Palak Paneer a la Tandoor Chef and my first Giveaway!

Palak Paneer.

Tandoor Chef.

Synonymous?

Yes!

Sweet Sister and most of her friends think so.

Well ,this is the first give away on baketitude.

Give away of 5 gift coupons from the makers of the Delicious foods at Tandoor Chef!

These coupons can get you free Palak Paneer to dunk your hot Naans or Tandoori Rotis into.

However , you need to be a resident of the United States of America to avail the giveaway.
So , if you do live in the US of A, all you have to do is like Tandoor Chef on facebook, like baketitude on facebook-see the link on the right panel,post a comment on this blog post and comment on the tandoor chef face book page,saying that  you like Tandoor Chef.
Yes , you have to do all 4 things to get the 5 coupons from Tandoor Chef!

Spinach-Palak Paneer-This is my favourite green vegetable...easy to make , glamorous enough  to serve to a dinner party and wholesome and healthy enough to be a complete meal.

Popeye ...

and his favourite food...

Palak Paneer...

Its a wondrously silky concoction that just melts in your mouth? It helps that the dish is made of a puree and soft, very soft fresh cottage cheese-paneer.
It is tempered with sweet spices that are wonderful for your metabolism and your constitution. Full of vitamins and fibre, this is the promise of a good, hearty, healthy meal. I need to make this from scratch or depend on a few good brands or takeaways but those of you who can, can just take Tandoor Chef off the shelf, onto your table and into your plate.
Hot!
If you are making it from scratch-this is my way. Make it the best way...
My way!

for the 

Palak Paneer and my first ever Give Away...

You need

1 bunch fresh spinach leaves-(about 500 Gms you can also use frozen spinach –

Just get 1 cup puree)

½ cup finely diced onion

3/4 cup blanched and peeled chopped tomatoes

1 tsp ginger paste 

1 tsp garlic paste(I pound the ginger and garlic together)

3 tsp mustard oil or any neutral vegetable oil

2-3 dried red chillies-optional

1 tsp coriander seeds -lightly crushed

2 tsp fresh cream/heavy cream

1 tsp each Salt, turmeric powder, red chilli powder, coriander powder

200 Gms fresh Paneer /cottage cheese or plain tofu cup into cubes

for the tadka or tempering-optional

2-3 red chillies

1/2 tsp clarified butter/desi ghee

First off, if you are using fresh spinach, break and keep the leaves and wash them well.Place them in a heavy based sauce pan, after shaking off most of the water, and cover with a lid. 

Place on medium heat for about 5-7 minutes. The leaves will wilt and shed their moisture and cook partially. Turn off the heat and leave till the leaves cool.

Now squeeze out the excess liquid to get a ball of the soft spinach leaves. Puree or process these without any extra liquid. If you do need some liquid, use ¼ cup of cold milk. The spinach liquid can be used to make your breads or roti dough-excess water will mean a longer cooking time that totally ruins the delicate taste of spinach.

I throw it away without any guilt...there is always some other way to get the vitamins in.

You can either deep fry the cubed cottage cheese /tofu of lightly fry them on a non stick pan with a few drops of oil or just leave it soft and white.

If you do fry them, be sure to pour some hot water over them to keep them soft while the dish is cooked. Like so...

Heat a wok or a non stick kadai-I used a wide mouth pan.

Add the oil. Next to go in are the coriander seeds and the red chillies. You can throw the chilli seeds if you are worried about the heat, but honestly, this dish is mellow and comforting and the chillies will only raise your metabolic levels. So be a dear and add them whole. 

To the sizzling spices add the onions.

Lightly sauté and wait till they turn translucent –pink. 

Now is a good time to add the ginger and garlic pastes. Fry them out on low heat and add the salt-start with ½ tsp. add more, if you think so later.

Now dump in the tomatoes. A can of chopped tomatoes will be good enough, if you don’t want to go fresh...I hate tomato peels in my Palak Paneer-so I blanch and peel. As fresh puree takes too long to cook, I prefer to dice and cook.

When they look soft,Add in the turmeric, coriander powder and the red chili powder. And stir together.

Once the tomatoes almost disappear and the Masala(cooked onion tomato mix in oil ) looks cooked, with the oil separated add in the spinach puree.

A quick stir and covered cooking, and we are ready for the Paneer.

Taste now, to check for the salt and chillies. Add in half the cream or fresh malai-if you don’t have cream, no worries...just add a dab of butter.

Ready to go...

And a quick tadka or tempering...

Just heat a wee bit of ghee or oil in the smallest pan you have and pop the dried red chillies in...Pour the oil and chillies over the Palak Paneer and Serve with Naans or roti...

Enjoy this as a main dish or a side...whatever...Palak Paneer is yummy.

Be sure to claim your 5 coupons from Tandoor Chef. 

The give away closes on the 28th February 2013.

The winner will be announced on baketitude's face book page.

In the mean while check out other recipes from the Tandoor Chef Kitchen here.

Coming up, the easiest ever Chocolate Brownies...

In a bit.

So what are you baking today???