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The Saffron Platter
Flatbreads . Vegetarian Dishes

Palak Paneer with Butter Garlic Naan

On October 6, 2011 by Meghalee Das

I made this during one of the days of Pujo and although it has two recipes I will post it as one. Paneer is a type of Indian cheese; I have never had Ricotta cheese but I heard that the taste and texture of paneer is similar to that. I made the naan for the first time and it turned out really well and I am going to include it in our regular menu more often. Naan is a type of bread and can be made in various ways, some use curd/yogurt or eggs, but this tastes like the naan I am used to eating, so you can give it a try.

For Naan
Prep time: 1 hour 30 min Baking time: 1 1/2 min each Servings: 6-8Ingredients:

Warm water: 1 cup
Active dry yeast: 2 ¼ tsp or a 0.25 ounce packet
Milk: 3 tbsp
Egg: 1 (optional)
All-purpose flour/ maida: 4 ½ cups (You can also use equal amount of ata/wheat flour and maida/all-purpose flour)
Salt: 2 tsp
Sugar: 1/4thcup
Butter: 4 tbsp
Chopped garlic: 6 tsp
Method:
1) Dissolve yeast in warm water for 10 minutes till it becomes frothy.
2) Mix sugar, salt, milk, beaten egg and the yeast mixture with the flour and knead well for at least 10 minutes.
3) Put the dough in a greased bowl and cover it with a damp cloth. Leave it to rise for at least 1 hour. It will be double the size after that. (The picture below does not refer to this point!)
LOL! This is some leftover dough which I had kept in the fridge in a plastic wrap after making the naans that night. When I took it out the next day, the dough had risen and burst out of the wrap looking like this hehe
4) Punch and knead the dough and sprinkle the garlic on it and knead again. Make bigger balls than you make for rotis, something like parathas, as the naan is thicker. Cover the balls with a damp cloth for 5 minutes.
5) In the meantime, set your oven/grill to the highest temperature or on broil.
6) Roll the balls into circles or elongated circles (or whatever shape you want) and place them on the grill. I tried something which turned out great, if you have a good cake/pie mould, turn the mould and place the naan on top of it. It works like a tandoor and bakes evenly.7) After placing them in the oven, brush some butter on top and bake for 60 seconds. Then take it out, turn it on the other side, brush it with butter and bake for 45 seconds. Be very careful with the time as it differs from oven to oven. The naan tends to burn very easily and cooks fast in high heat, so for the first time just check on it to get the right timing.

Done done done.
For palak paneer:
Prep time: 30 min Cooking time: 15 min Serves: 4
Ingredients:
Spinach/palak: 1 medium to large bunch
Paneer: 350 gms, cut into small cubes (immerse them in water to keep them soft until you cook them)
Peas (optional): ½ cup
Chopped garlic: 2 tsp
Chillies: 2 large
Vegetable stock/water: 1 cup
Cumin seeds: 1 tsp
Cloves: 1
Coriander powder: 1 tsp
Ghee: 2 tbsp
Fresh cream/ sour cream (optional): 3/4 cup
Salt to taste
Sugar: 1 pinch
Butter: 1 tbsp
Method:
1) Wash spinach leaves thoroughly and boil them with a pinch of salt for 10 minutes.
2) Meanwhile, toast or lightly brown the pieces of paneer and keep aside.
3) Drain and cool the spinach and blend it with chopped chillies into a puree.
4) In a pan, heat ghee and add cumin seeds and the clove. After they splutter, fry garlic and add the coriander powder.
5) Stir in the spinach puree, peas, sugar and salt and cook for 5 minutes. Add the paneer and vegetable stock/water and cook for 2-3 minutes.
6) At this point you can add the cream and adjust the amount of cream according to your taste. For eg, A likes it with less cream and prefers the ‘spinachy’ taste, so I just add a bit of cream. (The gravy now changes from a beautiful dark green colour to light green, pretty pretty!)
7) Cook for 5 minutes or till the oil starts separating from the gravy. Add a dollop of butter (again, optional but c’mon how can you say no to butter!)
Serve with hot rice, parathas or naan.
Note: I made the paneer when the naan dough was resting for an hour. By the time the paneer was ready, all I had to do was roll out the naan and bake them. This way you save time and serve the food hot and fresh.
Written by Meghalee Das

Meghalee Das is a former journalist, who occasionally writes as a freelancer. She loves traveling, camping, hiking, kayaking, gardening and of course, cooking. Currently she is doing her MBA from Texas State University and updates her blog whenever she gets the time!

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