The Spinach Shines

Can you imagine spinach so creamy without a hint of cream?  Take a look at this and you’ll see the creamiest, smoothest, greenest  spinach you’ll ever put your eyes on — at least today.   This is the Indian dish called Palak Paneer.

I made the Paneer (Indian Cheese) last night, cut it up and posted the photos and information here and knew that I was going to dine on the spinach goodness of Palak Paneer tonight.

I used Manisha, of Indian Food Rocks’ recipe for tonight’s dish.  I used 1 tablespoon of oil for the spinach and pan fried the cheese with a few pumps of olive oil spray until golden brown.  I’m linking to the recipe here because I want to give credit where credit’s due.  I chose the recipe because of how vibrant and verdant it looked and I really can’t claim to have adapted this simple recipe.

It was the first time I made it, so I decided to follow it to the letter.  Manisha says it’s not about adding flavors, that it’s about the ginger and lemon and while I  was yearning for onion and garlic, I decided to stay true to the recipe — a feat for me.  I’m happy I did.  The ginger shone through and I added a little more lemon because my cheese wasn’t quite tart enough, but it’s one of those things you can taste as you go.

Key to the recipe for me was taking it off the stove as soon as the spinach was wilted and letting it whirl around in the VitaMix until it was silky smooth.   I considered shocking the spinach in an ice water bath, but the recipe didn’t direct me to take that step and as you can see, it wasn’t necessary.  Often, I’ll shock a green vegetable like green beans after cooking to retain that incredible green color, but that wasn’t an issue here.  It took less than a minute to get  to this consistency and while I could have let it spin in the blender until it became serving hot again, I put it back in the pot to simmer for just a few mintes before adding a few cubes of Paneer and serving as the recipe directed.

I can’t wait to hear what my Bangalore friends have to say about this effort.  I’m sure it’s a surprise to all that I have this thing about cooking.  In a year in India, I never allowed my cooking habit show. and that if I added up all the posts in my various blogs these past 4 years, Indian food appears most often.  I’m happy to add another untried dish to my repertoire.

This Palak Paneer will cost you a Weight Watchers Points Plus value of 9 with the following breakdown:

• Fat 27 g
• Protein 21 g
• Fiber 4 g
• Carbs 7 g