Hello Friends,
Everyone here in India is quarantined and there is a lock-down in almost all the states. The government is being very strict and doing all the needful things to stop the spread of the deadly virus. I am very Thankful to my government for taking care of its people so well. Much needed at this hour of time to overcome this pandemic situation.
While I am Wfh today and my wife is also busy with the kids. I thought of preparing a dish named Palak Panner for my family and here in this post I share with you some pictures of the dish taken and the recipe as well - Palak Paneer Rice.
Dish Name: Palak Paneer Rice (Spinach | Tofu | Rice)
Health Traits :
Palak - aka Spinach: Spinach is a wonderful source of vitamin A, Vitamin K, vitamin C, vitamin B2 vitamin E, vitamin B6, folate, manganese, copper, calcium.
Paneer- akaTofu: It is an excellent source of protein and also contains essential amino acids. Not just that it is also a great source of iron, calcium, manganese, and copper. It's also good to have Paneer/Tofu as is with a pinch of salt to gain all the above-mentioned proteins. My kids love having it raw.
Ingredients used to prepare- Palak Paneer Rice
1 cup of rice
2 bunch of fresh spinach
2 spoons mustard oil
250g Tofu
1 medium-size capsicum (finely chopped)
1 small carrot(finely chopped)
1-inch cinnamon stick
4 black pepper balls
½ teaspoon of cumin seeds
1 teaspoon of Kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves)
2 onions(finely chopped)
2 tomatoes(finely chopped)
1 green chili (finely chopped)
1 spoon ginger garlic paste
½ teaspoon clarified butter
1½ teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon red chili powder
Salt to Taste
Recipe Details are as follows:-
Preparing Rice First
Step 1: nicely wash the rice and soak it in water for 15 minutes
Step 2: In a big pan take 5 to 6 cups of water and add ½ teaspoon salt and add ½ teaspoon clarified butter to it.
Step 3: When the water is a little hot add the soaked rice to it.
Step 4: Let the rice simmer and cook until tender and fluffy. (you can pick and check the rice by pressing it and seeing if it is tender and cooked from inside)
Step 5: Once nicely cooked. Strain and remove all extra water (Be careful as the water will be very hot)
Preparing Palak Paneer (Spinach & Tofu)
Step 1: Wash the spinach nicely.
Step 2: Take a big vessel, boil water in it and add the washed spinach leaves in it.
(Make sure you are not covering the vessel with a lid. Spinach should always be cooked without covering)
Step 3: Once nicely boiled. Remove the leaves from the hot water. Let it cool for 10 to 15 minutes and then grind it nicely using a grinder. The Green paste of Spinach is ready now. I’ll tell you when to use this Spinach Paste.
Step 4: On the other side in a big pan, add 2 teaspoon mustard oil, let it become hot.
Step 5: Once the oil is hot add ½ teaspoon cumin seeds. Let then splatter then add the cinnamon stick and black pepper balls to it.
Step 6: Now add chopped onion and green chili to the pan and let it cook for 5 to 6 minutes.
Step 7: Once all the onions are cooked (they will turn golden brown) you can add ginger garlic paste to it. Let the mix cook for another 3 minutes.
Step 8: Then add tomatoes finely chopped to the mix and let it cook for another 7 to 8 minutes or until the oil oozes out.
Step 9: Once the oil starts oozing out add Kasuri methi or dried fenugreek leaves to the mix and stir it well.
Step 10: Here your masala (In India this mix is called masala) is ready. You can now add your spinach green paste [prepared in Step 3] to it and let it cook for a good 10 minutes.
Step 11: We are almost done with the cooking. Now you can add little butter to it (That’s optional) :) Once the spinach paste is ready, add sliced blocks of tofu/Panner to it and Finally the Palak Paneer (Spinach & Tofu) is ready to be served.
Serve Palak Paneer (Spinach & Tofu) with rice with some green Salad.
A Perfect lunchtime recipe, you can make it once a week to gain all the proteins out of Tofu & Spinach.
BTW: did I forgot to mention that my family absolutely loved it and so did I ;)