy has changed substantially and almost all the water is dried out, add the spinach puree to it and stir it well. Add some water to adjust the consistency according to your taste . Always add ¹⁄₂ cup more water than you need in the gravy because the water is absorbed by this curry even after cooking.
    

11. When this curry starts boiling and you see a uniform green (henna ) color everywhere add the cubed paneer and simmer on low heat for another 3-4 mins.
    

12. Turn off the heat and heat some ghee in a ladle. Add kashmiri red chilly powder to it and let it sizzle for 30 secs.

13. Now pour this ghee in a circle all over the saag(palak paneer) just before serving or season it with ghee after serving. This step is optional if you don’t like ghee. 😀 Enjoy
    

**P.S. : Aalan or tadka could be of many types. We may add soaked Bengal gram lentil(chana dal) or corn flour(makki ka atta) instead of besan in this recipe. It could be added to leaves while boiling them or it could be blended with leaves while blending them or my way. This enhances the flavor of palak paneer and it is completely optional.

Serve it with parantha ,roti or rice and enjoy the winter season!! 😀

Please feel free to ask or suggest in the comments below !!
Till then Happy cooking !! 🙂