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Thursday 11 February 2010

Dhaba Style Palak Paneer …A Recipe from initial day’s of Blogging

I am feeling so happy reposting  one of my paneer recipes which is very much enjoyed by my family and friends. I had posted this recipe during the initial day’s of my blogging. I thought I am good at making this preparation so had posted it that time. Since I was very new to the world of blogging, the recipes were not attended and appreciated by many..So when Jaya announced this event I was kind of excited to repost them. This recipe is my UNSUNG HERO as it just went unnoticed.
I would love to tell my friends why I feel I am good at making this and why it was amongst my initial posts. I have been making palak paneer in various ways since ages it seems…I was doing my post graduation in Pharmacy at Indore so I assume I must be around 20 years old. We had gone to Aaji’s place( grand mother’s place) to celebrate my grand parent’s 50th marriage anniversary. For that function my grand mom’s brothers, sisters, their children and grand children were invited..as my grandfather was the only child. So we had a gathering of about 45-50 people at our place.
Since everyone had gathered together after a long time they were there for about 3-4 days. One of these days my Kaka (my father’s brother) asked me to cook for everyone and my mother also pressed me. It was the first time I was gonna cook for so many so I was a little hesitant but then I agreed and gave my list of ingredients to my uncle and he got me about 6-7 large bunches of fresh spinach and a kilogram of paneer. And I made the palak paneer.  When it got served for the dinner every one was licking their fingers and were all praises for me. The demand for it continued the next day too for the lunch and I was surely at cloud nine. The best praise which I remember so clearly today  came from my father’s Mami (maternal aunt) who said that she has cooked well undoubtedly but I was observing her through out the cooking and she had kept the kitchen so clean through the process. Keeping the kitchen clean during cooking was very natural to me and had never realised that it is such a big quality.
This Paneer recipe is amongst the Top recipes in an Indian Restaurant. I hope this time my friends will find some time to read this for which I was praised by many!


Ingredients
A large bunch of Palak (spinach)
150 gms Paneer
2 onions (chopped finely)
2-3 green chillies (chopped finely)
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1 -2 tsp lemon juice (as per your liking)
3-4 garlic pods (crushed)
1 -1/2 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp red chilli powder
butter+oil for cooking
1 tsp ghee
Method
  • Pluck the leaves of Palak ( do not use stem).Wash them properly.
  • Boil water in a vessel, add a pinch of salt and  baking soda, this helps keep the colour green .When the water start boiling put the leaves for 20seconds, remove and immediately put it in cold water. (This stops the process of cooking).
  • Puree the blanched leaves.
  • Heat a mix of butter and oil and add chopped onions and cook till light brown in colour, now add garlic .
  • Add chili powder, coriander powder and salt, mix properly. (Add a little less of salt as Spinach has natural salts in it). Take oil to the corner of the pan, tilt the pan and sprinkle some water,  the pan will catch fire for a few seconds, this produces the 'Smoky Flavor' that one gets in Dhaba cooking.
  • Add the Paneer and gently mix and coat it with all the spices. Cook for a min.
  • Now add the pureed Spinach and bring it to a boil and switch off the flame. Do not overcook as the gravy loses it's natural green colour. Add lemon juice and mix.
  • Heat ghee in a pan and add cumin seeds, let it splutter and then add green chilies, immediately pour it on the Palak Paneer.
  • Serve with Naan/Paratha/Jeera Rice
I am very fond of this recipe and all those people who love Dhaba style food will surely enjoy it’s taste. The original recipe and post can be read here. To understand how to blanch greens and how to maintain the green colour etc..read here


I am sending this post to Jaya’s Repost Event. I hope Jaya I have posted this in the right way this time…
the repost event

54 comments:

  1. both the paneer dishes look so delicious dear:)

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  2. Ah! I love dhaba food! This dish is really tempting and delectable!

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  3. Both dishes looks incredible Pari...tempting dishes.

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  4. These look absolutely amazing.Thanks for sharing!

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  5. wow..dhaba style palak paneer looks very tempting! re-posting is a good concept!

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  6. thats a nice event.Love both the recipes.the palak paneer i will try soon.

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  7. palk paneer looks absolutely tempting..

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  8. looks definitely delicious..love the pictures..will try soon..

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  9. Panner dishes looks so moth-watering and yummy!!!

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  10. Hi........Pari
    Paneer is my all time favourite...
    Loved your Dhaba style Palak Paneer and Kadai Paneer......
    Great recipes and lovely clicks
    They look so delicious and yummy

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  11. Oh..U poor UNsung Heroes. I'm glad you reposted them..Now we get to appreciate these beauties. LOve Paneer in any form. My favorite would have to be Dhaba Style Palak Paneer and 2nd fav is the Kadahi Paneer...That reminds me I to have some UNSUNG HEROES..I guess it happens with everyone..

    Also I'm was here to checkout ur Whole wheat Tava Naan..It looks delish and loved the step by step directions and loved ur Paneer Kaju Pasanda as well..

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  12. very yummy and tempting dish pari..i am sure gone make them more often..

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  13. Lovely dishes..the earlier ones were also good..:)

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  14. These bring back such great memories of ur initial blogging days. :-)

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  15. Wow, the kadhai panner and Palak paneer are absolute heros they look so delicious and comforting!!!

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  16. Both dishes look so awesome! Thanks for reposting them!
    Renuka
    http://cookingyummy.blogspot.com/

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  17. Pari, I am sure glad you participated in this repost event :) What delicious recipes! I have bookmarked both of them.. kadhai paneer is the one I am most itching to try soon!

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  18. Delicious paneer recipes dear...looks colorful :)

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  19. great recipes...reposting them is great !!

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  20. Just beautiful, Pari..Just gorgeous!

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  21. Both dishes look tempting Pari. Our first posts are the closest to our heart, unsung heros-truly. Great first posts and every one's favorite too.

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  22. delicious paneer recipes...nice combo with chapathi..

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  23. The color is great - wonderful repost!

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  24. lovely pics pari,delicious paneer gravies...

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  25. Both of your paneer dishes look and sound absolutely delicious! Thanks for the link to such fantastic recipes:)

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  26. Wooow.. both looks wondeful:), I'm a big fan of paneer and I love both the dishes, so tempting :)

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  27. Both of these look delicious, but I am especially drawn to the second recipe. Thank you for drawing these to my attention as I would have missed these wonderful and tempting posts.

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  28. great reposts...really want to take part..but am totally pressed for time..these look GOOD!

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  29. wow pari both the dishes are amzing...thy luk very tempting n invitng...nice repost

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  30. Great recipes here Pari. I'm glad you reposted them, now we all know yet another easy preparation :-)

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  31. Very prefect entry for the event Pari..btw thanks for letting me know about the ebook, will do or try how to come up with that project..thanks a ton for ur kind words dear...

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  32. Dear, you have one award waiting at my blog..please do collect it..Congrats and my wishes for you to get many more awards :-)

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  33. Palak paneer is one of our favorite dishes to order at the Indian restaurant; thanks for a recipe like this! Now I have no excuse, I have to make it myself!

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  34. Lovely blog ...Do collect an award from our blog ...
    Check this link
    http://kavithavin-kaivannam.blogspot.com/2010/02/broccoli-carrot-soup-gayathris-recipe.html

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  35. Really a luscious recipe to try out for pari.Very much eye catchy n healthy as well.

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  36. Lovely recipe...
    Came to know abt the combo event...nice theme..count me in..

    do checkout my 1st evet..

    http://panchpakwan.blogspot.com/2010/02/my-first-event-annoucement-pasta-party.html

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  37. Pari, that is delicious and the tip for smoking 'dhabba style' is totally new to me. Will try it one of these days.
    And yes dear, you totally qualify for the event. It was fun reading about your first cooking adventure and I am sure it bought back some nostalgic memories for you too.

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  38. its everyones fav and am no exception. looks too good

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  39. Hi Pari, I thought I saw the dish here before and then read it again :)

    Good one and one to keep as well!

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  40. Awesome one dear.. I just loved the "smoky flavor" idea.. One has to be cautious rite? I am very bad when it comes to such nuances, but I'll dfntly give it a try ;)

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  41. HI Pari,
    Thanks for sharing these two paneer dishes with us. Loved your tip about 'smoky flavor'.
    Deepa
    http://hamareerasoi.blogspot.com/

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  42. My son too loves palak paneer a lot,he always tell me to prepare it atleast once in a week,so will def try ur version too,dhabha style sounds good and great tip abt the smoky flavours ...thanks for sharing pari..& happy valentines day

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  43. I'm always game for dishes which has paneer in it,great recipes!!!

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  44. awesome recipe. i even trie so many recipes but ur recipe rocks esp the "Smoky Flavour".

    Nikki

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  45. Thanks Nikki, for trying my recipe and I'm so glad that you liked it. Keep cooking!! Looking fwd to your comments and feedback.
    Pari

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  46. This recipe is amazingly simple, yet very tasty. Everyone loved the smoky flavor, great tip. The best palak paneer i've ever made at home. Thanks for this post!

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  47. Hi Pari,
    I tried this.its too good.Thanks for the recipe.Just one question.when i put water in the pan ,i saw some smokes coming out.did u mean that when u said pan will catch fire?

    btw i also tried ur sabudana wada and chutney.awesome.thanks a ton

    Vini

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  48. Dear Vini, Thanks for trying my recipes, I'm glad you liked them. 'Catching fire' in a more appropriate term means a 'flambe', normally that's done with alcohol but I've used water.When oil is extremely hot and water's sprinkled, the oil- water mist catches fire if exposed to fire, hence I mentioned 'tilting the pan'. Nevertheless, try it next time.

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  49. Please be specific about the amount of spinach used. What is a large bunch? At the indian stores a large bunch is significantly bigger than a large bunch at the regular grocery stores. Please specify in weight.
    Thank you

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  50. looks so declicious,yummy.

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  51. I came across your blog while looking for some Indian food recipes and liked a lot. How amazing! I will keep an eye out for all your recipes :)

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