A few days back I shared my mom’s recipe for tomato soup. Today’s recipe is my mother in laws specialty. I learnt to make palak paneer this way from her. It sure feels good whenever I cook something like this which takes me back to the days spent with them.
Spinach is one of my favourite vegetables not only for the health benefits but also for its versatility. I add it to many recipes and it increases the nutrition quotient and also easily gel with the recipe. It is low in calories, rich in iron and antioxidants. Its iron content is highest among all green leafy vegetables.
[bctt tweet=”100gm of spinach gives 25% of daily iron requirements. #Nutrition #Health” username=”Deepagandhi1″]
When this powerhouse of nutrition joins hands with calcium-rich Paneer and our secret ingredient or this recipe, it is going to be Xtra healthy, right?
Xtra healthy palak paneer is a simple and easy recipe in which we are also adding green moong dal and little gram flour. It tastes amazing and is healthy too. It is better than restaurant style as we are not using too many fats or cream in our spinach gravy.
Pulses are a great source of protein and fiber too. Green moong dal is gluten free, sodium free and cholesterol free. In this recipe, we are giving a healthy twist to this favourite recipe among vegetarians in India. Let’s get to the recipe now –
- Palak/Spinach – 250 gms
- Paneer/ Indian cottage cheese – 250 grams
- Moong dal -2tbsp
- Gram flour or besan – 1tsp
- Onion – 1 medium, finely chopped
- Tomato – 2 medium, finely chopped
- Green chilies – 3-4, finely chopped(reduce/add according to your taste)
- Garlic – 5-8 cloves
- Ginger – 1 inch
- Red chili powder – ½ tsp
- Turmeric powder – ¼ tsp
- Salt – to taste
- Oil – 2 tbsp
- Cream for garnishing (optional)
- First of all, wash, and chop spinach. Peel ginger and garlic and add everything with moong dal and green
chillies in a pressure cooker. - Cook it for 15-20 minutes. After 4 whistles, simmer it for some time so that dal gets properly cooked.
- Meanwhile, you can start the tadka preperation. Fry onions till they turn pink. Add besan and cook for few minutes.
- Add the tomato pureed and some salt, turmeric and red chilly powder. Cook till the tomatoes are properly cooked.
- Cut paneer into pieces and keep aside.
- Now open the cooker and let it cool by transferring to a pan.
- Now take a blender and blend the spinach to a smooth puree.
- Pour in the pureed spinach into the
tadka and sauté for few minutes so that it absorbs the flavors of the spices. - When the spinach curry has thickened, add the paneer and cook for another minute or two.
- Top it up with some cream and serve hot with rotis or rice.
You can even blanch spinach instead of pressure cooking but dal needs pressure cooking.
Colour of palak paneer is not an indication of how healthy the recipe is or not. Dark green colour is also ok as it shows that it's properly cooked.
Read here – My A to Z challenge posts 2017
Find out more – Nutrition tips and nutritional recipes
Read my theme reveal post here.
I am sharing 26 healthy recipes under 30 minutes full this month.
See the recipes till now –
A for Apple coconut squares
B for a Bracing burger
C for Carrot walnut muffins
D for Dhokla with a twist
E for Eggless Pancake
F for Fruit chocolate pops
G for Gluten-free Spinach and rice balls
H for Honey strawberry milkshake
I for Instant paneer tikka
J for Jaggery Dates chutney
K for Kale grilled sandwich
L for Lemon cranberry mojito
M for Mango brown rice salad
N for Nutritious party crackers
O for Oats beetroot Dosa
P for Pineapple Pomegranate Parfait
Q for Quinoa veg salad
R for Red sauce pasta with spinach
S for Sprouts salad
T for Tomato soup
U for Ultimate Utappam
V for Veg corn Cutlet
April 29, 2018 at 6:04 pm
Palak paneer has always been my favourite vegetarian dish.
Although the palak base is important, for me the quality/texture of the paneer is important. I think Govardhan paneer is the softest available in the market…the rest are grainy and therefore annoying. Is there a way to keep paneer soft, irrespective of the brand?
April 30, 2018 at 11:11 am
Another wow recipe, Deepa! I love Palak Paneer, but this is the first time I am coming across someone adding moong dal and besan to it! i will surely be trying it as I bet it will taste good!
May 2, 2018 at 9:59 am
Palak paneer is my favourite too. Here I was surprised to have moong dal and besan as game changers. Must try this one!
May 2, 2018 at 9:58 pm
I was curious to know what extra would make a healthy palak paneer healthier. Loved this recipe, Deepa. We do make dal palak but haven’t added moong dal to palak paneer yet.
May 4, 2018 at 3:59 pm
such a healthy twist to palak paneer. will try it for sure; as it is i keep finding ways to serve moong daal to my kids.
May 25, 2018 at 9:31 pm
I liked the twist in the recipe. Hope to try this one too.